HSH Nordbank has signalled an
intention to scrap dozens of ships seized from indebted clients, if the
shipping bank fails to sell them, a news report said.
Rune Hoffmann, a spokesman for
HSH Nordbank, told Bloomberg that potentially 30 to 40 of the 1,100 vessels in
the restructuring unit might be affected.
“If a ship is no longer supported
by its owners and we don't find a buyer, then an insolvency or scrapping of the
vessel may become the last option,” Hoffmann was quoted as saying.
HSH Nordbank is seeking to reduce
its non-performing loans on its balance sheet. The sluggish business atmosphere
in the global shipping market has caused some of the bank's clients to struggle
with paying back their debts.
The bank's shipping loans
totalled EUR25bn ($33.8bn), of which EUR9bn are part of the restructuring unit
established in 2009, according to Wolfgang Topp, head of operations at the
bank. About 15% or around 165 of 1,100 vessels in the unit are not salvageable,
while the remaining 85% may be restructured, he revealed last month.
In April this year, HSH Nordbank
sold 10 ships comprising of five tankers and five boxships to Greek shipping
firm Navios Group, allowing the bank to reduce its stock of bad loans. Navios
paid $130m in cash and took a 10-year loan of $170m to acquire the 10 ships.
Source:
seatrade-global. 26 October 2013
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