Singapore’s Ocean Tankers, part of the heavily in debt Hin Leong Trading, has applied for judicial management today.
The company is one of the largest tanker firms in Southeast Asia with a diverse fleet in excess of 130 ships.
Hin Leong, one of Asia’s top oil traders, was placed under judicial management last month, owing 23 banks a total of $3.8bn, having also covered up $800m in losses over several years.
The head of Ocean Tankers, Evan Lim, has written to the company’s creditors and counterparties, stressing the shipowner’s determination to keep operating despite the difficulties faced by its parent.
“Ocean Tankers has sought to reassure charterers and other business counterparties that it is a separate entity from Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd (“HLT”) and that it remains committed to continuing its business and performing its contractual obligations,” Lim wrote.
Many names in Singapore’s once mighty offshore community have gone down the judicial management route in recent years, which tends to serve as a long, drawn-out form of debt restructuring.
