Russia’s Primorsk International Shipping Ltd. has requested a US court to approve the sale of its nine Arctic-going oil tankers to an affiliate of Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, for $215 million.
Bankruptcy court papers show SCF Tankers Ltd., the Sovcomflot affiliate, won the bidding at an auction held June 30 in London, reports The Wall Street Journal.
A $208 million offer from Hafnia Tankers Ltd., an oil shipper based in Denmark, is second in line in case the winning bid falls through, says the WSJ.
Cyprus-registered Primorsk filed for chapter 11 protection in January at the end of a six-month forbearance period. Months later, the shipper sought court approval for a restructuring plan that would have set aside 25% of the reorganized company for Primorsk’s two owners and senior executives. Because the duo also own about a third of Primorsk’s outstanding bonds, they would have ended up with control with a 49% stake in the reorganized company, says WSJ. Primorsk says it is currently operating profitably and paying interest to its lenders. The company’s fleet, which is capable of transporting crude oil in extreme Arctic conditions, is fully deployed and operating normally, according to court papers.
Sovcomflot’s fleet of 140 vessels also specializes in shipping oil through icy conditions, according to its website, said the reports.
