Articles

Balance sheets continue to evolve and improve as borrowers extract good terms from their lenders, as they take advantage of the strong market. TORM is a case in point. First, the company reduced its net LTV from 51% at the end of Q1 2022 to 26% at the end of Q1 2023. Companies: TORM

In its conservative growth strategy, Global Ship Lease focuses on transactions which offer strong economics together with predictable contracted cashflows and low residual value risk. Its latest transaction fits that bill. Companies: Global Ship Lease

There is no end to creativity in developing dividend policies. They can range from simple payments at the discretion of the board of directors, to a simple percentage of cash flow or even the more complex earlier mentioned Genco formula. Dorian LPG chooses to pay an “irregular” dividend which can be viewed as “consistent” (the preferred term) provided, of course rates remain high. Companies: International Seaways , Dorian LPG, Clarksons Securities

A strong market has its benefits, which one would be foolish not to take advantage of. A strong demand for car transportation, coming out of Covid, together with tonnage supply constraints contributed to a significant increase in the car carrier market charter rates. Companies: Gram Car Carriers ASA

Last week, Diana Shipping Inc. announced that it signed a new five-year term loan facility with Danish Ship Finance A/S for up to $100 million which is secured by nine vessels. Companies: Diana Shipping Inc., Danish Ship Finance A/S

Last week, Teekay Tankers Ltd. revealed an updated capital allocation plan and investors hit a trifecta with the company announcing a fixed quarterly dividend, a special dividend, and the establishment of a share repurchase program. Companies: Teekay Tankers Ltd.

In its Q1 2023 earnings report, GasLog Partners disclosed the sale and lease-back of the GasLog Sydney, a 155,000 cbm TFDE LNG carrier, built in Korea in 2013. The vessel was sold and leased back under a bareboat charter with CDBL for a period of five years with no repurchase option or obligation, at a price of $140.0 million. Companies: GasLog Partners,

It is not a great time to borrow. Up from near zero, interest rates are now above 5%, the highest since 2007. Fears abound. The issue of bank failures remains on the front burner with the latest increase likely to result in more mark-to-market losses putting more banks at risk. Meanwhile, a potential recession looms while the price of oil drops to near a yearly low. It takes courage to be a banker and a wise borrower to say no.
Companies: Seacor Marine Holdings Inc., Seacor Marine Foreign Holdings Inc.,

Last week, AMA Capital Partners announced the addition of Chris Weyers to its team. Mr. Weyers joins the firm as Managing Director from Stifel Financial where for the past ten years he has headed up their maritime and energy infrastructure investment banking business. Companies: AMA Capital Partners, Stifel Financial

We would surmise that running one company for John Fredriksen is more than challenging, but two would likely require a superhero. Clearly, Øystein Kalleklev has proven his worth. Companies: Avance Gas Holding Limited, Flex LNG

Last week, Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA launched a tender offer to acquire up to 300,000 A-shares and up to 100,000 B-shares, representing 0.9% of outstanding shares in the company. Companies: Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA, DNB Markets

Although acknowledging some degree of laziness, we, in fact, do believe that Clarksons Securities’ Frode Mørkedal best lays out the scope and the success of Scorpio Tankers’ debt management process. “Scorpio Tankers prioritizes deleveraging and refinancing. Companies: Scorpio Tankers,

Infinity Maritime is the first platform of its kind to provide alternative maritime finance through digitization, enabling fractional ownership of all types of commercial ships. The commitment is to digitize equity in the ship by creating asset-backed MetaUnits for the ships it purchases and operates that will be tradeable, resulting in a secondary market for investors.
Companies: Infinity Maritime, 5 Ocean Shipping Management

This week we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans – First Quarter 2023,” which left us scratching our head. Bearing in mind this is only a quarter and the first one at that, so making conclusions as to trends is dubious at best. Still, a close look at the data shows certain anomalies. Companies: Dealogic

At the end of last month, Stainless Tankers ASA (“Stainless Tankers”) completed a private placement of 13.4 million new shares, at a subscription price of $5.00, raising gross proceeds of $67 million. Stainless Tankers ASA, Tufton Oceanic, Womar Logistics, Fleet Management, Synergy Marine, Clarksons Securities, Fearnley Securities

Last week, United Maritime Corporation announced that it had entered into a 12-month bareboat charter agreement for a 2015-built Japanese Eco Panamax dry-bulk vessel of 78,020 dwt with an unaffiliated third party in Japan. Company: United Maritime Corporation

The question facing the dry bulk market today is when the effects of the Chinese recovery will be felt. For Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd., it will not be soon enough. Companies: Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd, Clarksons Securities,

We all want to do the right thing, but sometimes it is not so simple. A few weeks ago, Wallenius Wilhelmsen reported its progress on emissions targets and performance as it related to its sustainability-linked financing framework (“the framework”) issued in 2022.
Companies: Wallenius Wilhelmsen

Earlier this month, Veson Nautical, the global leader of maritime freight management solutions today announced its intention to acquire vessel valuation provider VesselsValue, a market-leading company and brand with a proprietary data set and unique modeling capabilities. Companies: Veson Nautical, VesselsValue

Last May, International Seaways, Inc. entered into a shareholder rights plan in the form of a Rights Agreement. That plan was put in place in response to the disclosure by Famatown Finance Limited (“Famatown”), a company controlled by John Fredriksen, a major competitor of International Seaways, that it had acquired approximately 16.19% of the company’s outstanding shares. International Seaways, Inc.,