[SINGAPORE] First Ship Lease Trust, which hires out containerships, tankers and dry bulk carriers, said that lenders agreed to relax some loan covenant terms through year-end, as Standard & Poor's reviews the company's ratings.

The Singapore-listed trust received the reprieve on its debt terms last month, it said in a Feb 28 stock exchange filing. That follows previous consent by lenders to such requests, and "marks significant progress for the trust", according to the document.

"The agreement puts us on better footing, which means we can talk to rating agencies with clarity without the lenders calling a default," Alan Hatton, the chief executive officer of FSL Trust Management Pte, the trust manager, said yesterday. "This gives us some breathing space to make further improvements. We want to make sure the assets are managed efficiently to improve cash flows."