The old days of euphoria, when German shipowners and batiks initiated multiple newbuilding programmes with box ships by the score, are long gone. In private, leading sector managers even confide that this was never healthy business practice; the bubble was sure to burst one day. Since 2008, up to 600 KG ships, most of them with a large and diverse retail investor bases, had to file for insolvency. Failures like this usually grab the biggest headlines because of the large number of stakeholders involved. However, the story has not ended yet. Beneath the radar there have been, and continue to be, more sales of privately owned German tonnage, either by owners or by banks, than newbuilding contracts or second-hand purchases made by German-based companies.
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