It is a well-established trend that the offshore sector’s recovery has been no easy feat to finance. Despite greater contract coverage, improving rates, and asset prices, the non “green” aspect of the industry has deterred most lenders – with the exceptions of bond investors and private credit funds. Companies: Seacor Marine Holdings Inc., EnTrust, Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, Carlyle

It is difficult to believe that we are only a few weeks away from 2025, and it has been only two weeks since we hosted our final conference of 2024! Marine Money NYC was packed on November 21st, brimming with energy, bountiful discussions about what is going on in our industry, and…walkout music?

In the labyrinthine corridors of the shipping industry, where invisible forces like weather patterns and geopolitical ripples dictate the flow of global trade, data is often the only map. Kpler, a rising star in maritime analytics, has just redrawn that map.

Close to this time last year, Star Bulk shook up the headlines with the announcement of its merger with Eagle Bulk, which was finally completed around April of this year. Companies: Star Bulk, Eagle Bulk

Last week, we discussed the various take-private transactions we have recorded this year, as compared to the new listings. The results may surprise many, with a three to six score (take-private transactions vs. new listings), although the scale of transactions was much greater for the take-privates. Companies: Pangaea, MTM, BW, Avance Gas, Torm, Sinokor, International Seaways, Diamond S

M&A was a hot topic at the Marine Money NYC forum in November, and for good reason. Through 2024 we have seen some high-profile M&A transactions in the shipping industry, and three of them (thus far) have been successful take-private transactions.

Recently, we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans—Third Quarter 2024,” presenting some interesting data points comparing the nine months’ of deal activity each year from 2008 to present and what it means for ongoing themes in our industry.

In the recent trend of refinancing, very few have been as active as Diana Shipping in 2024. Companies: Diana Shipping, Danish Ship Finance, Nordea

Over their many years of investing in the shipping sector, Oaktree’s repertoire has included many entries and exits from big names in shipping, and even more recently in offshore. Companies: Oaktree, Fleetscape, Quantum Pacific Group, DNB Markets, Crédit Agricole , Pelagic Partners , Dynamis Capital, Eastern Pacific Shipping, ZIM

With assets that operate for 50+ years, limited newbuildings, stringent ownership and operating requirements, and a finite number of players, dealmaking in the Jones Act can sometimes seem sleepy – but not lately! Companies: Maritime Partners, E1 Marine, U.S. Coast Guard , J. Russell Flowers, MG Transport Holdings, American Tanker Holdings Company, U.S. Marine Management, ATLAS SP Partners, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs

Last week, we discussed Diana Shipping’s long list of financing activities in 2024, having recently added to it with an extremely successful and competitive $25 million tap issue from their previous $150 million Senior Unsecured bond issuance. Companies: Diana Shipping, Nordea, Altera Shuttle Tankers, Ocean Yield, TORM, Stena, DFDS, Klaveness Combination Carriers

For over a decade, private equity has played a recurring role in shipping through various strategies. Following the financial crisis in 2008, many mega-funds identified investment opportunities in distressed situations, arising from depressed trade activity and asset values, as well as in private credit, arising from a liquidity crisis and funding gap. Companies: Brookfield, Oaktree, Golden Energy Offshore, Blue Ocean Partners, Riverstone, TPG Capital, Canada Pension Plan, Viking Cruises , Torm, BlackRock, GasLog (through Global Infrastructure Partners, GIC, Hahn & Co. , Morgan Stanley , SK Shipping, Apollo, Energos