Dutch Shipping Company Flinter in Major Financial Trouble After Bank Cuts Cord

 partially sunk after colliding with an LNG carrier in the North Sea off the Belgian coast October 6, 2015. REUTERS/Benny Proot

Dutch shipping company Flinter has revealed that it is in major financial trouble after its main lender ING Bank pulled funding for the company.

Flinter says it was informed last Wednesday by ING Bank that it would no longer provide financing for nine of the company’s vessels, leaving Flinter with no other option than to file for suspension of payments.

Flinter has been in business since 1989 and is one of the top ten maritime shipping companies in the Netherlands, managing a fleet of about 50 mostly-multi-purpose vessels up ranging in sizes up to 11,000 dwt. In a statement the company it has been dealing with the downturn in shipping for 9 years now and the prospects are still not positive, but still ING’s decision caught the company by surprise. 

ING sees no other option than for Flinter to sell the nine vessels, something Flinter says it would prefer to do not by auction.

“During subsequent meetings we discussed the preferred route to sell not by auction,” Flinter’s statement said. “In response we requested the bank last week Thursday to make it possible that until the end of the month all suppliers could be paid, while we would produce a plan how to best sell the 9 vessels (and thus maximize the proceeds for the bank. Four working days later ING Bank informs us that all loans are being called.”

Either way the prospects are not looking good Flinter.

“We are extremely sad about all this. In our opinion there are only losers: our staff on shore and on the vessels, the owners of the vessels and Flinter, the many partners and suppliers that support the vessels in the recent years with better payments terms etc. It is also expected that the bank will lose millions.”

“Despite all emotions, we will continue to act professionally and transparent to all parties. After 8 years of fighting hard it is sad that our journey ends here,” the company said.

Updated: October 20, 2016 (Originally published October 18, 2016)

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