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Back In 2017, d’Amico International Shipping S.A. (“DIS”) entered into sale-and-leaseback transactions for the MT High Fidelity and MT High Discovery with Japanese counterparties. Built to the same Korean design, both vessels are 49,990 DWT Medium Range product tankers built in 2014.

Last week, Flex LNG announced that it had entered into new time charter agreements for the Flex Rainbow, Flex Enterprise, and Flex Amber closing out the three open positions it had been marketing. First, the company and Chevron, the charterer of the Flex Enterprise and Flex Amber, agreed to replace the existing variable time charters which conclude in October 2023 and March 2024 with new fixed-rate charters of seven years’ duration.

Green maritime finance has now gone “mainstream,” as the ESG bona fides of the maritime industry’s capital providers’ portfolios are now becoming aligned in a virtuous circle with the decarbonization targets of the shipowners they are funding.

Given the volatile markets, we thought it would be an opportune time to talk to someone on the frontlines of the Norwegian bond market to get a firsthand report of what is or is not happening as the case may be.

It was a simple but meaningful announcement. Last week, the Board of Directors of Danaos Corporation approved a share repurchase program of up to $100 million of the Company’s common stock.

Last week, Hamburg Commercial Bank (“HCOB”) disclosed that it had provided Hamburg Bulk Carriers (“HBC”) a $95 million five-year credit facility to refinance of seven 43,500 DWT Handymax bulk carriers built at Qingshan Shipyard with an average age of approximately six years.

Stamatis Tsantanis has carefully constructed Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. into a pure-play owner of Capesize bulk carriers. These are not just any vessels. With a capacity of three million DWT, the fleet consists of middle-aged vessels (average age 12.3 years) acquired at favorable capital cost and built at first-class shipyards in Japan and Korea.

During 2021, shipping companies took advantage of the low interest rate environment to complete 32 bond deals.

At our Hamburg conference, Thomas Mazur, Global Financial Advisory Head of Deloitte’s Shipping & Ports Group, brought our attention back to shipping loan portfolio sales in a broad presentation which provided a history, lessons learned and how they these transactions might reinvigorate bank lending.

On Wednesday, Diana Shipping Inc. announced that it has agreed to sell one of its dry bulk vessels, the M/V Baltimore, to its related party, OceanPal Inc.

On Monday, International Seaways, Inc. announced its intention to redeem its outstanding $25,000,000 of 8.50% senior notes due 2023 (the “Notes”) on August 5, 2022, at par plus accrued and unpaid interest.

A Look Back: We’ve used this title before, but it has never been more relevant than today. The world’s economies are struggling as the cure for the pandemic, fiscal support, together with low interest rates, led to our current hangover, inflation, which, in turn, is being attacked by increasing interest rates. This is anything but a virtuous circle, with the problem being exacerbated by supply chain disruptions and continuing shutdowns in China, not to mention the war in Ukraine. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, namely Pestilence, War, Famine and Death, are making an appearance. Not to mention a bear market with investors giving back gains from a record bull market.

The syndicated loan market during 2021, according to Dealogic, as published earlier this year in Freshly Minted.

Most of you who know us would largely agree that we’re unenthusiastic at best and hard to please at worst. Age has crept in and perhaps left us a bit befuddled. I have known Jim Lawrence for over 30 years and have attended my fair share of Marine Money Conferences and in our estimation this year’s Marine Money Week was a home run. Perhaps, because it had been a long three years since we last congregated, there was a level of joy and enthusiasm that was infectious. It was a joyous celebration of seeing old friends.

There are positive unintended consequences in going green beyond simply saving the planet as Euronav NV uncovered. Historically, the company depreciated its vessels on a straight-line basis to zero over 20 years, a conservative policy which put it at a disadvantage to its peers.

It is never too late to hop on board. Last week, Gunvor Singapore Pte. Ltd. closed a $912 million sustainability-linked, syndicated revolving credit facility (the “Facility”). It was the company’s first sustainability-linked transaction and supports the company’s established and continuing global growth strategy, comprising geographic expansion, product diversification, and investments along the value chain.

Equitable subordination originated as a doctrine in the bankruptcy courts that allows for subordination of claims when the claimant has engaged in some type of “inequitable conduct” which has conferred an unfair advantage on the claimant or resulted in injury to creditors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 21, 2022, proposed rule changes that would require U.S. listed shipping companies to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports.

Last week, Global Ship Lease, Inc. announced its intention to redeem in full the outstanding amount of its 8.00% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”) of which $89,020,500 is outstanding.

Back on April 7th, Frontline Ltd. and Euronav NV announced that the companies signed a term sheet agreeing to a potential stock-for-stock combination between the two companies based on an exchange ratio of 1.45 Frontline shares for every Euronav share resulting in Euronav and Frontline shareholders owning approximately 59% and 41%, respectively, of the combined group.