MV Copenship Wisdom. Photo: Copenship AS via Facebook
By Ole Mikkelsen
COPENHAGEN, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Privately-owned shipping company Copenship has filed for bankruptcy in Copenhagen after losses in the dry bulk market, its Chief Executive Michael Fenger told Reuters.
Copenship had been operating over 50 chartered small-sized dry-bulk vessels carrying goods such as grain, iron ore and timber.
“We have done what we could to raise the funds to save the company, but we have reached a point where there is not more to do,” Michael Fenger wrote in a text message to Reuters on Wednesday.
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell to its lowest level in nearly three decades on Tuesday, hurt by weaker rates across all four vessel segments.
On Wednesday the index stood at 569, close to the historic low level of 554 set in July 1986.
“First of all, we have found ourselves in an extremely bad dry cargo market. Secondly, there are several counterparties that have caused us losses, and then thirdly there are different insurance cases that could hit us,” Fenger wrote.
Insolvency administrator Per Astrup Madsen from Copenhagen law firm Lett said the vessels will be handed back to owners.
“Copenship expected to turn around the business in 2014 but the dry bulk freight rates continued the falling trend,” Astrup Madsen said.
One of the world’s leading dry bulk shipping companies, Copenhagen-based D/S Norden, posted a net loss of $326 million for 2012 and 2013 combined, and said in December it expects a full-year 2014 EBITDA loss of between $290 million and $230 million.
Shipping analyst Peter Sand at shipping organisation Bimco said 2015 looks set to be dull on the demand side, whereas the supply side is likely to provide the same amount of new capacity as in 2014. “Such a development will not improve the fundamental market balance,” he wrote in a note. (Editing by David Holmes)
Denmark has rejected a Japanese request to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson over criminal charges dating back more than a decade, a Danish lawyer representing Watson said on Tuesday.
A 37-year-old crew member was saved after spending three harrowing days adrift at sea following alleged abuse aboard a fishing vessel. Afif Efendy, a crew member of the fishing vessel...
British oil and gas major Shell on Tuesday settled a London lawsuit it brought against environmental group Greenpeace after activists boarded a Shell oil production vessel last year.
December 10, 2024
Total Views: 1438
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
We’ve got your daily industry news related to the global maritime and offshore industries.
JOIN OUR CREW
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 109,770 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.