Scorpio Bulkers Scraps Deal for New Kamsarmax Bulker

Scorpio NYSE-listed dry bulk owner and operator Scorpio Bulkers has reached an agreement to decrease its newbuilding orders by cancelling a shipbuilding contract for a Kamsarmax bulk carrier. The company said that it has been released of any and all obligations and rights arising out of the shipbuilding contract, including the final installment of USD 19.3 million. Scorpio Bulkers said that the vessel was expected to be delivered in April 2016. The move comes in light of the companys efforts to return to liquidity in a sluggish dry bulk shipping market. Scorpio Bulkers has seen its profits tumble during 2015, reaching a net loss of USD 510.8 million for the full year, going further in the red from 2014-recorded net loss of USD 116.6 million. In February 2016, the company reached agreements in principle with its lenders not to make future principal repayments of USD 67.9 million in exchange for making advance principal repayments of USD 41.2 million in aggregate under its credit facilities. Scorpio Bulkers currently owns a fleet 33 vessels, consisting of 14 Kamsarmax and 19 Ultramax ships.