MC SHIPPING REPORTS $4-MILLION LOSS FOR 1ST QUARTER

MC SHIPPING REPORTS $4-MILLION LOSS FOR 1ST QUARTER    MC Shipping reported a net deficit of $4 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared to a net income of    $1.6 million in the first quarter of 1999.
   The shipowner said that the latest result includes an extraordinary loss of $1.3 million on vessel disposal, while the 1999 figures included a one-time gain of $2.7 million on bond repurchase and an extraordinary loss of about $500,000 on vessel disposal.
   In the latest quarter, charterhire revenues were $14.3 million, down from $14.7 million in the same quarter of last year.
   Vessel operating expenses inclusive of dry dock amortization were $8.4 million, compared to $7.3 million in the same quarter of last year. The fleet on-hire ratio was 91.5 percent, down from 97.9 percent.
   “The company continues to struggle through the vagaries of the shipping markets,” stated Guy Morel, president of MC Shipping. “Whilst our larger sized container vessels are on long term charter, the smaller ones have had to face continued depressed conditions.”
   MC Shipping said that the liquefied petroleum gas carrier market enjoyed better fortunes in the last quarter.
   The company owns and operates 23 vessels in the container, multipurpose, sea river and liquefied petroleum gas sectors.