Joe Azelby, chief executive officer of JP Morgan Asset Management's $50 billion global real assets group, said the plan is to buy ships from distressed sellers, with operating partners.

Mr Azelby is quoted as saying: "The shipping business is in worse shape than real estate. In some cases ship values are down between 60 and 80 per cent."

Distressed debt funds are already a relatively familiar part of the investment industry but distressed shipping investing is still a specialist area. Earlier in the decade, shipping and freight rates soared on the back of rising global trade and the commodity boom, but last year rates began to slide as the financial crisis took hold.

Mr Azelby said that a handful of banks have tended to dominate the industry, a major user of financing. "But many of these banks are now de facto government-owned in some shape or form."

This means owners are in need of third party funding at a time when pricing is at an historic low. Mr Azelby sees continued downward pressure on pricing over the next 12 to 24 months and an opportunity to capitalise on this gap.

The bank is thought to be looking for $500 million to $750 million to start with.