SINGAPORE - Container ship operator Rickmers Maritime remained stuck in the red for the second quarter due to huge impairment charges.

The mainboard-listed trust reported a net loss of US$55.6 million for the three months ended June 30, owing largely to a non-cash impairment of US$51.5 million in light of the depressed charter market, said its trustee-manager in an exchange filing on Friday. This was far wider than the US$15.7 net loss a year earlier.

Charter revenue fell 37 per cent to US$18 million, due to reduced charter rates and lower vessel utilisation rates.

The trust has suspended distributions to unitholders since the third quarter of the 2015 financial year in order to conserve cash.