January 10 (SeeNews) - Croatian maritime shipping company Alpha Adriatic [ZSE:ULPL], former Uljanik Plovidba, said on Friday it has delivered its Pomer tanker to Norway-based buyer Pomer AS, part of Champion Tankers group, as part of a debt settlement procedure.
The delivery took place at the Malaysian port of Tanjung Pelepas, Alpha Adriatic said in a filing to the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE).
The delivery took place after the shipping company reached an agreement on December 31 with a syndicate of international lenders to sell the Pomer tanker, which also meant the release of all mutual obligations between the two parties.
According to the agreement, all obligations of Alpha Adriatic to the syndicate of international lenders cease to exist, reducing its loan exposure by more than $24.5 million (22.1 million euro).
In October, a Croatian court opened pre-bankruptcy proceedings against Uljanik Plovidba at the company's request aimed at protecting its employees, creditors and shareholders, after a syndicate of international lenders led by Credit Suisse walked out of its debt restructuring talks with Uljanik Plovidba and seized the Pomer tanker ship as collateral for an outstanding debt owed by the company.
The vessel was seized despite the existence of a signed indicative term sheet with a new international lender for refinancing the existing loans from the syndicate, Uljanik Plovidba said at the time. The company changed its name to Alpha Adriatic later in October.
The tanker remains under the management of Alpha Adriatic, securing the employment of the company's workers.
($ = 0.901236 euro)