Tom Hals News

A U.S. judge has allowed Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH.N)todemand that passengers show written proof of coronavirus vaccination before they board a ship, dealing a major blow to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's effort to ban "vaccine passports."In a preliminary ruling issued on Sunday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami said Norwegian would likely prevail on its argument that the "vaccine passport" ban, signed into law by DeSantis in May, jeopardizes public…

A federal judge dismissed lawsuits by Grand Princess cruise ship passengers who sued for emotional distress caused by their fear of exposure to COVID-19, saying that allowing their cases to proceed would “lead to a flood of trivial suits.”Judge Gary Klausner in Los Angeles said in Tuesday’s ruling that allowing passengers to collect damages based on potential COVID-19 exposure without suffering symptoms raised concerns of unlimited liability for restaurants, bars and other places people gather.Debi Chalik…

A Florida couple who was aboard the coronavirus-hit Grand Princess ocean liner has sued the ship’s owner for more than $1 million, claiming the company put profits over safety and did not have proper screening protocols in place.Ronald and Eva Weissberger of Broward County, Florida sued Princess Cruise Lines Ltd, a unit of Carnival Corp, alleging the company caused them emotional distress and trauma as they fear they will develop the COVID-19, a flu-like disease caused by the…

A U.S. judge said on Tuesday he would approve Seadrill Ltd's plan to exit its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which the global offshore oil and gas drilling company would shed billions of dollars of debt and raise $1 billion in new investment. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Houston overruled two minor objections to the reorganization plan during a 90-minute hearing. The plan extends maturities on more than $5 billion of bank loans and converts about $2.3 billion in bond debt into equity in a reorganized Seadrill.

Louisiana-based Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC, which has more than 50 vessels in its fleet and supplies offshore oil rigs among other services, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston. Harvey Gulf did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company said in court papers it had more than $1 billion in debt and has an agreement with lenders to reduce what the company owes. In return lenders would receive the equity in the company when it exits bankruptcy. Other creditors such as suppliers will be paid in full. A sharp drop in oil prices in 2014 cut demand for rigs, and over the past year many offshore drilling and service companies such as Seadrill Ltd and Ocean Rig UDW Inc have filed for bankruptcy.

Subsea affiliate of Singapore's Ezra files for U.S. A subsea and offshore contractor affiliate of Ezra Holdings Ltd, a struggling Singaporean oilfield services firm, filed for U.S. bankruptcy as it ran short of cash due to a lingering downturn in the oil-and-gas industry. The affiliate, Emas Chiyoda Subsea Ltd, said in court papers filed in Houston that the company was suffering from weak demand for its subsea contracting work and tightening credit conditions. Ezra has said it may have to take a $170 million writedown on the value of its investment in Emas Chiyoda.

Shipping company Toisa Ltd filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy as falling demand for the Bermuda-chartered company's oil-and-gas supply vessels left it running short of cash, according to court documents. Toisa, owned by Greek shipping magnate Gregory Callimanopulos, has a global fleet of 26 offshore oil service vessels, 13 tankers and seven bulk ships, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The ship operator said it had more than $1 billion in debt in court documents.

A lawyer for Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd , the failed South Korean container carrier, said on Thursday a U.S.-bound vessel was held "hostage" by disputes over payments, adding to the struggles in getting $14 billion of cargo off its ships stranded at sea. "There is no clear visibility yet on what will happen with this business," Hanjin lawyer Ilana Volkov said at a hearing, when asked by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood whether Hanjin was liquidating. Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container line, filed for bankruptcy last month, leaving more than 100 ships and their cargo at sea and threatening to snarl U.S. freight traffic as the year-end shopping season approaches. Some ships chartered to Hanjin have been sold and more are up for sale.

A Hanjin Shipping Co container vessel idled off the coast of Mexico after the company's bankruptcy has received permission to dock and unload cargo at the Port of Long Beach, industry and union officials said Friday. Authorization for the Hanjin Greece to enter the port came after bankruptcy courts in the United States and South Korea cleared the way for the company to spend $10 million to unload cargo from four ships headed for ports on the U.S. West Coast. South Korea said it expects Hanjin Greece to start unloading cargo on Saturday morning U.S. time. Hanjin could not be immediately reached for a comment. "We're looking forward to getting these ships unloaded, said Ray Familathe, vice president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union representing 20,000 dockworkers.

A U.S. judge said on Friday he will grant Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd provisional protection from creditors in the United States, enabling some vessels to dock and unload at U.S. ports. South Korea's Hanjin asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood to issue an order that would prevent creditors from seizing Hanjin ships or property, and allow cargo owners to make arrangements to retrieve goods stranded in warehouses. Sherwood said he would sign the order later on Friday. Earlier, the company received authority to spend the money needed to dock at U.S.

Eagle Bulk Shipping filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, the latest in a string of shipping companies to make a Chapter 11 filing, and said it reached agreement with its lenders to cut its debt by $975 million. The U.S. company said in a statement that creditors who hold more than 85 percent of its loans have voted in favor of a proposed reorganization plan. Getting creditor support for a "prepackaged" plan before filing for Chapter 11 can dramatically cut the time a company spends in bankruptcy. Eagle Bulk filed in Manhattan's U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge said on Wednesday he will approve Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd's plan to exit its Chapter 11 bankruptcy after he overruled objections from shareholders. Judge Sean Lane of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan said he found that the company's value was not higher than Genco's $1.48 billion estimate. Shareholders objected to the plan because they said the company was worth more and they deserved a bigger payout. (Reporting by Nick Brown in New York; Writing by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Nautilus Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-chartered company that leases containerships, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, becoming the latest victim of a depressed shipping industry. The company has about $770 million in debt, according to papers filed late Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. International shipping rates have fallen in recent years as large new vessels entered service at the same time that a sluggish global economy was curbing trade. Nautilus said it had some profitable charter contracts and believed it was well-positioned to restructure its obligations, but it filed for bankruptcy protection to bring creditors into a single forum for negotiations.

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. will cut its debt by more than $1 billion by giving control of the company to its lenders in a deal that requires the dry bulk shipping company to file for bankruptcy. Lenders backing a $1.06 billion credit facility would convert their debt into about 81.1 percent of company's stock, according to a regulatory filing from Thursday. Investors who hold $125 million of Genco convertible debt would receive 8.4 percent of the company. The remaining equity would be allocated to those investors funding a $100 million rights offering…