Chinese lender ICBC is auctioning six Bourbon Offshore-operated platform supply vessels in China as part of the French shipowner's fleet restructuring.
Bourbon told TradeWinds the ships are being sold through Guangzhou Shipping Exchange's online platform on 28 August.
A spokeswoman said Bourbon itself is not involved, as the vessels are now controlled by ICBC.
The bank was the lender that started the ball rolling on a restructuring that eventually saw five French creditor banks take over the company, while principal Jacques de Chateauvieux lost his shareholding following the offshore slump.
Bargains to be had
The minimum price per ship is set at $800,000, but VesselsValue estimates the PSVs are worth between $1.67m and $1.83m each.
The vessels are the 1,500-dwt Bourbon Liberty 101, Bourbon Liberty 104, Bourbon Liberty 106, Bourbon Liberty 107, Bourbon Liberty 108 and Bourbon Liberty 109 (all built 2008).
They are classed as small PSVs and all were constructed in China. All six are laid up.
Bourbon is listed with a fleet of 270 ships.
Last December, the commercial court of Marseilles handed Bourbon’s assets to Societe Phoceenne de Participations (SPP), a company representing BNP Paribas, Credit Lyonnais, Natixis, Societe Generale, Credit Mutuel Equity SCR as well as two regional offshoots of Credit Agricole, another big French lender.
Bourbon sought the court-mandated process in July last year after ICBC Leasing signalled it would demand repayment of its debts.
Troubled history
Bourbon halted debt repayments as early as in April last year.
A takeover by its banks always seemed the most likely option after ICBC blocked a previous rescue plan submitted by de Chateauvieux and his family.
De Chateauvieux's offer could not be examined because ICBC refused to discuss a possible agreement, which was a condition of any deal. ICBC instead backed Bourbon’s French lenders, who had three-quarters of the company’s debt.
A source close to the lenders told TradeWinds that neither ICBC Leasing nor the French banks had discussions with de Chateauvieux since Bourbon halted debt repayments in April 2018.
ICBC was linked to the other banks in terms of their offer, so the Chinese company working with de Chateauvieux did not make sense, the source added.
SPP acquired 100% of Bourbon, converting €1.4bn ($1.55bn) of debt into equity and another €300m into bonds issued by SPP.
In February, Bourbon told TradeWinds it had no intention of selling 33 ships to US rival Tidewater, in response to filings by Tidewater's activist investor Bob Robotti saying the Houston offshore giant had approved a plan to bid on the vessels should they go up for auction.
However, SPP has said it will stick to Bourbon's earlier plan to increase efficiency and dispose of some non-core vessels.
