Articles

Last week, Himalaya Shipping Ltd. successfully concluded a private placement of 3,117,143 new shares at a subscription price of NOK 62 raising gross proceeds of NOK 193.3 million equivalent to approximately $17.5 million. Companies: Himalaya Shipping Ltd., Clarksons Securities, Arctic Securities

This week Gram Car Carriers ASA (“GCC”) reached an agreement to refinance the debt on the Mediterranean Sea (5,000 CEU, 2010) through a drawdown of an accordion facility under the Group’s existing senior secured credit facility. Companies: Gram Car Carriers ASA,

Back in October, Altera Shuttle Tankers LLC undertook a refinancing exercise under which it closed a $340 million revolving credit facility secured by eight shuttle tankers. Increasing the debt capacity from its secured fleet by roughly $84 million, the new revolving credit facility bears interest at SOFR plus a margin of 2.75%, has a 7.5-year profile and matures in October 2028.

As a means of balancing out its newbuilding program, Odfjell SE took the next step in its fleet renewal program choosing to expand its fleet with the addition of six newbuildings through a combination of long-term time charter and pool agreements. Company: Odfjell SE

Hindsight is always 20/20 and it is exceedingly unfair to second guess decisions made with the facts at hand at the time. Still, there may be lessons in the eventual outcomes that are worth thinking about. In this instance, we return to two of our favorite hobby horses, share buybacks and the pure play versus diversification argument. Companies: Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc., Oaktree Capital Management, Danaos Corporation, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Maersk Tankers, Maersk Oil & Gas, Maersk Drilling, Maersk Supply Service, A.P. Moller Holding

If you are a shipping investor, owner, financier, or attended any Marine Money events in the past year, the discussions of tanker profitability or a “tanker party” should ring a bell. After a strong winter season, driven by the usual inherent seasonality of tanker demand but also geopolitical events, tanker shipping companies are not ready to be yesterday’s news just yet. Tanker shipping companies are determined to stay in the spotlight, and their cash balances are certainly enabling them to do so. Companies: Overseas Shipholding Group, American Shipping

This week two major U.S.-listed dry bulk shipping companies announced their plans to merge, and the result will be a global leader with a fleet of 169 ships. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (“SBLK”), a global presence in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (“EGLE”), one of the largest owner-operators of Supramax/Ultramax vessels, announced on December 11th that they had entered into an agreement to combine in an all-stock merger on an NAV-to-NAV basis. Companies: Star Bulk Carriers Corp., Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.

Last week, Stolt-Nielsen Limited successfully completed a NOK 325 million tap issue of its outstanding five-year senior unsecured bond issue due September 26, 2028. The total outstanding amount under the bonds following the tap issue is NOK 1,525 million with a borrowing limit of NOK 1,750 million.

Also, earlier this month, TORM plc agreed to acquire eight second-hand LR2 vessels that are expected to be delivered in late Q4 2023 and in Q1 2024 for a total consideration of $399 million, with a cash consideration of $239 million (~60%) and the issuance of approximately 5.5 million shares (~40%). Company: TORM plc

In its Q3 2023 earnings report, Genco Shipping & Trading Limited announced that it had received commitments for a $500 million revolving credit facility (“RCF”), which will provide additional capital allocation flexibility and improved terms compared to the existing facility. Company: Genco Shipping & Trading Limited

Awilco LNG ASA also announced earlier this month that it had agreed a term sheet for the refinancing of the company’s two 2013-built 156,000 cbm TFDEs WilForce and WilPride with a major leasing company based in Asia. Companies: Awilco LNG ASA, CCB Financial Leasing

Although now a private company, Seapeak LLC still reports, albeit in a minimalist version, its quarterly earnings on Form 6-K, a requirement as its preferred shares still trade publicly. Company: Seapeak LLC

Transformative does not quite capture the magnitude of this latest stage in the evolution of this company. A few weeks ago, Capital Product Partners L.P. (“CPLP”) announced that it had entered into an umbrella agreement (“Umbrella Agreement”) with Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. (“Capital Maritime”), the partnership’s sponsor, and Capital GP L.L.C. (the “General Partner”) providing for the acquisition of 11 newbuilding LNG carriers from Capital Maritime for a total acquisition price of $3.13 billion.

Earlier this month, GasLog Ltd., signed a new five-year Sustainability-Linked Senior Secured Reducing Revolving Credit Facility in the amount of $2.8 billion (the “Facility”) which incorporates KPIs linked to both carbon emissions and female representation in the company’s cadetship program as a component of the Facility’s pricing. Companies: GasLog Ltd., GasLog Partners LP, Citibank, BNP Paribas, DNB, ABN AMRO, Alpha Bank, Credit Suisse, Danish Ship Finance, ING, National Bank of Greece, Nordea, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, National Australia Bank, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. announced last week that it entered into an agreement to purchase an additional 10 million of its shares from Oaktree for $19.50/share, a premium of approximately 5.5% over the prior trading day’s closing price. The latest price was $1.00/share more than it paid for the 10 million shares it acquired back in September, which purchase was also done at a 5% premium. Companies: Star Bulk Carriers Corp., Oaktree

At the beginning of December, Gram Car Carriers ASA (“GCC”) reached an agreement to refinance the lease on the Viking Bravery (6,700 CEU, 2015). The company arranged a new $35 million term loan priced at SOFR +1.65% from DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale with a tenor that matches the duration of the vessel’s current time-charter contract. Companies: Gram Car Carriers ASA, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

Late last month, BW Offshore Limited (“BWO”) successfully completed a new five-year senior unsecured bond issue of NOK 1,000 million (~$90 million), carrying a coupon of three-month NIBOR + 5.00 percent. The net proceeds from the bond issue were used to partially refinance the company’s existing NOK 900 million senior unsecured bonds maturing in December (“BWO05”) and for general corporate purposes. Companies: BW Offshore Limited, BW Group, BW Energy, Danske Bank, DNB Markets

What Scorpio Tankers has accomplished in terms of restructuring and managing its liabilities cannot be overstated. From December 31, 2021 through November 8, 2023, the company reduced overall indebtedness by approximately $1.3 billion, net of new drawdowns, including about $1.5 billion of lease financing. Company: Scorpio Tankers

Earlier this month, Ocean Yield AS (“Ocean Yield”) announced that it agreed to acquire two 2022-built Suezmax tankers, built at Daehan Shipbuilding in Korea which it will lease back to the seller, Euronav NV, under 14-year bareboat charters, which incorporate purchase obligations at the end of the charter period. Companies: Ocean Yield AS, Euronav NV

These days capital is expensive, and sources are few. Therein lies both a challenge and an opportunity. In response, a public, albeit traditional, Greek shipowner and a leading Norwegian project finance arranger uncovered what we believe to be a new source of equity capital for a public company by accessing the expertise and riches of the Norwegian project market. Companies: EuroDry Ltd., NRP Project Finance AS, Eurobank S.A., Eurobulk Ltd.,