Main creditor stakes claim in liquidated Sails

The first creditor’s meeting of liquidated SA Independent Liner Services was adjourned as swiftly as it convened, the court-appointed liquidator establishing only one claim by Lonrho, the major investor in the defunct company. Darusha Moodliar, a director of Sanek Recovery Trust, tasked with winding up the estate of Sails, told FTW: “The only ‘proven’ claim at the first meeting for around US$40 million was Lonrho’s.” She hastens to add that a ‘proven’ claim does not imply it has been successful. “The liquidator instructed that the claim, and the sensibility thereof, be investigated. At this stage, I cannot tell you whether the Lonrho claim will be entertained because liquidation is a long process, largely dependent on whether Sars will submit a claim.” Moodliar says it may also be possible that a few creditors hold a cession over Sails. “Whatever monies they would have advanced was a security over debtors.” The legal action mounted under New York jurisdiction by two international creditors of Sails – one apparently by Wilhelmsen for bunkers supplied in South Africa and Europe and still unpaid, remains unclear. Says Moodliar: “We need to decide whether to review the US cases. That means taking them further, or throwing in the towel.” Given Sails has no assets and that Sanek has only managed to collect around R1.4 million from debtors, it seems unlikely, to this correspondent’s way of thinking, that it would proceed with costly US litigation. As to the ‘batting order’ in terms of a pay-out, the costs of liquidation (including legal) come first, followed by Sails employees and whoever holds a cession over Sails. Last week, previous MD Ian Wicks revealed that Lonrho had appointed, a matter of weeks before Sails’ provisional liquidation last October, one Chris Dyson as MD and a UK container expert, Trevor Sutton, to take over management of the Sails container fleet. These appointments were presumably on a short-term contractual basis in order to assist in the final days of the troubled company. Moodliar is not familiar with Chris Dyson’s name but says Trevor Sutton, from whom she personally received considerable assistance, was employed by Lonrho “because containers were going missing”.