Shipping, Finance, and Insolvencies: The Black Swan Comes Home to Roost

By Jeremy J.O. Harwood, Partner, Blank Rome LLP

In 2007, in discussing the new Bankruptcy Code chapter, Chapter 15, in respect of foreign bankruptcy cases, we wrote “international financial markets ‘correct’ themselves…. [t]he international shipping industry, which has seen all time highs in recent years, may ponder its own fate.”1 In March of this year our article on the same subject was followed by the question “A Homeport In The United States?” The Chapter 15 filing of Britannia Bulk PLC (“Brit Bulk”) in the New York Bankruptcy Court on November 17, 2008 is evidence of the Black Swan2 (“what you don’t know is more relevant that what you do know”) coming home to roost in the U.S. Bankruptcy system. This note will examine the Brit Bulk filing; the efficacy

This is only an excerpt of Shipping, Finance, and Insolvencies: The Black Swan Comes Home to Roost

Content is restricted to subscribers. To continue reading please Log-In or view our subscription options.