Eagle Bulk shares tumbled in early New York trading as the shockwave from Korea Line’s court protection filing arrived in the US.

Nasdaq-listed Eagle, which has the largest exposure to the Korean owner among the publicly traded dry-bulk companies, saw its stock plummet by over 8%.

Glum faces all round today for US-listed bulker owners.

In a note to clients this morning, Martin Sommerseth Jaer of Arctic Securities, said: “It is quite clear that today’s bankruptcy will send shockwaves through the industry, and remind the market that the dry bulk shipping crisis declared over almost two years ago, perhaps was a premature conclusion to make.”

Natasha Boyden of Cantor Fitzgerald said: “With nearly 150 ships chartered-in, we suggest this could cause ripples through the dry bulk sector as counterparty risk again becomes more probable.

“While a number of dry bulk companies in our coverage universe have exposure to Korea Line, we suggest the biggest concern is Eagle Bulk Shipping which has 13 ships on charter to the company.”

She added: “However, it’s too early to tell what the actual effect from this will be. Furthermore, we suggest it is still possible that the South Korean government could help bail out Korea Line, at which point the effects could be minimal."

Eagle’s stock had dropped 8.40% to $4.40 per share at the time of writing Tuesday, the largest faller on the TradeWinds Shipping Index.

Dag Kilen, an analyst at RS Platou Markets, says the Eagle supramaxes with KLC are fixed at rates of around $18,000, a figure which is “not far away” from today’s market.

Attempts to reach Eagle Bulk for comment on KLC’s move were unsuccessful today.

Golden Ocean, which has two ships with the South Korean firm, had earlier seen its stock plummet in Oslo.

Genco Shipping & Trading shares were also on the ropes in the US, losing 7.71% to $11.99 each, at the time of writing. It is understood to have one vessel on hire to KLC, but the contract is thought to elapse in February.

DryShips and Excel Maritime also shed more than 5% of their value as the news from Korea spooked investors.

“It is a reminder to everybody that even if you have charters in place the owners might not always be there to honour them,” a top analyst told TradeWinds earlier today.