One Ocean bankrupt
HALIFAX — One Ocean Expeditions has finally begun the bankruptcy process.
The company filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on April 17, with Pricewaterhouse Coopers named as trustee. In a letter to creditors, managing director and Westmount native Andrew Prossin indicated that One Ocean is unable to pay amounts owing prior to the filing, but that they would be addressed in the proposal.
The proposal is an attempt by the company to get a reduction in the amount of debt owed. All creditors who are owed more than $250 were reported to the trustee as part of the proposal process. They will get a vote on the final proposal, and assuming the court approves it, that will be the end of this saga. It’s unclear what cash or assets One Ocean currently has.
From the disclosure, we learned that One Ocean Expeditions owes a total of $29.5-million to companies across Canada and around the world. A total of 321 passengers are owed $4.6-million for trips that were paid for but never happened; additional amounts are owed to travel agencies and tour operators for the same and $1.1-million is owing to 220 contract crew in unpaid wages.
The owners of the ship RCGS Resolute are owed $1.3-million, and their management firm Columbia Cruise Services $769,000. This does not appear to take into account the Us$3.6-million the owner paid to secure the release of the resolute from its Argentinian arrest, nor does it seem to cover any amounts related to the August 2018 grounding of the Akademik Ioffe, or its subsequent repair.
Nova Scotia Companies are owed a total of $708,000, with $625,000 of that owed to Chater Marine Supply and $6,000 to Christmas Daddies.
In his letter to creditors, Prossin maintains that the withdrawal of the Russian ships now combined with the global Pandemic made filing the proposal in the best interest of One Ocean and all stakeholders.
“To those that have been patient and understanding of such an arduous, time consuming process of rebuilding, it’s not only appreciated, it’s part of the intangible that has and continues to help drive us through the storm,” he wrote. “There is of course clear empathy in addition to the same level of appreciation for those understandably less tolerant of the challenges faced and ahead."