FSL Trust, which has been suspended from trading on the Singapore Exchange since the end of June, reported an operating loss of $1m and a net loss of $7.2m for the second quarter of the year after taking into account financing costs.
Revenues fell by 27.2% in the second quarter to $21.3m, which the trust blamed primarily on two charter defaults by Geden Holdings.
Geden defaulted on charter payments for two tankers, Aqua and Action, in the second quarter resulting in a 13.8% fall in income from bareboat charters to $15.5m. The two vessels, since renamed FSL Hong Kong and FSL Shanghai, have been redelivered. The FSL Hong Kong has been deployed on the spot market while FSL Shanghai has been employed on a short-term variable-rate time charter with the shipping arm of an undisclosed major oil trader.
“The current freight rate environment for crude oil tankers remains weak, so the Trust has deployed one of the vessels, FSL Hong Kong, in the spot market and the second vessel, FSL Shanghai, on a short-term variable-rate time charter, while seeking suitable longer-term employment for them,” the trust said.
FSL is still reeling from the decision by its senior management to quit enmasse in early July. “In view of the resignation of the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of FSL Trust Management at the end of June 2013, the Board is in the process of selecting suitable candidates to ensure the operations of the trust are not impeded by these resignations,” the board of directors said.
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