GENERAL COMMENTS
In the wake of the Perestroika, the various sections of the formerly very centralised administrated Soviet merchant navy were looking for more freedom and independence. The Georgian Shipping Company in Batumi, in the Soviet Republic of Georgia at the eastern shore of the Black Sea formed in 1990 a joint venture with a British company in London. This new company was called the Anglo Georgian Shipping Company Ltd. London with its office located in the centre of London, near Waterloo station.
The plan was to select various ships of the Georgian fleet, to repair them and to put them under a free flag, in order to be more independent from the political developments in the former Soviet Union and to have better access to western bank credits and to the international economy.
ABC Maritime AG secured various repair contracts and a total of 7 vessels were repaired in Poland during the period from January 1991 until July 1992. These vessels were 3 bulk carriers and 4 product tankers in the following Polish ports:
| M/S LEON | Szczecin | 02.01.1991 - 09.04.1991 | 98 days |
| M/T SHOTA | Szczecin | 27.07.1991 - 06.09.1991 | 41 days |
| M/S LEVAN | Szczecin | 20.08.1991 - 31.10.1991 | 73 days |
| M/T TAMAR | Gdynia | 18.09.1991 - 31.01.1992 | 136 days |
| M/T NINO | Szczecin | 23.09.1991 - 07.11.1991 | 46 days |
| M/T MEDEA | Swinoujscie | 02.01.1992 - 14.03.1992 | 73 days |
| M/S ADJARIA | Szczecin | 06.05.1992 - 18.07.1992 | 74 days |
All these vessels were handed-over to a ship management company after completion of repairs, as ABC Maritime AG at this stage was still too small to cope with all the work involved with the running of these vessels. The officers and ratings of the ships were all Georgian nationals, mostly from the area around Batumi (region of Adjaria).
ADJARIA
Built in Poland by Stocznia Szczecinska im A. Warskiego, Szczecin for the Soviet merchant navy, the keel was laid on 12.04.1973. and launched on 20.07.1973, christened by Mrs. Wladyslawa Kuczynska. The ship was named GENERAL LESELIDZE according to a Georgian WW II General. Delivered on 17.12.1973 to the Georgian Shipping Company of Batumi, Soviet Republic of Georgia. GRT: 20,512, NRT: 12,652, DWT: 31,923. Lloyd’s Register / IMO No.: 7333418. Official No.: M-30641. Call sign: UDXL.
This standard, gearless bulk carrier was a further development of the class II bulkcarrier as the "Levan", built in the same shipyard and the hull number was therefore B-447-III-17. The main difference was the main engine, which was now a Cegielski-Sulzer 6RND76 coupled to a CP ( Controllable Pitch-propeller). Another distinctive feature were the two slim twin funnels on the boat deck. The vessel was a sistership of the "Leon".
In 1992 ABC Maritime AG repaired the vessel on behalf of Anglo-Georgian Shipping Company and the ship was changed from Soviet flag to the Maltese flag and was renamed ADJARIA. Owners: Adjaria Shipping Co. Ltd. Valletta, official No: 3200, call sign: 9HUX3. Note, Adjaria is the name of the region around the port of Batumi. These repairs were carried out at Gryffia Shipyard in Szczecin, Poland from 06.05.-18.07.1992 and upon completion the ship was handed over into the technical management of V-Ships, Monaco.
On 28.04.1994 the technical management of the vessel was transferred from V-Ships to ABC Maritime AG and the management remained with the company until 01.01.1997, when the owners transferred the technical management to a Cyprus company.
On 01.01.1997 the ship was sold to Surmene Denizcilik Nakliyati Ticaret Ltd. Sirketi (Management: Dost Denizcilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Sirketi (Dost Shipping Group), Istanbul), Istanbul, and renamed HACI KEMAL BEY, call sign: TCWG.
In March 2000 sold to Korea Tonghae Shipping Co. (Management: Korea Tonghae Shipping Co., Pyongyang), Chongjin and renamed SONG GANG. GRT: 20,074, NRT: 10,831 DWT: 31,923. Official No.: n.a. Call sign: HMCT.
On 21.11.2002 sold for demolition.
SwissShips-HPS, 2012