BOC to auction 2 ships linked to tax evasion, smuggling

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs will auction two vessels that were earlier seized in separate cases of tax evasion and gun smuggling.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said his agency is readying the auction of Filipino-owned M/V 7,107 Islands Cruise and Panamanian-registered M/V Captain Ufuk.

“The Customs is readying the auction of the two vessels the soonest time possible to gain non-traditional revenues for the bureau,” Morales said.

M/V Ufuk, which earlier figured in a gun smuggling case, costs about P89 million. It is docked at the South Harbor.

The Islands Cruise, docked at North Harbor, costs $2 million.

“We are incurring more expenses because we hired eight seafarers to man the ship. Due to the typhoon, the Philippine Ports Authority told us to transfer the vessel away from the pier to avoid damaging the pier,” Morales said.

The Department of Finance ordered the forfeiture of the cruise ship for failure to pay customs duties and taxes amounting to P19 million.

The case was elevated to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

Islands Cruise filed a motion to suspend seizure and release the vessel, but the motion was denied for lack of merit.

On the other hand, M/V Captain UFUK was linked to firearms smuggling last August. Customs officials seized 14 large crates of high-powered firearms at the subport of Mariveles, Bataan.

The vessel arrived in Mariveles without notice, carrying the automatic high-powered weapons, which were undocumented and not listed on its manifest.

Documents on board the vessel show that the Panamanian flag carrier originated from Turkey, stopped over at Indonesia and had a course plotted for Batangas.

The vessel carried assault rifles and 9mm pistols which were legally acquired from Pindan gun makers in Jakarta for $86,000.       – Helen Flores