Rickmers Trust Management News

Rickmers Trust Management, a trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime, informed that the trust has been wound up. The units of the trust and its notes shall cease to exist, said its trustee-manager in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) filing. The trust has made final distributions to unsecured creditors, representing a recovery of about 12.1 per cent. "There will be no further distributions or payments, cash or otherwise, to the unsecured creditors of the Trust, including the holders of the S$100 million 8.45 per cent. notes due 2017. The outstanding amount due on the Notes has been paid to the Notes Trustee, DB International Trust (Singapore) Pte Limited," said the statement.

The Marshall Islands-based shipping company Navios Maritime Containers has closed the acquisition of the remaining four container vessels and as a result has completed the acquisition of the entire 14 container vessels fleet. Navios Containers acquired the 14 vessels for a total purchase price of $118.0 million plus certain delivery and other operating costs. The Fleet was partially financed through two loan facilities of $61.0 million in aggregate, including a previously announced $40.0 million facility, and a recently completed $21.0 million facility. Following this acquisition, Navios Containers controls a fleet of 14 vessels, totaling 57,100 TEU and the current average age of the fleet is 9.7 years.

HSH syndicate, comprising HSH Nordbank and DBS Bank, has approved the sale of the remaining nine of 14 vessels of Singapore-based Rickmers Trust Management for some $54 million to Navios Partners Containers and Navios Partners Containers Finance. The total consideration will also include an amount to support settlement of operational cash deficits to closing, said Rickmers Trust Management in an update on the winding up of Rickmers Maritime. The sales of these nine vessels are expected to be completed in parts from July 12, 2017, Rickmers said. The sale of the first five containerships was completed in late May. The vessels are secured to the HSH syndicate and as the total proceeds from the sale fall below the loan outstanding due and payable…

Singapore-based Rickmers Trust Management (RTM), a trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime,  is selling off a new ship from its fleet to ensure the company stays afloat. This means an impairment loss in the fourth quarter 2016. Rickmers has entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the sale of Kaethe C. Rickmers, a Panamax containership. The vessel is securing senior loan facilities extended by HSH Nordbank AG, Singapore Branch and DBS Bank (the HSH Syndicate) to the trust (the HSH Facility). The net proceeds from the sale will be applied towards the payment of operating costs of the secured vessels under the HSH Facility and partial prepayment of the HSH Facility. The Trustee-Manager has also entered into a deed of consent with the HSH Syndicate to obtain their consent for the sale.

Rickmers Maritime Trust has completed the sale of a vessel in connection with the settlement of senior loan facilities that German lender Commerzbank's Singapore branch extended to a unit of the trust. "The Trustee-Manager wishes to announce that the sale of the “India Rickmers” vessel has been completed. The Trustee-Manager will update its noteholders and unitholders if there are any further developments," Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd., in its capacity as trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime has announced in a statement. It did not say how much it had sold the vessel for and how much it had gotten for it. The vessel had been used to secure the loan facilities.

Financially-strapped Rickmers Maritime has entered into a deed of consent with Commerzbank AG, Singapore Branch, reports Reuters. Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd., the holding Trustee, has entered into a memorandum of agreement for sale of "India Rickmers" vessel securing CMB facility. The deed in relation to a settlement of senior loan facilities is extended by CMB to a subsidiary of trust. CMB has agreed to waive repayment of a material portion of remaining debt owed under CMB facility following partial prepayment. Meanwhile, Rickmers has set 21 December as the date for its crucial adjourned bondholders meeting. Bondholders are due vote on a controversial financial restructuring package which Rickmers Trust Management says may result in the trust’s liquidation if not approved.

Hamburg, 11 November 2016 – In the first nine months of 2016, the Rickmers Group generated consolidated revenues of € 373.6 million. This represents a decline of 15 percent versus the previous year’s period (€ 439.7 million). This fall is due mainly to the persistently strained market situation through the expiry of further high-margin charter contracts, temporary fleet idleness and follow-on charters at current low market rates. Furthermore, lower revenues from freight and a stronger fall in capacity utilisation in the project cargo area also had a negative impact. As a specific consequence of this revenue decline, the operating result before interest…

Rickmers Maritime incurred a loss of US$55.6m in the second quarter, wider than the year earlier $15.7m on the back of a non-cash impairment charge as charter market conditions deteriorate. The Singapore-based consider is planning to lay up some of the 11 containerships it has operating in the spot market to save costs when the vessels are redelivered. Charter revenue fell 37 per cent to $18 million, due to reduced charter rates and lower vessel utilisation rates. The company’s net loss for the first half of this year was  $56.9 million, compared to $8.6 million during the first six months of last year. Additionally, charter revenue in the six-month period this year was $ 39.3 million, compared to $57.1 million in the first half of 2015.

Rickmers Maritime, which is affiliated to the Hamburg-based Rickmers Group,  slumped to a $129.2 million loss in 2015 from a $16 million profit a year earlier on increased write offs on the value of its ships and depressed container charter rates. The Container ship operator's charter revenue from its fleet of 16 container ships shrank by 17 percent to $108.5 million from $130.3 million last time. The bulk of the full-year loss was in the fourth quarter when the deficit widened to $129.6 million from $16 million last time, due mainly to an impairment charge of $128.4 million. This took the impairment bill for the full year to $148 million against $63 million in 2014.

Rickmers Trust Management (Rickmers Maritime) suffered a loss of USD15.7 million for the second quarter ended 30 June 2015 from a profit of USD16 million in 2Q14. Rickmers Maritime recorded a net loss after tax of US$15.7 million in 2Q2015, compared to a net profit of US$16.0 million in 2Q2014, due mainly to the non-cash recognition of a US$2.8 million goodwill impairment, and US$16.8 million provision for vessel impairment as market charter rates are still below historical averages. As a result of these impairments, Rickmers Maritime registered a net loss of US$8.6 million in 1H2015. Excluding the impact of the impairments totalling US$19.6 million, the Trust would have been profitable in both 2Q2015 and 1H2015, with net profit of US$4.0 million and US$11.0 million respectively.

Container ship owners & charterers out Rickmers Maritime describe a stable set of results in the first quarter of 2014. Charter revenue decreased slightly by 4% from the US$35.5 million reported for the first quarter ended 31 March 2013 to US$33.9 million, largely due to the redelivery of two vessels during the period. In the lead up to their new charters to Maersk Line, the two vessels, Henry Rickmers (formerly Ital Fastosa) and Richard Rickmers (formerly Ital Festosa) spent 19.7 days and 31.3 days respectively as at 31, March 2014 for preparation and positioning. In addition, the fleet incurred a total of 31.1 days of unscheduled off-hire, with Kaethe C. Rickmers incurring 20.0 days of off-hire due to engine problems. As a result, fleet utilisation for 1Q2014 fell to 94.3%.

Container ship owners and operators, Rickmers Trust Management, report a net loss of US$8.0 million in 4Q2013 and a lower net profit of US$23.5 million in FY2013, compared to net profits of US$2.2 million and US$27.6 million in 4Q2012 and FY2012 respectively due to a a US$2.4 million provision for vessel impairment was made for 'Kaethe C. Rickmers'. A goodwill impairment of US$18.4 million was also recognised in 4Q2013, up from US$2.1 million a year ago. Rickmers Maritime’s fleet of 16 containerships is fully chartered out on fixed-rate time charters.