Details of embattled Japanese outfit Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha’s creditors have emerged in its Chapter 15 filing in the US.
The list obtained by IHS Maritime shows trading houses Cargill, Bunge, shipowners Navios, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Korea Line Corporation, Sanko Steamship, Oldendorff Carriers, Pan Ocean, Norden, Western Bulk Corporation as well as the shipping arms of Vale, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Noble Group among Daiichi Chuo’s 596 creditors that are owed JPY119.56 billion (USD979.2 million).
Shipbuilders and banks that are owed money include Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, Imabari Shipbuilding, Shin Kurushima Dockyard, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Bank of Japan Mitsubishi-UFJ.
Suppliers of bunkers and paints, such as World Fuel Services and Chugoku Paints, are among other creditors, while shipbrokers Clarksons Platou, Braemar ACM, Simpson Spence Young, and Howe Robinson are also owed money.
Daiichi Chuo’s troubles resulted from aggressive fleet expansion prior to the global financial crisis in 2008. The freight market never quite recovered and deteriorated as China’s economy slowed.
Daiichi Chuo hopes to improve its finances through civil rehabilitation that involves co-operating with business partners and creditors.
The company has asked the Tokyo District Court for permission to continue paying for bunkers, port fees, ship managers and owners of chartered-in ships as it needs to continue business.
The company is inviting its creditors to a meeting in Tokyo on 5 October to discuss repayments. Stocks of Daiichi Chuo, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, would be delisted by 30 October, a month after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
Shareholders are thus urged to file claims for unpaid dividends with the court to ensure they get the monies.
The Chapter 15 filing prevents creditors from seizing Daiichi Chuo’s assets in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese bulker owner Wisdom Marine has sought to allay concerns over its exposure to bankrupt Japanese bulker outfit Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha.
In a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing, Wisdom Marine said it has eight bulkers on charter to the Japanese company.
Daiichi Chuo said the bankruptcy protection applies to itself and its wholly owned subsidiary, Star Bulk Carrier.
Wisdom said that the total daily charter hire of the eight ships does not exceed USD50,000.
Seven of the ships are chartered to Daiichi Chuo’s coastal shipping arm, Daiichi Chuo Kinkai, while the remaining ship has been fixed to the parent company for less than six months.
Wisdom said, “Daiichi Chuo Kinkai hasn’t been affected by its parent’s rehabilitation and it continues to operate normally. Charter hires have been paid on time and the rehabilitation of Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha has yet to present an obvious risk to us.”
Wisdom Marine is not among the 596 creditors of Daiichi Chuo.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.