Two container vessels detained in Malta since 2022 due to their connection with a Russian state-owned company have finally been released after a change in ownership.
The ships, previously known as MSC Bilbao and MSC Valencia, were held at the Port of Valletta for almost three years. Each ship has a capacity of 8,204 TEU and was operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) under bare-boat charter agreements.
The vessels were originally linked to GTLK Joint-Stock Company, also known as State Transport Leasing Company (STLC), a Russian government-owned transport leasing company.
GTLK has been on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list since early 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to these ties, the ships were detained by Maltese authorities in 2022.
On 7 July 2025, ownership of both ships was officially transferred to Trans-Shipping Company (TSC). After the transfer, the vessels were renamed TSC Dorado and TSC
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