Nautilus Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-chartered company that leases container ships, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York. The company, burdened with approximately $770 million in debt, sought this protection to bring creditors into a single forum for negotiations. Nautilus operates a fleet of 16 container ships, each with capacities of up to 7,000 twenty-foot containers. These ships are leased to companies such as AP Moeller-Maersk A/S, Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd, and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. The downturn in the container shipping industry, coupled with challenging economic conditions, contributed to Nautilus’s financial difficulties.
via maritime-executive:
Nautilus Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-chartered company that leases container ships, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, becoming the latest victim of a depressed shipping industry.
The company has about $770 million in debt, according to papers filed late Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
International shipping rates have fallen in recent years as large new vessels entered service at the same time that a sluggish global economy was curbing trade.
Nautilus said it had some profitable charter contracts and believed it was well-positioned to restructure its obligations, but it filed for bankruptcy protection to bring creditors into a single forum for negotiations.
The company, with offices in New York and Hong Kong, has a fleet of 16 container ships with capacities of up to 7,000 twenty-foot containers. It leases ships to companies including AP Moeller-Maersk A/S, Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.
Nautilus joins a list of shipping companies that have filed for bankruptcy in the United States in recent years, including Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd, Overseas Shipholding Group Inc and Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd.