UPDATE 2-Eastwind Maritime, affiliates plan to liquidate

* More than 50 affiliates also file for Chap. 7

* No reason given; attorney not available (Rewrites lead paragraph, adds Trustee, company comment)

By Chelsea Emery and Nick Carey

NEW YORK/DETROIT, June 24 (Reuters) - Shipping company Eastwind Maritime Inc said on Wednesday it would liquidate along with most of its affiliates, without giving a reason.

The company and more than 50 affiliates filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in New York.

Court documents and a company statement did not specify why it had chosen to liquidate rather than trying to restructure. A bankruptcy filing said: "... in the judgment of the board of directors, it is desirable and in the best interests of the company, its creditors and other interested parties that the company file a petition for relief and commence a case under the provisions of Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code."

A company statement said only: "Eastwind Maritime Inc, a Marshall Islands domiciled shipping company, today filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition for liquidation of the company and most of its subsidiaries in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York."

A company representative was not available for comment.

Salvatore LaMonica was named as Trustee, according to court documents.

An attorney for the company did not return a call for comment.

The corporation listed assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. Related affiliates include Kura Shipping Ltd and Probulk Inc. The cases are being heard by Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper.

Eastwind Maritime entered a deal with Chiquita Brands International Inc (CQB.N) in May 2007, in which Chiquita sold 12 refrigerated cargo vessels to Eastwind for $227 million, then leased them back. The vessels transported about 70 percent of Chiquita bananas shipped to core markets in Europe and North America.

Bryan Brown, a spokesman for Chiquita, did not immediately have information on the bankruptcy.

Prior to the agreement with Chiquita, Eastwind operated a fleet of 105 ships -- 68 of which it owned -- including refrigerated fruit carriers, freezer vessels, bulk carriers, product tankers and container ships, according to a Chiquita press release.

The Eastwind Maritime website has a notice reading: "We are currently updating our website. Thank you for your patience."

SHIPPING

The shipping industry was awash with cash during the recent economic boom and ordered new ships faster than the world's shipyards could build them -- order books at shipyards stretched to three years at the height of the boom -- and paid top dollar for those ships.

With the collapse of the market last September, many ship owners either cannot get loans to pay for those ships, or have found themselves paying off loans that are far greater than the present value of their ships.

On June 17, marine fuel supplier Bunkers International Corp sued Eastwind and a couple of subsidiaries in the New York Southern District Court.

A search of court documents shows Eastwind is engaged in a number of lawsuits as plaintiff or defendant. The company filed a lawsuit against Desan Shipyard in Istanbul in December last year during the height of the credit crisis.

The Chapter 7 case is In re Eastwind Maritime Inc, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-14047. (Reporting by Chelsea Emery and Nick Carey; additional reporting by Tom Hals in New York, Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; editing by Dave Zimmerman and Andre Grenon)