Gregory Callimanopulos-controlled Toisa is looking to use the US bankruptcy court to bring together a raft of lenders in a single venue to forge a restructuring agreement after the shipowner missed more than $49m in principal payments by the end of last year.

Robert Hennebry, chief financial officer at Toisa since 1997, told a US bankruptcy judge in New York that the diversified offshore vessel, tanker and bulker owning group is a viable operation despite being $1.05bn