Dubai shipyard operator Drydocks World has received approval from 97 per cent of the holders of its $2.2bn debt for a restructuring plan currently going through bankruptcy courts in Dubai.

The approval is a vital step for the company to force through its plan to restructure the debt in the face of opposition from Monarch Capital, the one creditor that has refused to agree. Drydocks needs the approval of only two-thirds of its creditors for the DIFC Courts, where the legal process is under way, to be put in place in the face of opposition from minority creditors.

Drydocks is in the process of forming a joint venture in South East Asia, a move that should net the firm a substantial payment from its joint venture partner that the Dubai company will use to pay off some of the $2.2bn of debt.