Sea Containers, the US-listed shipping firm, is working on a sale of its GNER UK railway business. The business could be worth £200m. Cash from a sale would be put towards paying down debt. Sources said the only way for Sea Containers to avoid selling GNER would be to seek bankruptcy protection in the US. Such a move, however, would put GNER in breach of its UK rail operating franchise, with a potential loss of the contract. A sale is unlikely to proceed before Sea Containers hears a ruling in a court case against the Office of the Rail Regulator, regarding the granting of a London - Sunderland route using the same rail line as GNER.