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The 'Vega' has been granted permission to sail to India for scrapping, six months after being sold by KiwiRail. The former 'Aratere' has been at anchor in Tasman Bay since December 2025, awaiting approval to enter India where it will be dismantled. The company that owns the 'Vega', the Jahaj Solutions FZE, said in the last two months, it had organised for around 10 crew members to return home, while the rest had been happy to remain on board. Maritime NZ investigators spoke to all crew members while the ship was in Port Nelson in April and did not have any concerns about their contracts or welfare. The 'Vega' was flagged to Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, which means New Zealand's wage and labour laws did not apply to the crew onboard. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) confirmed the ship, which needed a permit to leave New Zealand because it was deemed hazardous waste, has been granted an export permit. It had recently received information from an authority in India that meant the export permit could be completed. The permit was for the whole ship and was valid until May 2027. The Jahaj Solutions FZE confirmed the plans for the ship to depart for India at the end of the month. The CentrePort shipping schedule showeds the 'Vega' was due to arrive in Wellington on May 28 and depart on May 31. Report with photo: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/596391/retired-interislander-ferry-cleared-to-make-final-sailing-to-india?fbclid=Iwb21leASDw2djbGNrBIPDXmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHqyXMV_V8WPAmjDD_Cg4jos6tuowOwQJCwrePSWRZBW1g5Yo4MMTBhqrmJ5y_aem_eG9cxIqa4j8pNwmnXRLm6g

The Dubai-based GMS, a buyer of ships and offshore vessels for recycling, has received the first U.S permit to buy vessels sanctioned over Iran trade. According to the licenses issued in April, four container ships will be scrapped, namely the 'Yogi', 'Timon', 'Rantanplan' and 'Bigli'.The vessels were named in a Treasury Department notice in July 2025, which also announced “massive action” against the shadow fleet and entourage of Hossein Shamkhani, whose father was an adviser to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. GMS has started the process to acquire the ships, but buyers in the next stage of the deal were cautious since the ships were under sanctions. The company has requested the OFAC to remove them from its blacklist. The licences could pave the way for more such ships to reach the end of their useful lives. The four ships were operated by United Arab Emirates-based Marvise SMC DMCC, which was managed by Shamkhani’s network, according to the Treasury Department. The owner of the vessels was separate from Marvise and not sanctioned. The container ships currently destined for the scrapyard sailed in the past under names such as ‘OOCL Kaohsiung’, but in their twilight years as charter vessels for SeaLead, they were given names of cartoon and comic book characters. For instance, 'Rantanplan' is the dim-witted little dog of cowboy Lucky Luke, and 'Timon' is the arrogant meerkat from The Lion King. Two years ago, the 'Pinocchio' made headlines when it was fired upon by the Houthis in the Red Sea, butit was also among the vessels that have since been sanctioned and has been idle since summer 2025, along with ships like the 'Hakuna Matata' and the 'Bertie'. It was therefore expected that the US would approve the scrapping of even more shadow fleet vessels.

The Dubai-based GMS, a buyer of ships and offshore vessels for recycling, has received the first U.S permit to buy vessels sanctioned over Iran trade. According to the licenses issued in April, four container ships will be scrapped, namely the 'Yogi' ('Yes', 'Timon', 'Rantanplan' ('Plan' and 'Bigli'.The vessels were named in a Treasury Department notice in July 2025, which also announced “massive action” against the shadow fleet and entourage of Hossein Shamkhani, whose father was an adviser to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. GMS has started the process to acquire the ships, but buyers in the next stage of the deal were cautious since the ships were under sanctions. The company has requested the OFAC to remove them from its blacklist. The licences could pave the way for more such ships to reach the end of their useful lives. The four ships were operated by United Arab Emirates-based Marvise SMC DMCC, which was managed by Shamkhani’s network, according to the Treasury Department. The owner of the vessels was separate from Marvise and not sanctioned. The container ships currently destined for the scrapyard sailed in the past under names such as ‘OOCL Kaohsiung’, but in their twilight years as charter vessels for SeaLead, they were given names of cartoon and comic book characters. For instance, 'Rantanplan' is the dim-witted little dog of cowboy Lucky Luke, and 'Timon' is the arrogant meerkat from The Lion King. Two years ago, the 'Pinocchio' made headlines when it was fired upon by the Houthis in the Red Sea, butit was also among the vessels that have since been sanctioned and has been idle since summer 2025, along with ships like the 'Hakuna Matata' and the 'Bertie'. It was therefore expected that the US would approve the scrapping of even more shadow fleet vessels.

The Dubai-based GMS, a buyer of ships and offshore vessels for recycling, has received the first U.S permit to buy vessels sanctioned over Iran trade. According to the licenses issued in April, four container ships will be scrapped, namely the 'Yogi', 'Timon', 'Rantanplan' and 'Bigli'.The vessels were named in a Treasury Department notice in July 2025, which also announced “massive action” against the shadow fleet and entourage of Hossein Shamkhani, whose father was an adviser to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. GMS has started the process to acquire the ships, but buyers in the next stage of the deal were cautious since the ships were under sanctions. The company has requested the OFAC to remove them from its blacklist. The licences could pave the way for more such ships to reach the end of their useful lives. The four ships were operated by United Arab Emirates-based Marvise SMC DMCC, which was managed by Shamkhani’s network, according to the Treasury Department. The owner of the vessels was separate from Marvise and not sanctioned. The container ships currently destined for the scrapyard sailed in the past under names such as ‘OOCL Kaohsiung’, but in their twilight years as charter vessels for SeaLead, they were given names of cartoon and comic book characters. For instance, 'Rantanplan' is the dim-witted little dog of cowboy Lucky Luke, and 'Timon' is the arrogant meerkat from The Lion King. Two years ago, the 'Pinocchio' made headlines when it was fired upon by the Houthis in the Red Sea, butit was also among the vessels that have since been sanctioned and has been idle since summer 2025, along with ships like the 'Hakuna Matata' and the 'Bertie'. It was therefore expected that the US would approve the scrapping of even more shadow fleet vessels.

The Dubai-based GMS, a buyer of ships and offshore vessels for recycling, has received the first U.S permit to buy vessels sanctioned over Iran trade. According to the licenses issued in April, four container ships will be scrapped, namely the 'Yogi' ('Yes'), 'Timon', 'Rantanplan' and 'Bigli'.The vessels were named in a Treasury Department notice in July 2025, which also announced “massive action” against the shadow fleet and entourage of Hossein Shamkhani, whose father was an adviser to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. GMS has started the process to acquire the ships, but buyers in the next stage of the deal were cautious since the ships were under sanctions. The company has requested the OFAC to remove them from its blacklist. The licences could pave the way for more such ships to reach the end of their useful lives. The four ships were operated by United Arab Emirates-based Marvise SMC DMCC, which was managed by Shamkhani’s network, according to the Treasury Department. The owner of the vessels was separate from Marvise and not sanctioned. The container ships currently destined for the scrapyard sailed in the past under names such as ‘OOCL Kaohsiung’, but in their twilight years as charter vessels for SeaLead, they were given names of cartoon and comic book characters. For instance, 'Rantanplan' is the dim-witted little dog of cowboy Lucky Luke, and 'Timon' is the arrogant meerkat from The Lion King. Two years ago, the 'Pinocchio' made headlines when it was fired upon by the Houthis in the Red Sea, butit was also among the vessels that have since been sanctioned and has been idle since summer 2025, along with ships like the 'Hakuna Matata' and the 'Bertie'. It was therefore expected that the US would approve the scrapping of even more shadow fleet vessels.