Shipping slows while banks and carriers fear loan defaults!
LONDON, England - November 11, 2009 - When Eastwind Maritime, a medium-size carrier company, went bankrupt this summer, few banks in the United States took notice.
With $350 billion of increasingly dubious shipping industry loans, the inability of Eastwind, which is based in New York, to handle its debt of more than $300 million set off an anxiety attack on lending desks across the continent.
The collapse of Eastwind Maritime, analysts say, while small, could well be a harbinger of more carrier failures to come.
With $350 billion of increasingly dubious shipping industry loans, the inability of Eastwind, which is based in New York, to handle its debt of more than $300 million set off an anxiety attack on lending desks across the continent.
The collapse of Eastwind Maritime, analysts say, while small, could well be a harbinger of more carrier failures to come.