MPC Container Ships, owners of one of the fastest growing boxship fleets in the world in recent years, is opening dialogue with creditors as liquidity concerns arise.
The Oslo-listed company reported a net loss of $10.7m in Q1 yesterday, and admitted that following the outbreak of Covid-19, the group is experiencing significantly reduced charter rates and utilisation of its fleet, something that has strained its liquidity and its ability to be in compliance with covenants under some of its debt agreements in the short- to mid-term.
CEO Constantin Baack commented: “The rapid spread of Covid-19, the preventative measures imposed in various countries to counter the pandemic and the inevitable impacts on containerised trade of goods have lead economic conditions to deteriorate significantly compared with our expectations at the end of 2019. The severity and fluidity of the situation makes it challenging to anticipate the timing and shape of a recovery.”
In the space of just three years since it launched MPC Container Ships has built up a fleet of around 70 boxships.
The troubled financial state of many of the world’s boxship tonnage providers was the lead story in the May issue of Splash Extra, which launched yesterday. Subscription details for the monthly title are available here.
