Another Bermuda-registered shipping company plans to file an initial public offering.

Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday that TBS International Ltd. had filed an initial public offering to sell up to $125 million in common stock, according to a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Details about the number of shares offered and estimated price range for the IPO weren?t disclosed in the filing. Some of the shares will be sold by selling holders, the filing said.

TBS International Ltd. filed its registration statement under the name TBS Shipping International Ltd.

The ocean transportation services provider said it will use net proceeds from the IPO to purchase vessels, or if suitable vessels aren?t available, to repay debt and for working capital. It won?t receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling holders, the filing said.

Merrill Lynch & Co. and Jefferies & Co. were listed as underwriters for the offering.

TBS International, based in Bermuda, offers worldwide shipping through liner, parcel, bulk and vessel chartering services.

For the year ended December 31, 2004, the company swung to a profit of $41.9 million from a loss of $2 million in 2003, the filing said.

TBS operates a fleet of 30 vessels, including 13 ships that it owns, nine that are operated under charters with options to purchase and eight that are chartered-in without options to purchase. In addition, the company will take delivery of three dry bulk carriers in the second quarter of 2005.

In 2004, the company carried 3.7 million tons of cargo, operated 182 voyages and generated total revenue and net income of $208.8 million and $41.9 million, respectively.

The company plans to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TSI.

The $125 million valuation for the IPO was estimated solely for calculating the registration fee, the filing said. Often, the eventual price terms of an IPO offer differ substantially from the valuation in the first registration.

Several Bermuda-based shipping companies have opted to float their shares in the last year as cargo rates have steeply increased, as have charter rates for oil tankers.

Last week, Bermuda-based tanker company Nordic American Tankers said it had completed a secondary public offering that raised around $170 million.

Other prominent Bermuda-based international shipping companies include Tsakos Energy Navigation, Knightsbridge Tankers, Arlington Tankers, Frontline and Sea Containers.