Poland to send abandoned Russian tanker for demolition

Poland has ordered the removal of a Russian product tanker which has been stranded in the Port of Gdynia for over seven years.

The 1987-built, 23,000 dwt Khatanga was detained in October 2017 after failing a port state inspection, with its owners, Murmansk Shipping Company, promising repairs that were never carried out. The Russian shipowner then went bankrupt in 2020, while the ship’s condition has deteriorated a great deal, and has broken from its moorings on more than one occasion. 

Arkadiusz Marchewka, Poland’s state secretary for infrastructure, posted on social media: “We are removing Russian scrap from our port.”

The Polish port is expected to sell the vessel for scrap with proceeds from the sale covering unpaid dockage fees.