Two bids for TOWT

Two bids have been submitted to the Le Havre court for the resumption of TOWT’s operations.

Tension is mounting around the possible continuation of TOWT’s operations. The Le Havre court set the date of 14 April for the filing of ministries in bankruptcy. In doing so, the court gave room for the company’s operations to continue for one month. Employees do not yet know the content of the two bids. The court is due to make its final decision on 23 or 24 April. But nothing is yet known about the content of the bids.

According to Guillaume Le Grand, the chairman and co-founder of TOWT, days after the deadline for submitting bids, the funds in question are Révolution Environnementale et Solidaire (RES, managed by Crédit Mutuel Impact) and Sandton Capital Partners, a US fund specialising in the takeover of struggling companies. The first fund invested in the Norman company in 2024, when financing six new ships ordered from the Piriou shipyard.

Preserving jobs and ships

Both proposals provide for the preservation of almost all jobs and the completion of the construction of the ordered ships. They will be examined by the Le Havre commercial court for 14 days.
“This is good news,” stated Guillaume Le Grand, who says he supports these proposals because they “each have their own relevance” and are “very promising in terms of preserving jobs, with all seafarers and all shore staff except one or two”. He stressed the need to preserve jobs to operate these sailing freighters. “A ship has no value if there are not both men and women on board to operate it, especially under very specific conditions, and if there are no land-based personnel who know how to tap into a new market, namely low-carbon cargo, which is booming, even if it has taken a little longer than expected to get off the ground.”

Annus horribilis

TOWT filed for bankruptcy and the Le Havre commercial court opened judicial liquidation proceedings on 3 April, with a short period of continuation of operations, for a month, to buy time to find a possible acquirer. In explanation of the bankruptcy, Guillaume Le Grand pointed to the “annus horribilis” 2025, which triggered a series of difficulties: delivery delays and problems with vessels, the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump, initially low freight and oil prices (which do not encourage sailing as much as a high price per barrel), and additional burdens imposed by the state.

Six ships

In addition to the Anemos and Artemis already in operation, the company has six more ships on order. Of these six additional ships, four are under construction, as far as is known. The first two, the Atlantis and the Atlas, launched in December and February, are nearing completion, while the next two, the Archimedes and the Asterias, are “about 50% to 60%” under construction, according to Guillaume Le Grand. The Atlantis was expected to be delivered in the spring and the delivery of the five other new sister ships would take place at four-month intervals. “As part of the acquisition, the intention is to continue the construction and delivery of these vessels on terms favourable to Piriou,” assures the TOWT co-founder.

Source: Mer and Marine.
Photo: TOWT

Windassist sponsor