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This year has been an exciting and confusing one for shipping. The industry has had to navigate various themes — some continuations of previous years, some reversals, and others entirely new, such as changing global leadership and regulations. Companies: ZIM, ADNOC, KNOT Offshore Partners , Knutsen NYK Oil Tankers, Alterra Shuttle Tankers

This week we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans—Third Quarter 2025,” which reveals some interesting trends in the ship lending/financing market.

Among several recent deals illustrating this trend, one of the most notable comes from shipping and capital markets pioneer Peter Georgiopoulos, who has filed to launch a new Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)—or “blank check company”—in partnership with Jefferies. Companies: Peter Georgiopoulos, Jefferies, Navios Maritime, Star Bulk , General Purpose Acquisition Corp. Services LLC, United Overseas Group , Gener8 Maritime , Maritime Equity Partners, Genco Shipping & Trading , General Purpose Acquisition Corp. (GPACU), GPAC, GPACW, Stellar V Capital Corp, Prokopios Tsirigakis , George Syllantavos

CUSTOMS – ZOLL – DOUANE
SHIPPING STOCKS UNDER PRESSURE

The list of bond issuances keeps growing, and along with it the number of noteworthy accomplishments. Companies: Danaos, Stolt-Nielsen, Danske Bank, DNB Carnegie, Fearnley Securities, Nordea, Odfjell

In other corners of the maritime industry trends are converging as well, bringing together an increasingly popular funding strategy and sector momentum. Companies: Contships, Scorpio, Performance Shipping, Navios, International Seaways, Kinetics LNG Holding Limited , Karpowership, AmFELS Yard , Seatrium, Pareto Securities, Fearnley Securities , Ocean Yield , KKR, CapeOmega, Apollo HavEnergy, Basalt Infrastructure Partners’, Celsius Shipping

NEW SANCTIONS COULD RESHAPE PRODUCT TANKER MARKETS
TANKER MARKETS CONTINUE TO CLIMB

Another encouraging signal from the ECM front is Tor Olav Trøim’s sponsored company Bruton Limited. Companies: Tor Olav Trøim, Bruton Limited, Andes Tankers II, Euronext Growth Oslo, Koch Shipping, Clarksons Securities AS , ABG Sundal Collier, Arctic Securities, DNB, Carnegie, Fearnley Securities , Ro Sommernes

The rise of private credit is one of the defining shifts in modern financial markets. Companies: Blackstone, KKR, Brookfield, Moody, Hudson Structured Capital Management, Performance Trust Capital Partners, Seward & Kissel.

The offshore services sector comeback has seen a few big developments this year surrounding capital raising efforts and investment, such as Tidewater’s landmark $650 million notes offering and $250 million credit facility. Companies: Compagnie Maritime Monégasque , Petrobas. DOF, DNB Markets , Capital Offshore, United Offshore Support, Hayfin Capital Management , New York Stock Exchange, Transocean, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, DNB Carnegie, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo Securities, SpareBank 1 Markets

It turned out to be a great day to hold Marine Money Korea on 30th October 2025. The day before, the U.S. and Korea had signed a $350 billion trade agreement, $150 billion of which was earmarked for maritime investment.

While equity capital markets may be re-opening, the bond market has remained a dominant source of capital for shipowners this year. While much of the Nordic bond narrative is already known, there have been a few subtle developments that have made this year just a little bit different.

IT'S TIME TO (CON)TANGO
SHIPPING STOCKS ON THE RISE AGAIN

The recent transaction history within the shipping industry has featured more “take-privates” than it has IPOs, and even with impressive share price gains across every sector within the past five years of the COVID-era super cycle, follow-on offerings too have been few and far between. Companies: Diana Shipping, B. Dyson Capital Advisors, Genco Shipping & Trading

There has been a lot of thematic discussion this year about how to deploy capital. If you are a lender, we have noted how niche asset classes may present ways to grow a shipping loan book. Companies: Macquarie, First Citizens, Signet Maritime, Maritime Partners, Centerline Logistics, J. Russell Flowers, West Gulf Marine, Brown Gibbons Lang & Company , Hanwha, Kirby Corp, Canal Barge, Bochi Investments , Diversified Marine, Marquette Transportation , Donjon Marine, Tallvine Partners, Moran Towing, Bisso Towboat,

Perhaps another big change in the Nordic bond market this year has been the emergence of new borrowers—in particular, Greek shipowners. Companies: Contships, Performance Shipping, Navios South American Logistics, Navios Maritime Partners, Arctic Securities, Fearnley Securities, SEB, Crédit Agricole, S. Goldman Advisors, National Bank of Greece , BNP Paribas , KfW IPEX-Bank, Hellenic Bank

The final data point in this wave of activity comes from the world of private equity. Institutional investors are expanding their focus beyond ships to the infrastructure and asset-backed ecosystems that enable maritime trade. Companies: KKR, Galaxy Container Solutions, Stonepeak, Textainer , Seapeak , Teekay LNG

After a period of subdued activity, equity capital markets (ECM) for shipping are showing strong signs of revival.

As we mentioned last week, Danaos has now become the latest to tap the bond market for its latest capital raising efforts, consolidating multiple tranches of debt on its balance sheet into one, and well ahead of time. Companies: Danaos, Golar LNG, from BNP Paribas/Crédit Agricole

Another example of the above peer-investment trend is been Scorpio Tankers, which made headlines in the third quarter of 2024 when it took an approximately 4.90% stake in peer tanker company, DHT. Companies: Scorpio Tankers,, DHT,