ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Turkish energy firm Karkey Karadeniz ElektrikUretim A.S. (Karkey) to sail one of its power-vessels to Dubai for maintenance purposes.

Karkey was one of 12 rental power companies that were awarded contracts in 2009. However, the Supreme Court cancelled all contracts in March 2012 after learning about lack of transparency and the companies’ failure to produce power in the required quantity despite having received money in advance.

The Turkish energy firm has submitted a claim of $345 million against Pakistan with the World Bank-affiliated International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for losses incurred by its vessels, in terms of damage or depreciation.

Official sources at the water and power ministry said that the ICSID in its October 8 decision had allowed a ship of the Karkey Rental Power Company to sail to Dubai for dry-docking and flag registry. But due to a decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the NAB refused to allow the ship of Karkey to cross the boundaries of Pakistan.

Following the decision of the apex court, the ministry of water and power once again approached the ICSID and re-submitted an application. The ministry pleaded to the ICSID that Karkey Rental Power Plant could not cross the ocean boundaries of Pakistan without paying $128 million in the light of a decision of the SC. The ministry also pleaded the ICSID to issue an advice to the Karkey power company to submit a guarantee bond worth $128m with the ministry and take the ship to Dubai. And, the guarantee bond would be given back to Karkey when its ship would come back and would enter the oceanic territory of Pakistan after completing dry-docking and repairing.

The sources also said that ICSID in its second judgement declared that there was no need for Karkey to submit an additional guarantee bond worth $128m with Pakistan when three vessels of Karkey Karadeniz ElektrikUretim A.S. (Karkey) would continue to remain in the territory of the country during that time.

On finding the ICSID judgement, the power ministry requested the NAB to grant approval to the Karkey to sail a vessel to Dubai for maintenance purposes.

A spokesman of the water & power ministry when contacted said that the ministry has approached the NAB and requested the bureau to issue NOC to the Karkey in the light of the judgment of ICSID.

The NAB has now issued NOC to Karkey to cross Pakistan’s territory while three vessels of Karkey will remain in Pakistan’s territory. More, Karkey’s vessel will remain in Dubai for 15 to 20 days where its dry-docking and flag registry will be done. He further made it clear that Karkey is bound to bring back the vessel to Pakistan after necessary maintenance.

Earlier, the Sindh High Court had issued a stay order against the crossing of Pakistan’s territory by Karkey’s vessel. The vessel will be able to cross the territory of Pakistan and to sail to Dubai only after the vacation of stay order, he added.

Interestingly, Karkey Karadeniz ElektrikUretim A.S. (Karkey) has not given a guarantee but the government of Pakistan has given her guarantee to the NAB to allow the vessel to sail to Dubai.

A NAB spokesman said that the bureau has issued the NOC as per the SC judgement. He also said that the government has given guarantee to NAB that the vessel would return to the country after completion of necessary maintenance.

He said that the bureau on the basis of that guarantee had allowed the vessel to leave for Dubai.