BANKERS TRUST

P&O Raises Cash For Cruise Ships

P&O has raised $650 million in financing for two new cruise ships to be built by French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique, lead banker SG said. The two new vessels, ordered last December for P&O's U.S.-based Princess Cruises, will be built by the Alstom-owned shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and delivered in October 2002 and June 2003 respectively, SG said. SG, the corporate and investment banking business of Societe Generale, said it had arranged $2.7 billion for 14 cruise ships and seven ship owners over the last 10 years.

Venture Capital Group Eyes Cammell Laird

Venture capital group Patron Capital has approached the receivers of Cammell Laird about buying parts of the failed British shipbuilder, Reuters reported. Former Lehman Brothers banker Keith Breslauer who runs Patron was quoted as saying he had "expressed an interest in the U.K. business" to receivers PriceWaterhouseCoopers, but "we're not so keen on the international businesses." Last week the Independent newspaper said a private equity group owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland was

FSL Trust Provides Update on TORM Charters

FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd. (“FSLTM”), as trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust (“FSL Trust” or the “Trust”) refers to its earlier announcement “FSL Trust renegotiates charter terms for TORM product tankers” made on 10 April 2012 and wishes to provide an update. On 2 October 2012, TORM A/S (“TORM”) announced the signing of a restructuring agreement with its banks and tonnage providers that will secure for TORM substantial

Sumitomo Mitsui to Double Overseas Banking Staff

According to a Bloomberg report, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will double its overseas banking staff that works on financing for ship construction, as Japan's biggest arranger of such deals tries to take advantage of surging demand for vessels. China's appetite for iron ore will boost demand for vessels with cargo capacity of more than 100,000 tons by 44 percent between last year and 2010, according to a report last month by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd

Senate Bills Introduced Re Oil Spill Liability

Senator Menendez (D-NJ) introduced two bills relating to oil spill liability. The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability Act of 2010 (S. 3305) would raise the limit of liability for oil spills from offshore facilities for costs other than removal costs from $75m to $10b. It would also be retroactive to April 15, 2010. The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Trust Fund Act of 2010 (S. 3306) would eliminate the provision that currently prevents expenditure by the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) of

Major Chinese Shipbuilder Sees Profits Nose-dive

China Rongsheng profit dives as new ship orders dry up. China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, the country's largest private shipbuilder, posted its sharpest fall in half-year profit - down 82 percent - on a dearth of new orders, putting further pressure on its stretched balance sheet reports Reuters. In a stubbornly downbeat global economy, the shipping industry has suffered widespread losses, with many small and medium sized Chinese builders close to bankruptcy as bankers cool on a

Evergreen Line Restructuring Services

Evergreen Line will restructure its services on the U.S., Asia, Indian Sub continent and Europe routes to stabilize the ship schedules to ensure on-time performance and banker savings to meet the needs of the market and its own operations. The new routing will also extend the U.S. service scope to include Southeast Asia and the ISC. The AUS (Asia-United States) and service of CES (China-Europe Shuttle) will become the new pendulum service UAE (U.S

WCI Endorses American Waterworks Act

New Waterways/Ports funding proposal will create jobs, relieve traffic congestion, increase exports. At its Board of Directors meeting held yesterday in Houston, Waterways Council, Inc.’s Board of Directors unanimously endorsed the  American Waterworks Act, proposed in late October by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to modernize America’s inland waterways and ports.   The new waterways funding plan would:

Seafarers' Trust Celebrates 30 Years With London Event

The ITF Seafarers’ Trust will celebrate its 30th birthday with a conference in London tomorrow exploring how best to provide for the welfare needs of the world’s seafarers in the 21st century. The event will share the experiences of the welfare community, unions and shipping industry, and explore new ways of helping seafarers. “The Trust has 30 years of experience to draw on and a superb network of people we’ve worked with who are leaders in this field

News: 2004 Budget Proposal Raises Inland Ire

The record $2.2 trillion U.S. budget proposal is out, and, predictably, the political posturing and positioning for additional dollars has begun in earnest. This year's budget from the President, with its heavy emphasis on defense and homeland security, has outraged a broad spectrum of the inland waterways industry, based on comments delivered by influential organizations in the immediate aftermath of its release. The $2