CFO Nikolay Kolesnikov told TradeWinds: “At first we thoughtthis was an April Fool’s joke, but unfortunately it was not.”

In announcing its review, Moody’s, which has been rating SCFsince 2005, cited a growing ratio between SCF’s debt and its earnings beforeinterest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), a cash flow deficit asa result of continued fleet expansion and an outlook for a challenging shippingmarket over the next 12 to 18 months.

But