Paragon Shipping has hit a major milestone on the roadto financial stability but the Greek bulker owner still has to overcome a seriesof hurdles before it reaches the finish line.

In a statement MichaelBodouroglou applauded freshly minted waivers and relaxation agreements linkedto bankrolls backed by Unicredit, The Bank of Scotland, Bank of Ireland andHSBC Bank but failed to shed light on negotiations with other key lenders.

“These agreements will significantlyimprove the company's liquidity, financial position and overall stabilitythrough these difficult market conditions,” he added without referencing ongoingattempts to strike debt deals with Commerzbank, HSH Nordbank and Nordea BankFinland.

In a filing with the US Securitiesand Exchange Commission, Paragon admitted that the ultimate success of itsfinancial overhaul rests on the support of all five lenders and a $10m fundraiserthat would need to be completed within three months of final documentation.

The bitter-sweet revelationsare likely to be met by mixed reactions on Wall Street as many equity analysts believethe capital markets are closed to cash-strapped bulker owners given dire freightforecasts fuelled by concerns about the glut in global fleet capacity.

In addition, observers maypoint out that Commerzbank and HSH, two of shipping’s leading German lenders, havespoken publicly about plans to reduce their exposure to maritime space or pullout of the segment altogether by winding down loan portfolios over time.

In Wednesday’s filing Paragonwarned investors that it might not be able to service a portion of the $203.9mworth of outstanding obligations over the next 12 months based on its current cashflow forecasts unless pen meets paper on all the loan amendments.

One of the most importantdiscussions appears to involve Nordea, which has been asked to extend theavailability of a $33.8m chunk of untapped credit that was tossed on ice due tobreached covenants.

If Paragon can unthaw thefacility it intends to use the bankroll to partially finance the delivery of twohandysize bulker that are due for delivery in 2013 but may be forced to seek alternativesif it fails to obtain waivers or restructure the loan agreements in time.

In today’s press release the Athens-based ownerhighlighted the success of negotiations with the four lenders have tentatively agreedto revise several financial and security coverage ratio covenants in contracts thatalso involve the deferral of quarterly installment payments.

It noted that the Bank ofIreland and The Bank of Scotland extended their loan agreements to the secondquarter of 2017 and third quarter of 2015, respectively, and said the latter acceptedan advanced $2.8m payment that will wipe out $4.7m worth of existing debtentirely.

You can read Paragon's SEC filing in full by clicking on the link located under the Related Media section to the right of this article