Skuld update on OW Bunker bankruptcy

Bankruptcy of OW Bunker A/S in Denmark impacts the industry

More information has come to light with respect to the potential impact and scale of the consequences from the bankruptcy of OW Bunker A/S in Denmark.The Skuld P&I Club has issued an urgent advisory on the situation.

The Skuld P&I Club is aware of OW companies declaring bankruptcy or taking steps in that regard in Denmark, Germany, Singapore and the USA. Among these are the parent OW Bunker A/S, OW Bunker & Trading, OW Bunker Supply & Trading as well as OW Bunker Far East.

At present the situation with respect to Dynamic Oil Trading is not sufficiently clear to make a firm statement, but there are likely to be developments in the near future.The Association is aware of there being possibly up to 40 OW Bunker and related offices around the world and a number of different trading names. As such it is likely that further news and developments will occur in a number of jurisdiction in the near future and operators are advised to follow these closely to see how they may be affected.

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Affected parties

As a result of this situation a number of different parties have been directly affected. In the shipping context that includes:

Shipowners that have bunkers on board supplied by or through OW or an affiliated company
Time charterers that ordered or received on a chartered vessel such bunkers
Bunker brokers and traders involved in the arrangement of the supply
Actual performing suppliers of fuel
Bunker barge owners and charterers involved in a supply or supply contract related to OW or an affiliated company

As such a significant number of companies may be directly or indirectly affected by this still developing situation.

Bankruptcy effect

While the main parent company, and certain affiliates / subsidiaries have gone in to bankruptcy, it must be understood that:

the bankruptcy of one company does not immediately mean the bankruptcy of another
bankruptcies of separate legal entities in separate legal jurisdictions will be handled according to the local law and practice – there is no “global” bankruptcy – but cross border recognition may be granted by some jurisdictions of another’s proceedings
it is possible to be a creditor in one set of bankruptcy proceedings and a debtor in another
a company’s bankruptcy does not immediately or necesarily mean it’s contractual positions are closed off, terminated or that it is in any form of repudiatory breach
bankruptcy puts a stay on legal action for that entity in that particular jurisdiction

There are many other issues to consider and members will be well advised to ensure they seek specific advice for specific jurisdictions from local subject matter practitioners in law. There is likely to be no “one size fits all” legal advice or solution to this situation.

Steps to take for creditors

Thew Skuld P&I Club recomments the following:

If you believe that OW Bunker A/S or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates owe you any sum, then you need to check if that company is already in bankruptcy.
If the company is not in bankruptcy then you would need to take normal legal steps to recover any sums outstanding or press any legal claims. Should the company subsequently be declared bankrupt then it is likely that such action will be stayed in favour of the bankruptcy proceedings.
If bankruptcy is already underway then it is important to check how, in the specific legal jurisdiction where the specific OW entity is located, a creditor needs to file a claim in the bankruptcy. This is best done early in order to gain admission to creditor meetings and have a vote at such meetings, which often start to follow a few short weeks after the applicable local court grants the order for bankruptcy.

Source: The Skuld P&I Club