NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ? Sea Containers Ltd., one of Bermuda?s longest standing international companies, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors in the US yesterday after failing to repay $115 million of debt.

The company listed $1.67 billion in assets and $1.58 billion in debts, including $115 million in 10.75 percent notes due on Sunday and $149.8 million in 7.875 percent notes due in 2008. It filed the case on Sunday in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Sea Containers, with fiscal 2004 sales of $1.74 billion and a $4.2 million net loss, lacked the money to service bonds and has ?continued to experience a steady decline in liquidity primarily due to a decline in positive cash flow,? chief executive officer Robert MacKenzie said in court papers.

Bankruptcy protection will let the company move ?onto a sustainable financial footing?, the company said in a statement. It owns business including the SeaStreak ferry operating between central New Jersey and Manhattan, a Brazilian grape farm, an Ivory Coast banana plantation, the Illustrated London News, an office building and travel agency in London and land in Houston, all of which will be sold, MacKenzie said in court papers.

Sea Container is also part owner of a container-leasing business. It sold its Baltic ferry business in June for $594 million to cut its debt.

Great North Eastern Railway Ltd., a carrier of 17 million passengers last year from London to Scotland, isn?t in breach of its franchise to operate the line, Sea Containers said.

Oil Prices, Competition

The CEO said ferry business losses are associated with ?increased oil prices, an overall decline in passenger volume, increased competition? and ?ship lay-up costs.?

Shares of Sea Containers fell two cents to 61 cents in over-the-counter trading. The stock rose to a 52-week high of $14.21 Jan. 20 and fell to a 52-week low of 56 cents earlier today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Sea Containers? 10.75 percent debt due yesterday fell about 1.5 cents to 72 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the NASD.

The company?s 7.875 percent notes fell 4.25 cents to 70 cents on the dollar in New York, according to Trace. The price has tumbled from 95 cents on the dollar on August 10, Trace data shows.

Common-share holders often receive nothing at the end of bankruptcy proceedings. ?I think there?s a little too much enthusiasm on the stock,? said Kevin Starke, an analyst at Weeden & Co. in Greenwich, Connecticut. He doesn?t own the stock.

The company is struggling with the underfunded status of some of its seven pension plans, MacKenzie said in court papers.

Starke said a central issue in Sea Containers? bankruptcy involves uncertainty over the pension liabilities, which may be as high as $250 million, and whether they take priority over paying bondholders.

On a positive note, the company ?has a lot of assets it can sell to get itself out of bankruptcy,? he said. ?Every bean counts.?