KRALENDIJK – On Monday, the oil tanker M/T Hafnia Asia collected over 370,000 barrels of oil from the tanks of the bankrupt BOPEC. 

The loading operation was pre-approved by Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) and is being carried out by the BOPEC team in collaboration with several local contractors.

The curator of BOPEC, Stan van Liere, was able to (publicly) sell the respective load of oil after being granted permission by the Court of Bonaire. The Court has determined that the proceeds from the sale do not currently belong to the creditors of BOPEC, and a substantive procedure will be conducted to determine the rightful claimant.

In the coming period, the curator will conduct this procedure on behalf of the joint creditors of BOPEC.

Important

The sale and removal of the oil are important steps in the settlement of BOPEC’s bankruptcy and a positive development for a potential restart of the terminal.

The M/T Hafnia Asia is expected to remain off the coast of BOPEC until Thursday, May 18, 2023.