Liquidation proceedings to begin on short-lived trans-Tasman shipping line

Focus Container Line, an Australian shipping company operating a service that also covered routes to and from New Zealand and China, has declared bankruptcy and is undergoing liquidation proceedings just four months after it formally opened for business.

In an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) notice published on Tuesday, February 14, Focus said that the firm will be wound up and that it has appointed two liquidators. The bankruptcy has also resulted in the trans-Tasman company’s containers becoming stranded at various ports in Australia and New Zealand.

Focus is the latest global liner operator to encounter financial difficulties brought about by increased charter costs and significantly reduced earnings worldwide. Some firms have entered into administration while others reduced their respective capacities.


Ausmarine

Published since 1978, Ausmarine is the foremost magazine servicing the Australian and New Zealand commercial, military and government marine sectors.