South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has been told to negotiate charter cuts of between 20% and 30% to secure fresh investment from creditors.

The restructuring owner, with reported debts of $5.8bn, will only win debt relief if it lowers fleet costs, the Mail daily reported.

The report said the demand was made at a meeting with creditors led by Korea Development Bank (KDB) on Tuesday.

HMM