A buyer is being sought for troubled law firm Ince, which has announced it is insolvent and will enter into administration, the UK corporate insolvency process. An administrator was appointed and will aim to sell the group’s business to a third-party purchaser “as soon as possible”. Major Ince Group shareholders told TradeWinds they plan to take legal action against the collapsed law firm’s officers for making what they claim were misleading representations about their investments. The law firm’s collapse has also left its East Asia branches and allies in turmoil, with Ince Beijing to shut down. Meanwhile, former head of shipping at Ince Julian Clark told TradeWinds that he was ‘in mourning’ over the situation.

Harry Vafias is set to launch another company on the Nasdaq exchange in the US. The Greek shipowner behind StealthGas and Imperial Petroleum is planning to create a new outfit with two bulkers. The handysize ships are currently part of the fleet of Nasdaq-listed Imperial, which is better known as a tanker owner. An F-1 form has been filed to list the new entity, called C3is, on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Euronav chairman Grace Reksten Skaugen has hinted at discussions behind the scenes as the tanker company seeks to accommodate the opposing views of its two biggest shareholders. The Belgian VLCC and suezmax specialist has been the subject of a three-way tug-of-war between management, tycoon John Fredriksen and the Saverys family after a merger with Fredriksen’s Frontline collapsed in January.

US shipping data company Veson Nautical has boosted its digital presence once again in a deal to buy UK valuation platform VesselsValue. The company will own 100% of the Richard Rivlin-founded platform’s shipping operations, with the aviation business to be spun off to stand alone. The objective is part of Veson’s plans to become a ‘one-stop-shop’ for shipping data.

When it comes to the so-called shadow fleet, BRS Group is seeing shades of grey. The French shipbroker said it was adopting the term “grey fleet” for the ships carrying oil and oil products out of Russia, given the complexities of the trade.

Costamare Bulkers, the dry bulk operating platform launched by US-listed Costamare Inc late last year, has doubled the size of its fleet in less than two months. When US-listed Costamare Inc reported financial results on 8 February, it revealed that Costamare Bulkers had agreed to fix 23 vessels.

This week’s Green Seas environment newsletter looks ahead to a US appeals court fight brewing over collisions between whales and ships off California.

And finally, former Credit Agricole Asia boss Kenneth Lam has launched a new ship finance venture with his friend Sabrina Chao. Lam is now chief executive of Hong Kong-based SeaKapital, with shipowner Chao as chairman. The former banker said the independent ship leasing venture will focus on eco secondhand vessels initially, with deals already being lined up.

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