Thai Prince's Plane Is Impounded in Germany
By DAVID JOLLY and THOMAS FULLER
Published: July 13, 2011
* Recommend
* Twitter
* Sign In to E-Mail
* Print
*
Reprints
* ShareClose
o Linkedin
o Digg
o MySpace
o Permalink
o
A Boeing 737 used by the Thai crown prince has been impounded in Germany as part of a long-running commercial dispute, and the Thai government said Wednesday that it was seeking the jet’s release.
Peter Prümm, a spokesman for the Munich Airport, said that the German federal authorities seized the plane there on Tuesday and that it remained parked at the airport.
Werner Schneider, administrator for Walter Bau, a German construction company that declared bankruptcy in 2005, said by telephone that his office had requested the action in a lengthy contractual dispute over a Bangkok elevated highway project. Walter Bau was part of a consortium to design and build the Don Muang Tollway in the Thai capital.
An international arbitration panel in July 2009 found the Thai government to have been in breach of its obligations to Walter Bau for, among other things, refusing to raise tolls on the road, as had been agreed in the contract. It ordered the Thai government to pay more than €30 million, or $42 million, in damages and legal costs.
“This drastic measure is virtually the last resort,” Mr. Schneider said earlier in a news release. “The Thai government always stalled and did not respond to our demands.”
Thai officials say the case is under appeal, but Mr. Schneider said the Thai government had made no effort to challenge the arbitrators’ ruling.
Thani Thongphakdi, a spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, confirmed that an aircraft had been impounded, but said it belonged to Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. The prince, who spends much of his time in Germany, is a trained pilot and flies the plane himself.
“What transpired last night was the impounding of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s plane,” Mr. Thani said. “It’s a misunderstanding on the German side that his plane is the property of the Thai government, when in fact it is not. The plane belongs to His Royal Highness.”
The Thai government has contacted the German authorities and “expressed concern,” Mr. Thani said. “We are working with them to rectify the situation.”
“The case has yet to be finalized,” Mr. Thani said. “The legal procedures are still ongoing.”
Mr. Prümm, the airport spokesman, said ownership of the plane was unclear after the legal action.
John Reyels, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry, said, “We regret the inconvenience caused to the Crown Prince,” adding, “But I cannot comment on the steps taken by the judicial authorities.”
The plane, a 737-400 built in 1995, would most likely have a resale value of $5 million to $6 million, said Paul Hayes, head of insurance at Ascend, an aviation consulting firm in London. It is configured with 36 seats, he said, compared with the maximum 189 seats such jets have in commercial airline use.
Walter Bau was one of the largest construction companies in Germany when it sought protection from creditors in February 2005, costing more than 4,000 workers their jobs.
Mr. Schneider, the administrator, noted that in October 2005, he used the same tactic in Istanbul to impound an Airbus jet owned by Middle East Airlines in a dispute with the Lebanese government over debts owed to Walter Bau.
David Jolly reported from Paris and Thomas Fuller from Bangkok. Nicola Clark contributed reporting from Paris.
A version of this article appeared in print on July 14, 2011, in The International Herald Tribune with the headline: Thai Prince's Plane Is Impounded in Germany.
* Sign In to E-Mail
* Print
*
Reprints
Connect with The New York Times on Facebook.
Zurück
Weiter
Werbung
