March 30 (Reuters) – A Boeing (BA.N) 747-8 freighter leased from Russian airline AirBridgeCargo flew to California from Hong Kong, according to FlightRadar24, after a U.S. judge signed an order clearing the lessor BOC Aviation Ltd (2588.HK) to take it over.

The order was unsealed and made public on Tuesday, according to court documents, and the plane arrived in the United States on March 25, according to the flight tracking service.

BOC Aviation declined to comment and its attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Singapore-based BOC Aviation is one of several global aircraft lessors that had planes on lease with Russian airlines before sanctions against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the cancellation of flights. leases and insurance policies.

More than 400 leased planes worth nearly $10 billion remain in Russia despite Monday’s deadline for contract cancellations, although the Interfax news agency reported last week that 78 had been seized from the stranger. Read more

Shares of BOC Aviation closed 4.4% higher on Wednesday, outpacing a 1.4% rise in the Hong Kong Index (.HSI).

The lessor said on March 10 that its 18 planes leased from Russian airlines had a book value of $935 million and could be affected by cancellations of insurance policies. Read more

In court documents filed March 14, BOC Aviation sought orders that one of three 747-8 freighters leased from AirBridgeCargo that was in Hong Kong be picked up and flown to the United States for storage.

BOC Aviation said the plane was worth $148 million and AirBridgeCargo broke the leases of two other 747-8s when it flew the planes, which were in mainland China, to Russia despite explicit instructions of the lessor to immobilize them on March 5 after insurance coverage. has been cancelled.

One of the planes returned to Russia even after its certificate of airworthiness was suspended by Bermuda, the place of registration, BOC Aviation said.

Both of these freighters remain in Russia, according to data from FlightRadar24.

The Volga-Dnepr Group, owner of AirBridgeCargo, said on March 18 that it had grounded the subsidiary’s fleet of Boeing aircraft due to Western sanctions, according to media reports.

A Volga-Dnepr spokesman on Wednesday declined to comment on the situation, citing ongoing negotiations with donors.

Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney; additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; edited by Gerry Doyle and Jason Neely

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