Commercial Court News

French marine services group Bourbon Corporation, which has been in a court restructuring process after its business was hit by volatile energy markets, said its assets would be taken over by its creditor banks.Bourbon said the Marseille commercial court had ruled that Bourbon's assets would be transferred to Société Phocéenne de Participations (SPP) from Jan. 2, 2020.SPP is owned by BNP Paribas, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel Alpes Provence, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile de France…

Takeover offers for the assets and activities of French offshore services company Bourbon will be reviewed by the Marseilles Commercial Court next month, Bourbon said in a a company update.Four candidates have submitted an offer concerning assets and activities of BOURBON Corporation and/or BOURBON Maritime, Bourbon said.As part of the reorganization proceedings opened since August 7, 2019 to the benefit of the holding BOURBON Corporation and its sub-holding BOURBON Maritime,…

French marine services group Bourbon Corporation, which has been in a court restructuring process after its business was impacted by volatile energy markets, said it had received a takeover offer for its assets."As part of the reorganization proceedings opened since August 7, 2019 by the Marseilles Commercial Court to the benefit of Bourbon Corporation and its affiliate Bourbon Maritime, Court Administrators have received a takeover offer," Bourbon said in a statement on Wednesday."This offer - made by a company owned by a group of French banks - concerns assets and activities of Bourbon Corpo

The Croatian government said on Thursday it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik , the country's largest shipbuilder, resume production.The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state.However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group's two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden."Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships…

Croatia's ailing shipyard in the northern Adriatic city of Pula was placed into bankruptcy by a commercial court on Monday after an almost year-long effort to keep it afloat.The shipyard belongs to Uljanik, Croatia's largest shipbuilding group, which also owns another troubled dock in the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka. A decision on the shipyard in Rijeka is scheduled for June 5.The Pula shipyard has an outstanding debt of 164.8 million kuna ($25 million). Local media reported that it has 1…

A court in Croatia on Wednesday postponed a bankruptcy ruling for the country's biggest shipbuilding group Uljanik until May 13, as the government tried to delay activation of state guarantees to a customer for late delivery of a vessel.The commercial court in the northwestern town of Pazin had already delayed its ruling from March and the decision in May should be final. Bankruptcy would threaten the jobs of around 3,000 workers.Uljanik, which owns two shipyards in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka and is 25 percent owned by the state, has been working to stave off bankruptcy due to liquidity problems that began in 2017.The…

The Croatian government said on Thursday it would not back a restructuring plan for the country's biggest shipbuilding group Uljanik due to the financial burden on the state and doubts the proposal could turn the company's fortunes around.If no other restructuring plan emerges soon, a local commercial court will deliver a ruling on bankruptcy within weeks, threatening the jobs of almost 3000 workers.Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told a cabinet session that the proposed restructuring…

PT Marcopolo Shipyard (PTMS) has secured the approval for its restructuring plan to to place itself under a Penundaan Kewajiban Pembayaran Utang (PKPU) suspension of debt payment. It means, Batam-based unit of Marco Polo Marine has cleared the final hurdle to proceed with debt restructuring for the holding company and its key shipyard subsidiary under the two schemes of arrangement filed with Singapore's High Court. "The Board is pleased to note that pursuant to the above-mentioned application, PTMS has obtained the requisite court declaration made in response to the PKPU Restructuring Proposal that has been submitted, namely, that a valid debt restructuring has been agreed to by PTMS and the relevant creditors…

Ecovix Engevix Construções Oceánicas SA and five subsidiaries have filed for bankruptcy protection in a federal commercial court, succumbing to a debt burden of 8 billion reais ($2.4 billion) and a plunge in shipbuilding. In a statement on Friday, Ecovix said Banco Brasil Plural SA and law firm Felsberg Advogados will advise it on bankruptcy protection proceedings, which will take place in a court based in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cash at the shipbuilder is being depleted at this point, the statement said. ($1 = 3.3845 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Ecovix Engevix Construções Oceánicas SA and five subsidiaries have filed for bankruptcy protection in a federal commercial court, succumbing to a debt burden of 8 billion reais ($2.4 billion) and a plunge in shipbuilding. In a statement on Friday, Ecovix said Banco Brasil Plural SA and law firm Felsberg Advogados will advise it on bankruptcy protection proceedings, which will take place in a court based in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cash at the shipbuilder is being depleted at this point, the statement said.

