ARRESTED livestock carrier the Yangtze Fortune, now a part of the furniture in the Portland Bay anchorage, has been sold for the sum of US$8.5, though who will get their hands on a share of the cash remains unclear.

The legal proceedings brought by what is now seven parties claiming debts owed by the Liberian flagged ship’s Chinese owners returned to the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on Friday, February 17, before Justice Angus Stewart.

The money claimed by those seven makes for around half of the sale price, while significant costs have mounted on the Court to keep the ship insured, supplied and at anchor since the appointed Admiralty Marshal arrested the Fortune in December.

Adding to that tally are legal fees, costs incurred by the sale and other administrative work and finally the wages owed to the 26 Filipino crew who were onboard when the ship came into Portland in September, at the time already unpaid for a number of months and according to union officials are owed a combined sum of well over a quarter of a million dollars.

Adding another potentially major layer of debt on the ship, the legal representative of the owners, Michelle Taylor, told Justice Stewart in court on Friday that they have recently become aware a mortgage on the ship.

Justice Strewart asked for a “ballpark amount” on the money owed on the debt, but Ms Taylor said all she knew was that the mortgage existed.

The lawyer representing the main claimant on the Fortune, Singaporean supply company Dan Bunkering Pty. Ltd., also told the court of his client’s intention to make an application for an early distribution of some of the money, which would go to paying the claims that are undisputed in being the top priority for repayment, though did not specify which claims those would be.

Justice Stewart resolved to appoint a referee to assess all claims against the ship, the amounts sought, and the priority of their repayment, to hasten the process of the proceedings.

He decided to wait to make orders in this direction until after the money was due to be received from the winning bidder though, as “there can be some slip between up and lip” that may mean advertising for claims before the money comes in might be too pre-emptive.

Justice Stewart set a return date for March 9, two days after the money is due, with the ship to remain in Portland in the meantime.