Capital Product Partners Secures USD 460 Mn Loan

Greek shipping company Capital Product Partners has entered into a firm offer letter for a new senior secured term loan facility worth USD 460 million.

The term load was signed with a syndicate of lenders led by HSH Nordbank and ING Bank as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners and BNP Paribas and National Bank of Greece as arrangers.

Capital Product Partners informed that it has now formally entered into the loan agreement documenting the new facility.

The company said t would use the net proceeds of the loan, together with available cash, to refinance its indebtedness under its 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013 credit facilities during the fourth quarter of 2017.

The partnership currently owns 36 vessels, including 21 MR product tankers, four Suezmax crude oil tankers, 10 Neo Panamax container vessels and one Capesize bulk carrier.

https://logisticyy.livejournal.com/1578.html

Meyer Werft Lays Keel for AIDAnova

Miami-based cruise company Carnival Corporation has held a keel-laying ceremony of the first ship of its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) generation, AIDAnova, which will be delivered by Meyer Werft Papenburg in fall 2018.

The 180,000 gross ton AIDAnova, which will be the 13th member in AIDA’s fleet, will be traveling Madeira and the Canary Islands for seven-day cruises from December 2018 in its first season. German cruise line AIDA Cruises ordered the ship in summer 2015, as part of a deal for two next-generation cruise ships.

With the ceremony, held at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg, the company officially launched the construction of its seven next-generation cruise ships that will be fully-powered by LNG.

“Today marked a significant milestone in the construction of this next-generation of Carnival Corporation ships featuring our ‘green cruising’ design, which will be the most environmentally friendly ships in our company’s history,” Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation,said.

Pioneering a new era in the use of low-carbon fuels, these new ships will be the first in the cruise industry that can use LNG to generate 100 percent of their power both in port and on the open sea. The ships, with delivery dates between 2018 and 2022, will be built by leading German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku.

Following the introduction of AIDAnova in 2018, Carnival Corporation’s Costa Cruises brand will debut the industry’s next cruise ship that can be powered completely by LNG on the open seas in 2019 – the first steel-cutting ceremony for this ship is scheduled at the Meyer Turku shipyard in the coming week.

LNG-powered ships for Carnival Cruise Line and P&O Cruises (UK) will follow in 2020. Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises will each receive an additional LNG-powered ship in 2021, followed by an additional LNG-powered ship for Carnival Cruise Line in 2022.

https://logisticyy.livejournal.com/1458.html

DMSE in Talks to Delay Delivery of LNG Carrier Duo

South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) said in a stock exchange filing that it was in discussions on changes to the delivery schedule for a liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier pair.

The two ships were ordered by an unnamed European owner in October 2014 and were supposed to be delivered by the end of August this year.

DSME said the owner asked for the delivery to be pushed, but specific details on the new delivery dates were not released as talks are yet to be finalized.

The two LNG tankers were bought for KRW 428.6 billion (USD 379 million).

Separately, on September 4, the shipbuilder inked a contract with compatriot shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) for the construction of five VLCCs.

The contract for 300,000 DWT very large crude carriers, worth KRW 470 billion (USD 418 million) includes options for five more vessels.

The ships are scheduled to join their owner’s fleet by 2019.

https://logisticyy.livejournal.com/1118.html

HMM Launches USD 580 Mn Shopping Spree

South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is moving forward with its plans to modernize fleet and has set sights on adding seven ships with options for five more.

Specifically, HMM will acquire two large container vessels at a 10% lower price than the current market price as it eyes to bolster its fleet competitiveness.

Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction based in the Philippines has been hired for the job of building the ships.

The price tag for the boxship pair totals USD 162 million.

The company said that the two vessels are scheduled for delivery in May 2018 and are expected to be deployed on East Coast South America trade.

“HMM bolsters its competitiveness through the early acquisition of fuel efficient & eco-friendly large container vessels at a lower price than the current market price,” a company spokesperson commented.

