German multipurpose (MPP) operator Hansa Heavy Lift (HHL) has filed for insolvency.

Private equity shareholder Oaktree Capital Management (Oaktree) confirms that an insolvency petition was submitted to a court in Hamburg earlier today.

Oaktree blamed “an extremely challenging operating environment in the global shipping industry.”

The US investor, which established HHL out of the ashes of collapsed MPP operator Beluga Shipping in 2011, argued it had been “a committed investor” in HHL over the past seven years.