| Shenzhen-listed Sainty Marine continues to win new orders from Celsius Shipping amid its loss-making takeover of Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry. The new orders for four 24,600 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers were specified as repeat orders from Celsius Shipping with costs of about USD40 million each, which was unchanged from the costs of previous orders placed in April 2014, a stock filing of Sainty Marine showed. Deliveries of the four new vessels were scheduled by 2017. They will be built at Nantong Mingde. In September 2013 and April 2014, Celsius Shipping ordered three and seven same class newbuilds respectively at Sainty Marine, which are all being built at Nantong Mingde. From early 2013 to end of 2014, Sainty Marine and Nantong Mingde have teamed up to win CNY5.7 billion (USD909.6 million) of new orders for a total of 32 vessels including wood chip carriers, platform supply vessels, stainless chemical tankers, and Ultramax bulk carriers. At the end of 2014, Sainty Marine predicted that it would book losses of at least CNY532 million as it seeks to take over insolvent Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry. On 26 December 2014, a local court in Nantong, China, where Nantong Mingde is based, received Sainty Marine’s application for the bankruptcy restructuring of the Nantong yard. Sainty Marine seeks to take over the shipbuilding assets and business of Nantong Mingde after the bankruptcy restructuring is completed successfully in five to seven months. |