Second Bulk Shipper Files for Bankruptcy

Posted by Joseph Keefe February 18, 2015

Dozens of iron ore and coal carriers idled as Baltic dry index falls to all-time low.

A second dry cargo shipper has filed for bankruptcy following a collapse in freight rates that has forced many companies to idle vessels used to haul iron ore, coal and grain rather than hire out the ships at a loss.

Weaker demand from China and an oversupply of ships has led to the worst industry downturn in 30 years, pushing the Baltic dry index - the industry benchmark for freight rates - to an all-time low.

China's Winland Ocean Shipping Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on Feb. 12, court documents show, the second banruptcy this month.

"Due to current market conditions, the financial position of the company and its subsidiaries has deteriorated, leading to immediate difficulties," the document states, adding that it had therefore filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Privately owned Danish firm Copenship filed for bankruptcy earlier in February after losses in the dry bulk market.

"The combination of lower steel demand in China and the huge volume of new tonnage coming on line is what is causing panic and making this the worst bulk market since the mid-1980s," said Hsu Chih-chien, chairman of Hong Kong and Singapore-listed dry bulk shipper Courage Marine.

China's imports tumbled 19.9 percent from a year earlier as its economy grows at its slowest rate in 24 years.

The current freight rate for carrying a cargo of coal in a panamax ship from Indonesia to southern China is about $3,000 per day, compared with more than $6,000 last year. The Baltic dry index has slumped by nearly two-thirds in the past 15 months.

Adding to slowing demand is a swelling fleet, with the number of ordered capesize and panamax carriers for the next three years equal to 39 percent of the existing fleet, according to shipping services firm Clarkson. Yet dry-bulk seaborne trade rose only 4 percent last year.

As a result, dozens of capesize and panamax vessels have been idle around Singapore, Hong Kong and off South Africa's coast, Reuters ship tracking data showed.

Dry-bulkers are not the only shippers in trouble. Over 10 percent of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker fleet is currently idled after Asian LNG prices fell almost two-thirds since February 2014.