Two container ships detained in Malta since 2022 are free again: the two 8,204 TEU units “MSC Bilbao” and “MSC Valencia” were detained in Valletta as part of Western sanctions against Russian state-owned companies.
The background to this was the ownership structure at the time: both ships were linked to the Russian state leasing company GTLK, which had been sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) following the invasion of Ukraine.
As has now become known, the ships built in 2007 were transferred to new, non-sanctioned owners on July 7. They now sail under the names “TSC Dorado” and “TSC London” for TSC, which has no known links to Russia.
The specific details of the takeover, such as the purchase price, have not been disclosed. The ships are now to be put back into commercial service. It remains to be seen whether the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) will once again employ them on a time charter basis.
GTLK has been the focus of Western authorities since the sanctions began in 2022. In addition to container ships, numerous tankers, offshore vessels and aircraft have also been frozen or confiscated.
