Aegean in court: The lowdown on Wednesday's hearing

Bankruptcy court set to deliberate over a number of motions filed last week.

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Updated on 14 Nov 2018 08:47 GMT

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York is on Wednesday expected to deliberate over a number of motions filed last week by Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc, with the bunker seller looking to be granted relief either on a final basis, in certain cases, or on an interim basis pending a final hearing to be scheduled at a later date. An agenda is due to be filed by Aegean in advance of today's hearing, which is scheduled for 2pm local time. Of the motions - collectively referred to as the 'First Day Pleadings' - filed on November 6 by Aegean (in addition to its chapter 11 petitions), the court approved four of them at a hearing on November 8: the Cash Management Motion - where Aegean was provisionally given the go-ahead to operate its cash management system, maintain existing bank accounts and continue to perform intercompany transactions; the DIP Financing Motion - where shareholder Mercuria's offer of more than $532m in post-petition financing to fund the Chapter 11 process and the company's working capital needs was granted on an interim basis; the Vendor Motion - where Aegean was authorized, on a provisional basis, to pay foreign claims up to $3m; lien claims up to $4.3m; 503(b) claims up to $11.1m; and HSE and other claims in the ordinary course of business. the Wages Motion - where Aegean was authorized, on an interim basis, to pay an amount not exceeding $4.75m to cover compensation and withholding obligations (including $3.75m in unpaid wages); benefits and entitlements; and other employee benefits; And in Wednesday's hearing, the following motions look set to be up for discussion: Automatic Stay Motion Aegean is seeking an order that would enforce a worldwide automatic stay (effectively preventing creditors from taking further collection actions against them), anti-discrimination provisions, and protections of the Bankruptcy Code. Creditor Matrix Motion Aegean seeks authorization to file a consolidated list of its creditors - instead of filing separate mailing matrices and creditor lists for each debtor business, and also wants to file a consolidated list of its largest 30 unsecured creditors. Insurance Motion Aegean aims to get the court's permission to continue pre-petition insurance coverage and surety bonds; renew and enter into new insurance policies and surety bonds; and continue to pay brokerage fees. Schedules Extension Motion Aegean wants to extend, by 30 days, the deadline by which its businesses file their schedules of assets and liabilities, schedules of current income and expenditures, schedules of executory contracts and unexpired leases, and statements of financial affairs. Taxes Motion Aegean seeks authorization to pay certain taxes and fees. Future hearings - Utilities Motion Relief is due to be requested at a later hearing in connection with the Utilities Motion, where Aegean is seeking an order to approve its proposed assurance of payment for utility services; and the firm also aims to prohibit utility providers from altering, refusing, or discontinuing services.