Buyers pitch for held ship

Tenders have close for the sale of a cargo ship stranded in Auckland for more than three months after being arrested by High Court officials.

The Annapurna has been languishing at Bledisloe Wharf since its arrival from Chile on August 1, when it was arrested on an application by a Japanese bank which holds a mortgage over the 148m vessel.

Its owner, New York company Eastwind Maritime, has gone into bankruptcy.

The Maritime Union found some of the 23 crew had not been paid for a year before their arrival and a shipmate is believed to have been swept overboard on the voyage.

But Christchurch ship broker Geoff Fraser, appointed by the High Court to sell the vessel, said the Aozora Bank of Tokyo had since paid the crew's full arrears in expectation of recovering the money from the impending sale.

Most of the crew had flown back to Myanmar, but four seamen had stayed with the vessel on wages being paid by the bank.

Mr Fraser has received strong interest in the vessel from would-be buyers and expects a good result.

Auckland police have found no suggestion of foul play in the disappearance of the crew member, last seen by shipmates when he on deck in rough weather four days out from Chile.

The Annapurna was among several ships arrested around the world after Eastwind filed for bankruptcy in June, prompting successful claims by the International Transport Federation for arrears and repatriation for crews stranded in Chile, Norway, Britain, Panama and the United States.