Nautilus Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-chartered company that leases container ships, has filed for chapter 11 protection, becoming the latest victim of a depressed shipping industry, Reuters reported yesterday. The company has about $770 million in debt, according to papers filed on Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. International shipping rates have fallen in recent years as large new vessels entered service at the same time that a sluggish global economy was curbing trade. Nautilus said that it had some profitable charter contracts and believed it was well-positioned to restructure its obligations, but it filed for bankruptcy protection to bring creditors into a single forum for negotiations.