What is more, HMM said that the company’s board of directors has finalized the plans to build five 300,000 DWT very large crude carriers (VLCC) at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

Under the letter of intent (LOI) HMM inked with DSME in April 2017, the order for the five VLCCs contains options for five more ships.

HMM further noted that it will invest KRW 470 billion (USD 418.9 million) in new facilities for the construction of the crude carriers.

As informed earlier, HMM will tap into the government’s financing program dubbed the New Shipbuilding Program to secure funds for the ship construction.  The South Korean government announced the financing scheme worth KRW 2.6 trillion (USD 2.28 billion) in October last year with the aim of helping the country’s shipping industry.

The company said the investment in crude carriers has been prompted by low newbuilding prices which have fallen to the lowest level since 2003.

“However, multi-country market research companies forecast a rebound in VLCC newbuilding price after 2019 as to the improvement of supply & demand in accordance with the deployment of fewernewbuildings, combined with increasing scrapping activity,” the company concluded.

The VLCCs are set for sequential delivery in the first half of 2019.

https://logisticyy.livejournal.com/977.html

Moore Stephens: Shipping Needs to Improve Risk Exposure Management

Effective management of risk within the shipping industry has improved slightly over the past 12 months, a survey by shipping adviser Moore Stephens showed.

However, shipping “still needs to up its game” in terms of managing its exposure to risk, which is increasing and changing in nature, not least in terms of the threat posed by cyber security.

Respondents to the survey rated the extent to which enterprise and business risk management is contributing to the success of their organisation at an average 6.8 out of a possible score of 10, compared to 6.6 last time. Charterers returned the highest rating (8.8) in this regard, followed by owners (6.9) and ship managers (6.8). Brokers returned the lowest rating at 6.3. Geographically, Europe (7.0) was ahead of Asia (6.6), but it was the Middle East which returned the highest figure, at 7.8.

Overall, respondents rated the extent to which enterprise and business risk was being managed effectively by their organisations at 7.1 out of 10, up from the rating of 7 recorded last time and indeed in the inaugural survey in August 2015. Charterers (8.8) expressed the highest level of confidence in this regard, followed by owners (7.3) and managers (6.9). In the previous survey, charterers recorded the lowest rating (6.5) of the main respondent types.

Demand trends were deemed by the greatest number of respondents to pose the highest level of risk, closely followed by competition and the cost and availability of finance. Demand trends were thought to pose the highest level of risk for owners, charterers and brokers, while for managers it was competition that topped the list.

Geographically, demand trends were the number one concern in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, while respondents in Latin America and North America identified competition as posing the highest level of risk.

Moore Stephens informed that respondents to the survey felt that the level of risk posed by most of the factors which impacted their business would remain largely unchanged over the next 12 months, with the exception of ballast water management legislation, cyber security, geopolitics, operating costs and other changes to laws and regulations, which were all perceived to have the potential for increased risk.

“Embedding proper and effective risk management controls into daily operating procedures is a huge challenge for companies in the shipping sector, where high risk levels are an accepted and fundamental part of the industry,” Michael Simms, Partner, said.

“This is particularly the case, as is now, when the industry is ultra-competitive and grappling with an imbalance in tonnage supply and demand, and when wider global economic conditions remain extremely tough,” Simms added.

https://logisticyy.livejournal.com/674.html

Offshore, Gas Businesses Help SCF Stay Afloat

Russian shipping company PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) recorded a net income of USD 15.2 million in the first half of 2017, a 90.8 percent drop from USD 166 million posted in the same period a year earlier. 

As explained, a strong performance from the offshore and gas divisions provided a relief against the deteriorating conditions witnessed in the conventional tanker markets, which were most noticeable in the second quarter of 2017. This balance of revenue sources helped gross revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2017, increase by 4.4 percent to USD 710.2 million from USD 680.3 million seen in 1H 2016.

“The first half of 2017 was very challenging for global tanker markets, with spot freight rates in all market segments nearing their historic lows. This has impacted severely upon the profitability of those owners focused solely on conventional shipping,” Sergey Frank, President and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot, commented.

