An Italian court is trying again to sell the remaining tanker and bulker fleet of bankrupt owner Rizzo Bottiglieri De Carlini Armatori (RBD Armatori).
The first auction of 13 vessels failed in July.
Now receivers at the court of Torre Annunziata in southern Naples have scheduled another attempt for 22 February, when sealed bids will be opened.
A sales notice from the court says the six aframaxes, three capesizes and four post-panamax bulkers will be offered at a starting price of $190m, $10m less than last time.
The en-bloc sale comes with any charters attached.
No offer was received for the whole fleet last time, although Italian media said major creditor Pillarstone had offered $185m for seven of the ships.
The seven bulkers were all built between 2009 and 2011 in China, while the tankers are Chinese and Japanese built and were delivered between 2010 and 2012.
The fleet has been valued at more than $270m by VesselsValue.
The owner was declared bankrupt in January.
No deal with creditors
The decision followed the failure of efforts by RBD to reach an agreement with creditors.
Foremost among those was Pillarstone, the KKR-backed private equity fund which last year acquired debt of EUR 560m ($674m) from Italian banks.
Sources had told TradeWinds that Pillarstone’s agreement to acquire debt was “on subject” and expected that Pillarstone was likely to go after the ships managed by the company.
Local reports suggest that RBD’s total exposure to banks is reportedly in excess of $1 billion.
The company has for many years been managed by Giuseppe Mauro Rizzo.
The bankruptcy was a further blow to the shipping community of southern Naples which in 2012 was hit by the bankruptcy of Deiulemar.