Employees of a ferry service recently sold by Eurotunnel renewed a blockade of the northern French port of Calais on Monday after a court rejected their bid to extend the service's charter contract with Eurotunnel. Access to the boats on the docks was not possible in the afternoon, said union and port sources. Strike action by around 400 workers last week led to major traffic jams of lorries, prompting migrants around the port to try and stowaway on trucks bound for Britain. Eurotunnel, the operator of the undersea rail link between England and France, in June agreed to sell its Calais-to-Dover ferry business to Denmark's DFDS to end a lengthy battle with British competition authorities.

Citigroup Inc said on Friday it has started proceedings in commercial court in London to enforce its rights over $285 million of financing at two ports in China, where metals are believed to have gone missing. Citigroup said it initiated the action on July 22 after a business counterparty and a Chinese warehouse provider commenced action in British courts to establish their rights. Citigroup's disclosure, made in a quarterly financial filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, did not name the counterparty or the warehouse operator. Standard Chartered, China's CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd, Shanxi Coal International Energy Group and other firms have also made legal claims over metals financing since May.

Charterer incurs US$138-million liability by breach of 'safe port' warranty in the 'Ocean Victory' case. Alistair Feeney, partner of London law firm Holman, Fenwick & Willan LLP gives valuable insights via London P&I Club news. The recent decision of the Commercial Court in Gard Marine & Energy Ltd v China National Chartering Co Ltd (The Ocean Victory) [2013] EWHC 2199 (Comm) serves as a useful reminder of how far charterers' warranties of port safety extend, and the size of the liabilities that may result when such warranties are breached.

The company is subject to the jursidiction of several courts, but restructuring is essential in order to avoid bankruptcy. The Company previously announced on 5 October 2012 that some of its subsidiaries which had obtained protective orders from the Singapore High Court under section 210(10) of the Companies Act had the validity of those orders extended for a further 2 months. At a hearing on 27 November 2012, the Singapore High Court granted a further extension of those orders until 10 January 2013. This extension was obtained with the support of several major secured creditors of the Company. The extension granted by the Singapore High Court complements the ongoing PKPU process in Indonesia.

Ince & Co partner Jamila Khan has moved to the firm’s Piraeus office. Jamila has a broad practice covering all aspects of shipping and international trade and commodities disputes and commercial transactions. She has close links with the Greek shipping industry having spent a year in Piraeus from 2003 to 2004. She is a key member of the firm's Italy and Turkey teams. Jamila acts for ship owners, operators and charterers on a variety of dry shipping matters including charterparty disputes. She handles LMAA, LCIA and ad hoc arbitrations and Commercial Court disputes.

On 10 December 2010, the state commercial court in Arkhangelsk decided in favour of Odfjell and approved our application concerning the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award filed against Sevmash shipyard. Odfjell has been informed that the Ruling of the Court has been appealed by Sevmash to the relevant court of appeal (Cassation Court in St. Petersburg). No information has been received with respect to when the case will be heard by the Cassation Court. In 2004 Odfjell placed an order at Sevmash, a large shipyard near Arkhangelsk, for up to 12 chemical tankers, each of about 45,000 tons capacity. The newbuilding contracts included an arbitration clause under Swedish law. Excessive and continuing delays of construction forced Odfjell in 2008 to cancel these contracts.

London law firm Lawrence Graham says users of dispute resolution services should be aware of pitfalls arising in relation to claims for interest under the Arbitration Act 1996. In its latest shipping newsletter - dubbed Shipping Lawgram - Lawrence Graham's shipping team comments on the Commercial Court case of Walker -v- Rowe, in which it was held that the courts had no power to make an order for interest to be paid on unpaid arbitration awards unless the interest had actually been set by the arbitrators. Lawrence Graham notes that, under the 1996 Arbitration Act, a party seeking post-award interest must apply to arbitrators to provide for it in the award and, if the arbitrators forget to award it, must immediately apply for a correction or a further award.