‘Don’t default’

Jinhui Shipping & Transportation says it is experiencing payment delays from “weaker charterers”.

And while it has yet to be hit by any defaults on existing deals, the bulker heavyweight warns it is ready to take any offending charterer to court.

In its fourth quarter report, issued yesterday, Jinhui said: “Our policy in this regard is plain and simple - We will devote all necessary resources and take appropriate commercial and legal actions against any charterers in breach of charterparties to enforce the performance of contractual obligations under the contracts.”

It added: “The group has been fortunate that a good proportion of charterers have been practicing honourable business ethics and have been performing according to the terms and conditions of the charterparties. However, we do see increasing delays in receiving charter-hires from some weaker charterers.”

Hong Kong and Oslo-listed Jinhui describes the current conditions in the dry-bulk market as “dull” and is forecasting tough times ahead.

It said: “We expect to see increasing failures to honour legally binding contracts in coming months especially by weaker players, which are typically characterized by their short operating histories. Those remaining will become stronger and will command higher credibility in the market.”

TradeWinds reported last month that Jinhui’s full-year net income trebled from $85.63m to $238.83m.

Its revenue climbed from $296.29m to $475.15m and gains on ship sales hit to $62.79m

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