It is easy to blame the halt in initial public offerings (IPOs) of shipping companies on US exchanges over the past 18 months on the poor state of freight markets. Record low dry bulk rates early last year pushed several companies into Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring and others to make last-ditch loan term renegotiations to save their existence.

Crude and products tanker owners have sailed into choppy waters, while container leasing companies have been battling their own over-capacity crunch.