Sinoceanic faces refinancing deadline

Assessing the future prospects of the company, Sinoceanic is expecting to find more favourable terms for its debts during 2013 with new equity and debt financing, despite the difficult ship financing environment. The company's debt list shows $166m of loans and fees due to mature in 2014 and notes that "no assurances can be made" that a deal will be made in 2013.

In January 2013 the Chinese-backed, Oslo-listed ship investment company agreed subordination deals with financier Oceanus International Investment AS (Oceanus) to reduce the priority of $58m of the debt owed by Sinoceanic's wholly owned ship owning subsidiaries responsible for the 13,100 teu box ship trio MSC Vega, MSC Altair and MSC Regulus. Oceanus is indirectly owned by HNA Group Co Limited China (HNA), to which 81.7% owner of Sinoceanic, Cypriot Sinindo Holdings Ltd, is affiliated. The ambitious HNA Group has hit the headlines over the last two years after its shipping arm Grand China Logistics reneged on charter deals done at the top of the market.

Sinoceanic currently owns, through subsidiaries, four container vessels, three on 15 year bareboat and time charters with Meditterannean Shipping Company (MSC) and one on a long term time charter with Yang Ming Transport Corporation until 2019.