Sea Containers was a Bermudan registered company which operated two main business areas: transport and container leasing. It filed for bankruptcy on 16 October 2006. In 2009 its maritime container interests were transferred to a new company SeaCo Ltd. History Yale University graduate and retired United States Navy officer James Sherwood founded Sea Containers in 1965, with initial capital of $100,000. It was later listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In May 1989, UK-based Tiphook launched an unsuccessful takeover bid for the company. Over 40 years, Sherwood expanded Sea Containers from a supplier of leased cargo containers, into various shipping companies, as well as expanding the company into luxury hotels and railway trains, including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and the Great North Eastern Railway train operating company. Sherwood's net worth was estimated at £60million in the 2004 Sunday Times Rich List. In 2005, Sea Containers sold its 25% share in Orient-Express Hotels. Sherwood resigned from each of his companies in 2006 and was replaced by turnaround specialist Bob Mackenzie, while Ian Durant became senior vice-president of finance. Chapter 11 Despite selling various businesses and assets, Sea Containers announced in early October 2006 that it was unlikely to be able to pay a $115m (£62m) bond due on 15 October. On 16 October, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On 6 November 2006 the Department for Work & Pensions wrote to Sea Containers that it must pay £143m into its two UK pension schemes if it wanted to wind them up. On 11 February 2009, its maritime container interests were transferred to a new company SeaCo Ltd, with the wind-down and liquidation of the remainder of the group continuing. The major shareholders in the new company were the former Sea Containers Ltd bondholders and two of the group's UK pension funds. Operations Ferry services and related businesses Isle of Man Steam Packet Company: fast and conventional services in the Irish Sea. Acquired in 1996, sold in 2003. Silja Line: fast and conventional services in the Baltic Sea. In June 2006 Silja Line was purchased by Tallink, a ferry company from Estonia. The fast catamaran service SuperSeaCat was separated from Silja Line and operated until 2008 when it went bankrupt. Orient-Express Hotels: (25% shareholding) sold in 2005 SeaStreak: following the Sea Containers bankruptcy of 2006, this operation was sold to New England Fast Ferry SNAV-Hoverspeed: a joint venture with