The Luxembourg ship was considered a commodity

The Zheng He, owned by European Dredging Company SA of the Jan De Nul Group with a Luxembourg license, was contracted for several dredging projects in the Bahamas in 2023 and 2024. However, in order to avoid damage from hurricanes, it was sheltered in the Gulf of Mexico in the fall of 2023, where it was searched by Mexican customs on November 1, 2023. The reason was the assumption that the ship should have been classified as a "foreign commodity item"

The Zheng He was searched while in the port of Tampico for crew change and routine repairs. Jan De Nul Group, with over 30 years of experience in Mexico, categorically rejects the illegal classification of the ship as a commodity. After a year of detaining the vessel in the Port of Tampico, the company continues to maintain its position.

Jan De Nul Group reports that it has attempted to resolve the issue on more than one occasion. In February 2024, the Zheng He was even declared the property of the Mexican Federal Tax Administration by the authorities and subject to a tax penalty of more than 1.6 billion Mexican pesos (approximately 78 million euros), which the group considers "excessive and unfair".

A Mexican court intervened in the dispute and ruled on March 25 that the ship was legally in the port of Tampico and should not have been imported. The court also noted that there had been irregularities in the search. Luxembourg, in turn, appealed to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The ship's crew is currently safe.