JR Shipping Takes Over Universal’s Bankrupt Vessels

Harlingen-based JR Shipping Group is taking over six container feeder vessels from Universal Marine upon request from Dutch Bremer Landesbank, the principal financier of the shipping CVs which operate the vessels.

Under the bank’s initiative, which is dubbed as the final rescue attempt, JR Shipping will devise a restructuring and refinancing programme for these six vessels after this transition phase, “with the aim of seeing them through the last stage of the crisis.”

Bremer Landesbank said that it had selected JR Shipping because of its “proven experience with similar fleet restructuring programmes.”

According to JR Shipping, there is a realistic risk of bankruptcy for the six vessels which were managed by Universal Marine before they were transferred.

These are: MV Hudson River, MV Yellow River, MV Pearl River, MV Yangtze River, MV Mekong River and MV Amur River.

The ‘River’ vessels, each with a container capacity of 1100 TEU, are encumbered by a mortgage taken out with Bremer Landesbank, which has repeatedly granted the shipping CVs permission to extend their repayment obligations and, thus, create room for a solution.

JR Shipping will take over the ownership and management of the managing partner BV-companies, Universal’s CV-participations and the contributions which were made to rescue plan loans before.

“Within the framework of this new ownership structure, Bremer Landesbank will continue to grant the CVs permission to extend their repayment obligations and, besides, will allow them overdraft facilities, which means that they will be able to continue to comply with their obligations towards third parties,” JR Shipping said.

“The initiative to develop, on behalf of Bremer Landesbank and the various CVs, a new structure for these six vessels and subsequently carry out the full management of these vessels is compatible with the diversification policy JR Shipping Group is pursuing,” the company added.

Alongside its operations in the container feeder market, the multi-purpose market, and the niche market of offshore service vessels, the shipping group provides specialised management services to third parties.