Rickmers Maritime wins loan extension
Rickmers Maritime, the Singapore-listed container ship charter owner whose survival during the trade and economic recession was in doubt, won a five-year extension to repay a $130 million top-up loan facility by its bankers.
Polaris Shipmanagement, a sister company in Germany's Rickmers Group, also released Rickmers Maritime from an obligation to buy seven container ships worth more than $900 million, according to a stock exchange filing Wednesday. Rickmers Maritime will pay Polaris $64 million in compensation, $15 million in cash and the remaining $49 million in an interest-bearing convertible loan.
The loan extension follows a financial restructuring Rickmers Maritime reached with its creditors and the Rickmers Group, which has a 33.1 percent stake, in April. A month before that, its auditor raised “significant” doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern because of liabilities and commitments exceeding $1 billion.
All 16 of Rickmers Maritime’s ships are fully employed through 201, with 15 on long-term charters to CMA CGM, MOL, Hanjin Shipping and Italia Marittima, a unit of Taiwan’s Evergreen.
The remaining vessel has been chartered to Chile’s CSAV for 12 months with an option for an additional year.
Polaris Shipmanagement, a sister company in Germany's Rickmers Group, also released Rickmers Maritime from an obligation to buy seven container ships worth more than $900 million, according to a stock exchange filing Wednesday. Rickmers Maritime will pay Polaris $64 million in compensation, $15 million in cash and the remaining $49 million in an interest-bearing convertible loan.
The loan extension follows a financial restructuring Rickmers Maritime reached with its creditors and the Rickmers Group, which has a 33.1 percent stake, in April. A month before that, its auditor raised “significant” doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern because of liabilities and commitments exceeding $1 billion.
All 16 of Rickmers Maritime’s ships are fully employed through 201, with 15 on long-term charters to CMA CGM, MOL, Hanjin Shipping and Italia Marittima, a unit of Taiwan’s Evergreen.
The remaining vessel has been chartered to Chile’s CSAV for 12 months with an option for an additional year.