One of the grand old names of Russian shipping, Murmansk Shipping, has been declared bankrupt after struggling with cash flow in recent years.
The ruling was made by the Murmansk Court of Arbitration on 6 October.
The shipowner was once a major power in Arctic shipping with 30 vessels, but this has been whittled down to 19 as its financial position deteriorated and a number of ships were arrested in ports worldwide after it failed to pay bills.
Bankruptcy proceedings will be held over the next six months, the Barents Observer reported.
A temporary company executive has been hired to lead the process, according to the court.
Creditors including Gazpromneft, GAC Shipping, lender Sberbank and Arctic Mining Co have filed claims against the shipowner.
Sberbank is reportedly owed RUB 4.4m ($57m)
Murmansk Shipping suffered a blow in 2008 when it lost the contract to manage the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet.
Russia still a shareholder
The company was founded in 1939. The Russian state retains a 25% stake.
In April last year, a grounded Murmansk bulker was sold for scrap at auction in the UK.
The 19,900-dwt Kuzma Minin (built 1980) got stuck off Cornwall in December 2018.
Serious safety deficiencies were found after an inspection and the ship was hit by an outbreak of Legionella.
At that time, Murmansk Shipping was pledging to address all issues related to vessel arrests.
The 23,600-dwt bulker Zapolyarye (built 2008) was sold at auction in Spain earlier in 2019 to settle port and supply bills, and pay the crew, which had remained on board.
The vessel had been docked there since September 2018.
Before that, the owner's 23,600-dwt bulker Pomorye (built 2007) was sold off in the US.
Another ship was held in South Africa over an unpaid debt.
The company's fleet still includes offshore vessels, a ferry, three icebreakers, product tankers and handysize bulkers.
Many were built in the 1970s and 1980s and nothing is newer than 2010.
VesselsValue rates the fleet as worth $55m.
