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Petitioner found out that there were many sunken barges in the
rivers and in the Persian Gulf and believed that raising the
barges and their cargoes could be profitable. Around 1956 or
1957, he purchased a barge and an old crane and mounted the crane
on the barge. Petitioner purchased the rights to a sunken barge
from the insurance company. With some hired help and the barge
and crane, petitioner raised the sunken barge. This turned out
to be a successful venture. Around 1958, he founded Gulf Divers,
a marine salvage company which he operated out of Khorramshahr.
In the next few years, Gulf Divers salvaged numerous sunken
barges and their cargoes.
In subsequent years, the name of the business changed a few
times. In 1968, the name of the business was changed to Persian
Gulf Diving Joint Stock Co.; in 1973, it was changed to Persian
Gulf Limited Liability Co.; and in 1975, it was changed for the
last time to Gulf Marine Service Co. (GMS).3 The name was
changed to GMS so the business would not be associated only with
diving, but also with a broader variety of marine operations such
as dredging, underwater repairs, and construction.
3 Hereinafter, the company is referred to as GMS for all
time periods for simplicity.
Additionally, there is substantial evidence indicating that
GMS was incorporated between 1968 and 1975, but the necessity for
such determination is rendered moot by our disposition of the bad
debt issue. Consequently, we need not consider petitioners’
objections to the admission into evidence of excerpts from the
publication known as the Official Gazette of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
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