Mercator Lines (Singapore) (MLS) is exiting dry bulk. The Singapore-listed arm of the Indian owner outlined plans to divest itself from dry bulk in a release today.
The news follows on from Friday’s announcement of a mass resignation of non-executive board directors at the Singaporean company.
MLS has debts of more than $165m and has been racking up significant losses in recent years – $125m for fiscal 2015 alone.
“The Bulk Carriers business has been the worst affected by the downturn in the shipping cycle, with the Baltic Dry Freight having collapsed from a level of 11,793 in 2008 to 373 on January 15, 2016 and not showing any signs of early revival in future,” the company said in a statement.
The fleet of MLS consists of 12 owned ships and one chartered in – a mix of panamaxes and kamsarmaxes.
The company stressed that all other divisions of Mercator India – including dredging, tankers, coal, logistics, oil and gas – are operating “satisfactorily”.