“During the first half of 2017, the benefit of the group’s growing commitment to its specialised offshore and fixed income gas transportation businesses clearly demonstrated its worth. Despite the turbulent conditions seen in conventional markets, SCF Group has continued to demonstrate resilience whilst remaining able to position itself to take advantage of the future upswing in these markets when it comes,” Frank added.

During the first half of the year, the group took delivery of the world’s first ice breaking LNG carrier, Christophe de Margerie. The vessel completed its first commercial voyage, transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Norway to South Korea.

Additionally, the group took delivery of two icebreaking platform supply vessels, Gennadiy Nevelskoy and Stepan Makarov, and placed the first ever orders for LNG-fuelled Aframax tankers, to provide a step reduction in shipping emissions.

On July 21, the group signed an agreement for the construction of a fourth in a series of Arctic shuttle tankers to service the Novy Port project, under a long-term time-charter with Gazprom Neft. The vessel is due for delivery in October 2019.

In March, the company raised a USD 174 million, 15-year credit facility from Sberbank to refinance two Arctic shuttle tankers, Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov, servicing the Prirazlomnoye project.

The group’s subsidiary, SCF Capital, issued USD 150 million of unsecured Senior Notes in April, which mature on June 16, 2023. These were consolidated and form a single series with the SCF’s existing Eurobonds. The issue was 3.8 times over-subscribed and attracted significant international as well as domestic demand. Priced at USD 102.8, the Senior Notes had a yield of 4.85 per cent, representing the lowest-ever achieved for a global shipping company rated below investment grade.

“In the first half of 2017, the group raised USD 341 million in debt capital, including a highly successful tap of our 2016 Eurobond issue. The latter was heavily oversubscribed, with one of the lowest yields seen for a global shipping company. It attracted significant international as well as domestic demand. The proceeds for the new capital raised were used to retire the remainder of our maturing USD 800 million debut Eurobonds, issued in 2010. Overall, the total debt capital raised by Sovcomflot during the period 2016 to 2017 is USD 1.6 billion,” Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, noted.

As of June 30, 2017, the group’s fleet comprised 149 vessels with a combined deadweight of approximately 13.1 million tons. At the end of the 1H, the group had six vessels under construction, scheduled for delivery from September 2017 to February 2019, comprising two multifunctional ice breaking (MIB) standby vessels and four ice-class, LNG-fueled Aframax crude oil tankers.

https://logisticyy.livejournal.com/370.html

Hapag-Lloyd: No New Vessels in Next Couple of Years

German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd doesn’t plan to make any investments in ordering of new vessels over the next couple of years, the company said during a conference call today.

“In terms of Capexes, we said that we don’t anticipate any material Capexes in new vessels in the upcoming couple of years. We will continue to invest in container boxes and our investment level will be around EUR 400 million every year,” the company said.

As disclosed, there have been no significant orders in the container shipping sector over the recent period, and Hapag-Lloyd believes that new orders are not necessary as there is sufficient capacity in the market to meet the volume growth.

As a result, it is not expected that a surge in orders would occur.

Regarding the IMO regulations, Hapag said that most of its vessels are in principle suited for various types of fuel and may require some additional investment. Tough, huge investments on a per vessel basis are not expected.

The company added that it would be watching very closely what would happen to the fuel prices after 2020 when the new regulations kick in. The costs are anticipated to go up, but the company said it should be able to pass them on to the customers.

For the first half of 2017, the German container carrier booked a net loss of EUR -46.1 million (USD 55.1 million,  slashed from last year’s equivalent of EUR 142.1 million.

The company said that the half-year result includes a number of one-off effects related to the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) merger, resulting in a net impact on EBIT of approximately EUR -19 million.

Hapag-Lloyd’s results were announced as the carrier welcomes the fourth of its five Valparaiso Express class 10,500 TEU vessels, the Callao Express.

The ship, built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, has been named in the port of Callao this week. The Callao Express has set sail in the direction of Puerto Anamos and Valparaiso and will return to Europe after sailing the South American west coast, the company said.

http://logisticlee.livejournal.com/13172.html