Winding up of Sails begins

It’s early days as liquidator
Stephen Gore begins determining
the assets and liabilities of SA
Independent Liner Services
(Sails), the South Africanregistered
shipping line placed
under provisional liquidation in
the Cape High Court two
weeks ago.
It is a process Ian Wicks, Sails
founder and twice suspended
MD, estimates could be wrapped
up within six or seven weeks.
Wicks says Gore’s mandate
will be to secure whatever
company assets there are, to pay
creditors. “There will obviously
be cash but it’s hard to say what
the assets are.” (He believes total
debt to be of the order of
US$40 million).
One of the first tangible moves
in this sorry affair is that the 1
125TEU, Orinoco River, in Cape
Town’s Duncan Dock for the
past 15 days after the Sheriff of
Cape Town issued an arrest order
over unpaid bunkers taken on in
Rotterdam, could be
departing soon.
The matter is in the process
of being settled, the Sheriff
indicating to FTW that the
owners of the vessel are likely to
buy the bunkers.
“When they are sold, a fund
will be created out of which
various creditors will be paid.
This makes a lot of sense
because then at least we don’t
have to pump the bunkers from
the vessel.”
Even though the Orinoco
River Sails charter agreement
has a year to run, Wicks says her
European owners have taken her
back, in other words out of
the charter.
As to cargo destined for
South Africa and West Africa
at the time Lonrho sought the
winding up of Sails, Wicks says
it depends pretty much how the
liquidator handles the matter
“but I think in a case like this
the clients are not going to pay
unless they get their freight
delivered.”
He believes the demise of
Sails, a fait accompli unless the
liquidator decides otherwise,
has come as a huge shock to
the line’s strong client base of
around 350, including some wellknown
names in fruit and wine.
“Everybody is going to have a
problem when the next deciduous
and citrus seasons get under way
as there is not enough reefer
space on ships out of South
Africa.
Wicks, on record that were he
to start a liner shipping business
again, the investor would have
to come up with US$70 million
up front, is convinced there is
still place for another carrier
on the North Europe-South
Africa route.
As to communication between
Lonrho and Wicks, there has
been none.