'Last resort'

An executive at Nordea said Tuesday that the bank took control of 13 Eastwind ships and sold them off only after all other options were exhausted.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit made public Tuesday has led to the arrest of one of the New York-based shipowner's vessels.

TradeWinds reported earlier Tuesday that Nordea has taken control of 13 of Eastwind's vessels and sold them to Sammy Ofer's Samama. (Read the article here.)

"Exercising collateral and taking actions like this is always the last resort that a bank would like to take," Hans Kjelsrud, executive vice president at Nordea in New York, told TradeWinds.

He said the decision came after "exhaustive analysis" of the situation facing Eastwind and the vessels that served as collateral in Nordea's loans.

The banker declined to discuss details of Eastwind's account, including the total of the loans owed to Nordea. He also would not reveal the purchase price paid by Samama for the 10 containerships, two bulkers and a reefer.

But Kjelsrud said there is no secret that the shipping market has been weak for the last six months to a year.

"We work as hard as we can with our clients to find the best possible solution that can benefit all stakeholders when you are in distressed situations, and this is an action that we take as a matter of last resort," he said.

Adding to Eastwinds mounting troubles, Italy's PB Tankers has secured the arrest of the 29,500-dwt bulker Yarmouth (built 1985) in a US federal lawsuit claiming nearly $22.9m in damages. The arrest order was issued Friday but not made public until Tuesday.

The Rule B action, filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleges that Eastwind failed to make April charter payments for the 51,200-dwt chemical tankers Indigo Point and Indian Point (both built 2008). Eastwind then attempted to terminate the charters, forged in December for 60 months on each ship, according to legal filings.

PB Tankers, which plans to pursue litigation in the High Court of London, is seeking the unaid charter hire, in addition to the $22.2m in difference between Eastwind's charter rate and what the ships currently are earning in the market.

The Yarmouth is at least the second bulker to be arrested this month over a claim against Eastwind. TradeWinds reported 12 June that Meadway secured the arrest of the 30,000-dwt bulker Yucatan (built 1996).

The latest lawsuit asserts that the Yarmouth is owned by Eastwind Maritime, although Eastwind Hellas reportedly sold the ship in November of last year for $30m. Clarkson Research lists the ship as controlled by Norway's Eidsiva Rederi, while Equasis still names Eastwind as manager.

Representatives at Don Simmons-led Eastwind could not be reached Tuesday afternoon.

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