The Foremost Group's loan from the US government's Covid-19 economic relief plan has proved controversial due the company's political links, but it is not the only shipping company to receive funds — and not the only one to raise questions.

The Angela Chao-led bulker owner received a loan of less than $500,000 in mid-April from the Paycheck Protection Program and used it to safeguard 20 jobs, it told TradeWinds on Wednesday after the federal government made the data public earlier in the week.