Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. has paid around ¥4 billion in connection with the recent seizure of its iron ore carrier by a Shanghai court due to a legal dispute, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
On Saturday, the Shanghai Maritime Court seized the 320-meter-long carrier berthed at Majishan Port in Shengsi, Zhejiang province, citing Mitsui O.S.K.'s failure to pay compensation for the loss of two Chinese ships in the 1930s.
Mitsui had been negotiating a settlement after its appeal was rejected in 2010 for a retrial of the case in which the company was ordered to pay around ¥2.9 billion.
The company is believed to have paid the amount ordered by the court plus interest on money. The seized carrier Baosteel Emotion is expected to depart from the port later in the day.
Tokyo has conveyed its concern over the court's decision to Beijing, saying it goes against a bilateral communique in 1972 that renounced Chinese individuals' right to wartime compensation. Beijing said the matter was unrelated to war reparations between the two countries, calling it a common commercial contract dispute.