THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) will bid out the MV Captain Ufuk a second time following a recent bidding failure.
Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales said the BOC is prepared to go into a negotiated bid if the second attempt also fails.
The Captain Ufuk was seized on charges of smuggling 14 large crates containing high-powered weapons in August 2009. The vessel is valued at P89 million.
The vessel carried assault rifles and 9mm pistols acquired from Pindan gun makers in Jakarta for $86,000. Documents on board the vessel showed that the Panamanian-flag carrier originated from Turkey, stopped over in Indonesia and had a course plotted for Batangas.
Under government bidding rules, state agencies may go into a negotiated bid after two consecutive failed bidding attempts. But government will have to reduce the asking price by at least 20% to attract buyers.
If the bidding is successful, the BOC gets to keep 20% of the selling price to pay for the vessel’s maintenance.
Since September, the agency has been shelling out P300,000 a month for maintenance paid out to a third party.
Aside from the Captain Ufuk, BOC is eyeing the sale of cruise ship MV 7107 to recover P19.8 million in duties and taxes owed by the vessel owner to the agency. The vessel has been in BOC custody since the latter part of last year.
