New York-quoted ISC on Monday unveiled plans to offload “Series A” cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred stock in an underwritten registered public offering.

“[ISC] intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital and potential deployments of currently inactive vessels,” it said.

The company failed to identify the inactive ships by name but a filing with securities regulators suggests the candidates for redeployment may be one of the articulated tug barges that joined the owner's fleet when it acquired United Ocean Services late last year.

At the time, ISC intended to finance the $111m takeover with funds from a follow-on stock offering but the company, which is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, pulled the plug soon after citing “market conditions”.

BB&T Capital Markets and Nordic banking giant DNB Markets were to serve as underwriters of the failed fundraiser. Today, the prospectus tied to the perpetual preferred shares identified DNB and Incapital as joint book-running managers.

Its unclear how much cash ISC intends to raise but it noted dividends will be cumulative from the date of original issue and payable quarterly in arrears on the 30th day of January, April, July and October of each year, commencing 30 April 2013.

ISC, which is led by CEO Niels Johnsen, oversees a fleet of 50 bulkers, ferries, pure car and truck carriers, tankers, containerships, tugs and barges. Of the 20 units wholly owned by subsidiaries, it says two are inactive.

You can read the prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in full by clicking on the link located under the Related Media section to the right of this article