A search for three crew members reported missing after a Thai-flagged cargo vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month failed to locate them, according to ship’s owner.
Mayuree Naree, owned by Bangkok-based Precious Shipping Pcl, was struck on March 11 by Iranian projectiles while transiting the strategic waterway in ballast. Of the
23 crew members on board, 20 were rescued by the Omani navy after abandoning the vessel in a lif
eboat. The other three were believed to be trapped in the engine room at the stern, where the ship was hit and a fire broke out.
The ship ran aground on an Iranian island last week, and a search team that boarded the vessel couldn’t
find the missing crew, Precious Shipping Managing Director Khalid M. Hashim said in a statement on Monday.
The families of the crew members have been informed, Hashim said. The company will liaise with relevant parties and consider further appropriate steps, he added.
Thailand had sought the help of Iranian and Omani authorities in the search and rescue of the vessel. On Saturday, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand h
ad secured assurances from Iran allowing its ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as the country grapples with fuel shortages. Bangchak, a Thai refiner and retailer, said last week a crude oil had tanker safely transited the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for crude and gas shipments, has been largely shut down since the Iran conflict began, triggering a surge in prices and raising fears of supply shortages.
Mayuree Naree is covered by war-risk insurance, and Precious Shipping previously said it does not expect the incident to have a material financial impact or disrupt overall operations at this stage.
After almost a decade of litigation, investigations and deliberations, criminal fraud cases against reported billionaire and North Carolina insurance entrepreneur Greg
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Lindberg appear to finally be nearing an end. A sentencing hearing is expected in the next few months, follow
ed by a federal judge’s decision on how much in restitution Lindberg owes—and to whom.
A special master, a bankruptcy-specialist attorney appointed by the federal court in North Carolina, last week recommended that Lindberg pay just over $
1.6 billion in restitution to seven insurance companies and financial firms in North Carolina and Bermud
a. Those are companies that Lindberg once controlled – and from which he was convi
cted of diverting funds for other enterprises and for personal gain in a scheme that rea
ched across the continent and involved an attempt to bribe an insurance commissioner.
The largest share of restitution, $821 million, should go to Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Co., the largest of insurers that Lindberg founded, then skimmed millions from over several years.
