Lithuanian Shipping Company Denies Filing for Insolvency

Klaipeda-headquartered bulker owner and operator Lithuanian Shipping Company (Lietuvos Juru Laivininkyste) has denied filing for insolvency.

The speculation started after local media quoted Lithuania’s Transport Minister Rimantas Sinkevicius as saying that this state-owned company ”should go bankrupt.”

The company should file for bankruptcy as a way to stop accumulating losses, Sinkevicius said, adding that the situation in bulk cargo shipping market is set to remain poor.

The state-owned company which employs 237 workers has been piling up losses since 2008, and the accumulated loss currently stands at EUR 20 million, according to Sinkevicius. The company’s stocks fell 43% on Thursday.

The company’s 16,883 dwt general cargo ship Raguva and its crew of 20 was recently detained in Senegal’s capital Dakar, while another company’s cargo ship – the 17,786 dwt Romuva – was detained in Italy due to unpaid fuel and service bills.

World Maritime News Staff