EMAS AMC misses ‘Lewek Inspector’ payment. Ezra under pressure

Ezra Holdings, a Singapore conglomerate and a parent to offshore services provider EMAS AMC, is under pressure after its subsidiary failed to pay charter fees for some of its vessels.

EMAS AMC has informed Forland Subsea it won’t be able to pay charter hire for Forland’s Lewek Inspector vessel for October 2016. Actually, the company has already defaulted on the payment for the inspection, maintenance & repair vessel as the payment was due on November 30.

According to Forland, in a meeting between representatives of the parties held on December 15, 2016, EMAS-AMC AS informed Forland that they are unable to settle the outstanding charter hire for the time being, due to financial distress.

Forland said it would assess and explore the consequences of the payment default and the options available to it, including the remedies available to it under the charterparty.

The shipowner has noted that EMAS-AMC AS’ obligations under the charterparty are guaranteed by Singapore-listed Ezra Holdings Limited.

Standstill for Lewek Connector

This is the second time on Thursday Ezra has been mentioned as the guarantor for EMAS AMC’s obligations.

Namely, earlier on Thursday, EMAS AMC has asked for a standstill of its bareboat charter of the Lewek Connector ultra-deepwater multipurpose, flex-lay subsea construction vessel.

Ocean Yield, the owner of the vessel, EMAS AMC has requested a short-term standstill for the months of December 2016 and January 2017.

Given the challenging offshore market, the parent company of EMAS AMC AS, EMAS Chiyoda Subsea, has initiated discussions with its creditors in order to restructure and recapitalize the company, Ocean Yield said, without confirming whether it would comply to the request or not.

EMAS Chiyoda Subsea is owned 40% by Ezra Holdings Ltd., 35% by Chiyoda Corporation and 25% by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (“NYK”).

Ocean Yield also pointed to Ezra Holdings as a guarantor for EMAS-AMC AS’ obligations under the charterparty for the Lewek Connector. The company did not say if it would try and enforce its rights and make Ezra pay.

Offshore Energy Today Staff