A bankruptcy judge said Primorsk International Shipping Ltd.’s creditors can vote on the oil shipper’s liquidation plan, which divvies up the proceeds from the sale of its fleet, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Primorsk sold its fleet of nine double-hulled, ice-class tankers to SCF Tankers Ltd., an affiliate of Russia’s Sovcomflot, for $215 million after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. The sale of the vessels — which are capable of transporting crude oil in extreme conditions in the Arctic and the Russian Far East — followed an auction held in London in June. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn signed off on Primorsk’s plan disclosure document at a hearing earlier this week. Proceeds from the sale won’t be enough to fully repay senior lenders, a group of banks that include BNP Paribas SA and Nordea Bank Norge ASA affiliate of investment firm Oaktree Capital, owed about $262 million.
