Gulf Navigation Holding, the Dubai -listed shipping firm, has reached a settlement with a group of international creditors on the debt it raised to finance two very large crude carriers (VLCC).

The company has “reached full and final settlement” with DVB Bank, BNP Paribas, and DNB Bank, it said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market without giving the financial details of the settlement.

The VLCCs  seized at international ports in 2013 after the company defaulted on the loan to finance them. The vessels, the Gulf Sheba and the Gulf Eyadah were later sold to DHT Holdings $98m in 2014, but the company continued to be in dispute with the lenders who helped it raise the syndicated facility.

“Gulf Navigation is also in negotiations with remaining counter-parties and hopeful of reaching fair settlements soon,” it said without elaborating further.

The deal is part of a Gulf Navigation’s efforts to clear all “historical liabilities to allow the company to refocus its energy into exploring new horizons for growth in the maritime and shipping business,” it said in the statement, adding that ending of the dispute with the lenders will help in “restoring the company’s reputation as a credible, reliable and responsible player in the shipping industry.”

The company last week reported a six-fold increase in its 2016 net profit to AED136m ($37.3m). An improvement in chemical tanker spot rates, which boosted margins, and further rationalisation of their cost structure, which lowered finance and overhead costs, drove the company’s profits, chief executive Khamis Juma Buamim said at the time

Gulf Navigation is the only maritime and shipping company listed with the on DFM. It also operates an office in Saudi Arabia.

In November last year, the company appointed US-based Deloitte Consulting for an advisory contract on the acquisition of a huge maritime vessel. The firm currently maintains eight chemical tankers as well as four crew boats which are used in its shipping services business.