Articles

Equity raises for shipping companies have become rare occurrences in Western capital markets. Companies: ADNOC Logistics & Services , Pershing Square Holdings, KKR/Ocean Yield

Last week’s issue of Freshly Minted featured a discussion around Ocean Yield and their financial sponsor, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (“KKR”), which jointly acquired CapeOmega. Companies: Ocean Yield, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, CapeOmega, Navigator Gas, Scorpio

Many private equity funds have moved in and out of the shipping markets opportunistically, but a few funds have distinguished themselves through long-term commitment to our industry. Companies: Oaktree, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, Chembulk Tankers, Borealis/Australis, Embarcadero Maritime, U.N. Ro-Ro, Nord LB, Maritime Finance Company, Ocean Yield, CapeOmega, Partners Group, Knutsen, Shell, Engle, QatarEnergy, Geogas, France LNG Shipping

Shipping has faced a tumultuous year in shipping policy. While much of the politics has focused more broadly on the general economy and trade (like tariffs), some have specifically targeted the maritime sector, like the proposed USTR fees on Chinese owned/operated vessels, the result of which has been much more uncertainty surrounding Chinese leasing transactions. Companies: Sallaum Lines , FuJian MaWei ShipBuilding , CMHI Jinling, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Shenzhen Capital Group Co.

It is hard to believe it was only four months ago that the Trump administration’s sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” shocked markets worldwide—leading to the eventual decision by the White House to delay and negotiate until August 1st. Companies:

Over the course of the summer season, as tariff delays and exemptions approached their August 1st deadline, the U.S. began a spree of bilateral trade deals, many of which included or targeted the U.S. shipping and shipbuilding industry. Companies: Ocean Network Express, Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, Cerberus Capital Management, HD Hyundai, Cerberus Maritime, Korea Development Bank, MSIP/Crowley, Hanwha, Philadelphia Shipyard , Hanwha Shipping

Gas and specifically LNG investments in shipping have often been amongst the few shipping sectors to still attract longer-term outside capital. Companies: Höegh LNG , Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, Golar LNG , NFE, Basalt Infrastructure, Apollo, Hav Energy, Ocean Yield, France LNG , KKR, CapeOmega , Hanwha, Venture Global, DNV Maritime, Clarksons Data, Department of Energy , EIA, Trafigura, Korea Gas Corporation , Cheniere, Gunvor , Macquarie Group , AMIGO LNG, Epcilon LNG , LNG Alliance

While Torm and others turn to bank debt to refinance their capital structures, the leasing market has hardly come to a standstill, whether it be private lease strategies, Chinese leases, or Japanese Operating Leases with Call Options (“JOLCOs”). Companies: Ocean Network Express, Nihon Shipyard Co, Imabari Shipbuilding Co, K-SURE, Sinosure, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance , BNP Paribas , HSBC, Citibank , Financial Partners Group, Watson Farley Williams, Norton Rose Fulbright

SUEZMAX RATES SURGE
SHIPPING STOCKS: EVERY SECTOR IN THE GREEN

While newbuild financing may provide a new vector for capital deployment, refinancing transactions like Costamare’s are still proving a reliable source of deal flow. Companies: Hamburg Commercial Bank , LEMSCO, Stena AB , ProMarine AG, ABN AMRO, DNV, Proman

One theme that keeps recurring this year is substantially lower newbuilding orders with Clarksons data showing, as stated before, a 54% decrease overall year-on-year in newbuild orders. Companies: Clarksons, DHT, International Seaways , DNB, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation

When we think of shipping finance, most would think of capital flowing into mainstream asset classes like tankers, bulkers, and containerships.

VLCC FLEET OUTLOOK: AGEING TONNAGE MEETS LIMITED NEWBUILDS
SHIPPING STOCK PRICES TAKE A BREATHER

This week, we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans—Second Quarter 2025,” providing some insight into the current ship lending markets and quantifying some of our observed trends. Companies: Bank of America Securities, DNB Carnegie, Crédit Agricole, Nordea, BNP Paribas

Whether it is freight markets or financing, much of the shipping industry’s cyclicality is driven by some form of catalyst—events that cause larger than usual deviations from the normal. Companies: DHT, HD Hyundai Samho, Hanwha Ocean, ING Bank, Nordea, K-SURE, Jefferies, MSC, Costamare

VLCCs ARE AWAKENING
SHIPPING STOCKS GAIN STRENGTH

Earlier in the year, at Marine Money Hamburg, sentiment around ship lending was a bit of a mixed signal. Companies: Torm, Danske Bank, Nordea Bank, Kromann Reumert,

Recent news has been dominated by a flood of earnings reports. Some companies are selling ships, others are buying, or sometimes doing both to renew their fleet. Companies: Star Bulk, ABN AMRO, National Bank of Greece, Genco, Hafnia

This summer, in an unassuming corner of the European venture ecosystem, the Belgian startup Tilla raised €2 million in seed funding. Companies: Tilla, Motion Ventures, Exmar, Voyager Portal, Sedna, Dataloy Systems AS, Veson Nautical, OrbitMI, AuQub Intelligence, NAPA, StormGeo, Thetius, Digital Ship

Recently, 2020Bulkers announced that they have entered into hedging transactions for two Newcastlemax bulk carriers for the period from August 1st to December 31st using the Future Freight Markets to effectively secure a fixed-rate hire of approximately $33,700 gross per day. Company: 2020Bulkers