Since April, the Newlead Castellano has been anchored off the Georgia coast, near Savannah—with a crew on board that couldn't come ashore.
Now, after several motionless months, the Filipino sailors are close to heading home. The auction of the ship is bringing an end to what Splash247, a maritime news site, called a "shameful story of crew neglect."
The cargo ship had been seized by U.S. marshals because its owners had stopped paying on their loans. The ship would be sold to pay off those debts—a process "similar in concept" to a home foreclosure, said attorney Todd Baiad, who represents the lenders.
"Because it's a movable object, there's some intricacies involved," he explains. "And, you know, you've got crew members."
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