First Preferred Ship Mortgage

S&P Lowers Pegasus Rating

Standard & Poor's lowered its corporate credit rating on Pegasus Shipping (Hellas) Ltd. (Pegasus) to triple-'C'-minus from single-'B'-minus. At the same time, Standard & Poor's lowered its foreign currency senior secured debt rating to triple-'C'-minus from single-'B'-minus. All ratings are placed on CreditWatch with negative implications. The rating actions reflect Pegasus' rapidly diminishing financial flexibility owing to weak market conditions. Pegasus owns one of the world's largest independent Panamax tanker fleets. The Panamax tanker sector is currently experiencing weak market conditions, and the market is expected to remain weak in the short term. Arne Blystad S/A, Pegasus' largest customer, which at the end of last year accounted for about 20 percent of the company's revenues, has not been able to pay the time charter rates contracted for the chartered vessels. A settlement was reached in mid-1999 whereby the charter contracts were terminated, and a large portion of the remaining receivable was forgiven in return for a one-time payment. Pegasus' capital structure is very aggressive, with total debt of $214 million (treating $19 million in preferred shares as debt) at the end of June 1999. Pegasus is currently in negotiations with Chase Manhattan International Ltd. with respect to a Notice of Technical Default for alleged breach of the security cover requirements of loan facilities.

Hawaii Superferry Wants to Abandon Catamarans

According to a June 24 report from Honoluluadvertiser.com, Hawaii Superferry has asked to abandon its two high-speed catamarans to creditors because of the significant cost of maintaining the vessels as the company moves through bankruptcy. MARAD, which guaranteed construction loans for the catamarans; Austal USA, the Alabama shipbuilder that built the vessels; and the state of Hawaii, which provided harbor improvements, are secured creditors with mortgage rights

Attorney's Services are not "Necessary" …

In March of 1998, the owners of M/V Golden Prince were locked in a wage dispute with current and former crewmembers. The vessel owners hired a law firm from New Orleans, La., to help resolve this wage dispute. The crew sought wages and penalties from the ship owner due to an alleged breach of contract governing their pay. Ultimately, the crewmembers seized M/V Golden Prince to enforce their claims. The law firm rendered over $136,000

Useless Judgment Doctrine Moots Appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that, under the useless judgment doctrine, it lacked jurisdiction to consider an appeal. In the instant case, plaintiff ship manager operated a ship for the owner. The ship was subject to a preferred ship mortgage and also subject to various liens held by suppliers of necessaries. When the owner did not pay as promised, plaintiff filed an in rem claim and had the ship arrested. The other claimants also filed their claims

Vessel Title Insurance Helps Protect Assets

By Sharon Donovan When maritime liens turn up, an unsuspecting vessel owner and the lender can be left in the wake of a deal gone sour. But thanks to a new form of title insurance tailored to the maritime industry, owners, lenders and lawyers who might have green-lighted the transaction with a legal opinion are insulated from the potential risk. First American Transportation Title Insurance Co., a member of The First American Corp

Finance: Love on the Rocks

Ain’t love grand? There’s the courtship phase: the wine, the roses, the proposal; the blood tests come back approved by the credit committee . . . finally the borrower and the lender fund the deal and tie the knot forever, walking off into the sunset in vessel finance ecstasy.   Or, so the happy ending should go. But for some, there will be a time when the relationship with their vessel’s lender hits the proverbial rocks

Lockheed Martin Signs Preferred Vendor Agreement

SKY Computers, Inc., has entered into a preferred supplier corporate purchase agreement with the Lockheed Martin Corp., extending to all business units of Lockheed Martin, through 2001, with options to continue through 2003. SKY anticipates the agreement will result in increasing revenues exceeding $20 million over the life of the agreement for its board-level products and high-performance computing system products.

Judge Prohibits Liquidators from Sea Malta Selling Ships

Liquidators who had been appointed to dispose of Sea Malta's assets have been prohibited from selling two vessels after an application filed in the First Hall of the Civil Court by a group of 42 former employees of the company, who claimed that their employment had been terminated, was upheld by the Court, according to a report on www.di-ve.com. The former employees claimed that their employment with the company had been terminated

Marshall Island Touts Cost Free Registration

International Registries (IRI) is extending its cost-free registration for all vessels registering under the Marshall Islands flag until December 31, 2000. This special deal includes registration, documentation and mortgage recordation fees - as well as marine inspection, investigation and international participation fees. Vessels registered under the Marshall Islands flag included in this special offer will be lifted from the annual tonnage tax until January 1, 2001

Navios Maritime Acquisition Corp. Acquires Two New Builds

Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: NNA), an owner and operator of tanker vessels, announced that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire two 75,000 DWT LR1 product tankers scheduled for delivery in Q4 2011 from a South Korean shipyard. The nominal acquisition price of $87m will be financed with: •    Issuance of $5.4 million mandatorily convertible preferred stock ("preferred stock")