Japan's Sanko Steamship sought to reassure its clients that day-to-day operations for nearly 200 vessels were running as normal, four days after alerting creditors that it would not be able to pay some of its bills on time.

Sanko, one of Japan's oldest shipping firms, is the latest company to announce it was struggling to make payments amid a severe downturn in the dry bulk, tanker and container markets.

"We are operating our business as usual. We cannot continue smooth operations unless we pay the necessary costs for ship crew, fuel, and costs to enter and depart ports," a company spokesman said.

Soaring fuel costs, Europe's debt crisis and the lack of bank financing is prolonging a four-year shipping crisis that has forced some of the biggest names in the industry to falter, including Indonesia's PT Berlian Laju Tanker and Danish firm Torm.

"After the Lehman Brothers shock, the (freight) markets have remained low," the spokesman said. "Because the market is low, income from transportation and charter fees are staying below the costs for ship crew and operations."

Bermuda-based Knightsbridge Tankers and Golden Ocean Group were among the shipowners to receive requests from Sanko to delay hire payments for their ships.

Other shipowners with vessels under charter with Sanko include Japan's Nissen Kaiun, Germany's Hellespont and E.R. Schiffahrt, according to Sanko's website.

The firm has total liabilities of 108.1 billion yen ($1.31 billion) and a net loss of 14.2 billion yen as of end-March 2011.

The Baltic Exchange's main index, a benchmark for the dry bulk freight market, traded near 840 points this week, off its peak in May 2008 of 11,793 points before financial turmoil battered the sector. (Reuters)