Largest maritime lender pushes to clear bad debt; 1.5b euros deals on cards

Hamburg

HSH Nordbank, the world's largest financier of vessels, expects its push against bad shipping debt to gain traction this year after some deals with investors fell apart in 2014 in a dispute over ship prices.

The Hamburg-based bank is looking to seal several transactions that would result in maritime companies taking over vessels from defaulting debtors, Wolfgang Topp, head of HSH's restructuring unit, said in a phone interview. The bank unloaded US$300 million in distressed loans through a similar deal with Greek shipowner Navios Group in 2013.