Rand Logistics' prepack cleared confirmation on Feb. 28, roughly one month after the Great Lakes bulk-freight operator put seven debtor entities into chapter 11. The first-day record described a 15-vessel fleet serving about 50 customers, 501 full-time employees, and approximately $235.9 million of debt as of Dec. 31, 2017: about $149 million of first-lien obligations with Bank of America as agent and $86.9 million of second-lien obligations with Lightship as agent and sole lender. The filing followed a 30% Canadian-dollar weakening against the U.S. dollar, covenant pressure, and $29.2 million of January-September 2017 capital expenditures and dry-dock costs, nearly double the historical annual average source filing.

The court approved the disclosure statement and confirmed the joint prepackaged plan, making the plan binding on the debtors, reorganized debtors, claim and interest holders, released parties, and parties receiving property under the plan source filing. The plan became effective on March 1, 2018, and the notice set April 2 rejection-damages and renewed-notice deadlines, an April 16 administrative-claims deadline, and an April 30 professional-fee deadline source filing. For professionals tracking the case, the key arc is a lender-supported balance-sheet deleveraging, not a contested sale process.