With a restructuring deal in the offing, brokers are rushing to sell off tonnage from Ocean Tankers, the deepsea shipping arm of bust Hin Leong Trading.
Accounting firm EY, Ocean Tankers’ court-appointed supervisors in Singapore, has put forward two restructuring proposals for the shipping company, one of the largest tanker names in Southeast Asia.
Ahead of the restructuring path being decided, Splash understands Ocean Tankers is being encouraged to sell some of its more modern units, with brokers now isolating some ships that have no claims against them.
“When and if they go into receivership, everything stops altogether,” one broking source told Splash today.
According to Braemar ACM, as of July 10, in terms of dwt, at least 40% of the Ocean Tanker’s trading fleet was idle as uncertainty surrounds its restructuring procedures.
Based on AIS tracking of Ocean Tanker’s trading fleet, three VLCCs, five LR2s, three LR1s, 15 MRs and six handies are idling and sitting out of the trading fleet.
Restructuring announcements regarding both Hin Leong and Ocean Tankers are expected soon.
Hin Leong’s demise is among the most high-profile financial casualties in Southeast Asia this year. Trouble at the group, established by billionaire OK Lim in 1963, first surfaced in April when it emerged Hin Leong was stuck with a large amount of physical oil it had purchased just before the price of oil nosedived. Subsequent investigations showed the company had covered up significant losses over the years.
