Few expect to see a progress report, however, before30 April when a temporary loan amortization wavier is due to expire.

Some believe the New York-listed operator may beable to land another extension, others don’t, but what both sides can agree onis that the chances of curing its financial maladies out of court are lookingincreasingly unlikely.

Market sources tell TradeWinds that bondholders havebanded together and are seeking advice from attorneys in a bid to “prepare forall eventualities”.  Some said they have retainedAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld as an advisor, a claim the firm has declined to confirm or deny.

Miller Buckfire &Co is serving as Excel’s financial advisor and Skadden,Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Bracewell& Giuliani were hired as legal consultants. Thelatter handled the bankruptcy of Omega Navigation Enterprises and Marco PoloSeatrade.

If the bulker operatorwere to seek Chapter 11 protection from creditors legal sources say the filingwould likely be made in the Southern District of New York where the companyrecently set up a temporary office right down the road from one of the region’sbankruptcy courts.

While investors, bondholders and analysts hope tosee an update by the 30 April deadline one observer pointed out that Holy Weekin Greece begins on Sunday, which means communications from the manyAthens-based issuers with New York listings may be few and far between.

According to a corporate fact sheetreleased in January of this year Excel’s owned fleet included seven capes, 14kamsarmaxes, 14 panamaxes, two supramaxes and a pair of handies with a totalcarrying capacity of 3.6 million DWT.

The VesselsValue.com database estimatesthe 39 bulkers to be worth approximately $619m today’s market. Thecumulative total excludes chartered tonnage like the 76,000-dwt Coal Age, Fearless I,King Coal and Barbara (all built 1997), which are at the centre of a dispute.

Shares of Excel, which tradeon the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “EXM”, fell 4.42% beforebottoming out at around $0.43 in the hour leading up to the close on Friday.

Earlier this month Omar Nokta of Global Hunter Securities initiated research coverageof the stock with a “sell” rating in a note that highlighted lingering concernsabout what the analyst described as a “high debt balance” and exposure to“weak” freight rates.

The researcher said the company is grappling with “a liquidity issue” asmore than $350m worth of debt matures this year and next. The outstanding totalincludes $116m of convertible bonds with put options that are exercisable in2014.

“The threat of bondholders exercising their put options to Excel keeps therisk of a bankruptcy filing at the forefront,” Nokta, whose commentary echoesreports issued by many of his peers, told investors.