Maritime attorney and Offshore Winds contributor Robert J. Stefani is quoted in today’s Baton Rouge edition of The Advocate explaining a unique aspect of maritime bankruptcies.
Stefani explains that much of what would usually be unsecured debt in a nonmaritime context may be secured via a maritime lien, depending on whether the vessels have an outstanding mortgage and the value of the vessels. Stefani has previously discussed maritime liens extensively for Offshore Winds.
“I’ve been involved in cases where all the maritime lien claimants are paid 100 cents on the dollar and I’ve seen cases where they were unsecured creditors and get what is normal in a bankruptcy, which is very little,” Stefani said in The Advocate.
The article focused on the bankruptcy of Houston-based Epic Companies and its subsidiaries, and can be found here. Stefani is not involved with that case.