Transport Finance News

Ukrainian officials on Thursday asked Lebanon to bar a Syrian state-owned cargo ship carrying allegedly stolen Ukrainian grain from docking in Lebanon's Tripoli port, according to the Ukrainian embassy and a diplomatic note seen by Reuters.The Ukrainian mission said in comments to Reuters that the Finikia was transporting 6,000 metric tons of corn, which it considered stolen, from the Black Sea port of Sevastopol.In the note to Lebanon's ministries of transport, finance and economy, as well as the customs directorate, the embassy said the corn had been "stolen from storage units in the Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions".It said…

Bank syndicate led by DVB Bank SE completed a $175 million financing of a 34 Bulk Carrier portfolio for Polsteam Group.Polska Żegluga Morska known as Polsteam or PŻM, is a cargo ship operator based in Szczecin, Poland. It has one of the largest route networks in the world, offering services to around 60 countries.The syndicate consisted of DVB Bank, CIT Group, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Siemens Bank, Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank and Crédit Agricole Bank Polsk.No further details on the transaction have been revealed.DVB Bank SE, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, specialises on the international Transport Finance business.

Germany's No.2 lender DZ Bank is finalizing the sale of parts of its troubled transport financing division DVB Bank months after struggling to sell the whole business, two sources familiar with the matter said.DZ Bank has had to make large provisions for bad loans in shipping finance, which is among the reasons for the sale process.The sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said DZ Bank, which is also the umbrella organisation of German co-operative bank chain Raiffeisen-Volksbanken…

Throughput at Cai Mep International Terminal, the APM Terminals facility in Vietnam’s Ba Ria‐Vung Tau province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, expanded by 130 percent in the first quarter as new service calls added in 2015 began to impact volumes. The container volume has surged by 130% to 277,303 TEUs for the first three months of 2016, as compared with the same period a year ago. This growth follows an 80% expansion in container traffic at CMIT in 2015 over the year prior, to 724,768 TEUs. CMIT, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, is a deep-water facility located in the Ba Ria‐Vung Tau Province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and is capable of accommodating larger deep draft vessels of up to 15,000 TEU capacity, now cascading into Vietnamese trade routes.

Cai Mep, Vietnam - With five new services calls added to Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) since May of 2015, container volume has surged by 130% to 277,303 TEUs for the first three months of 2016, as compared with the same period a year ago. This growth follows an 80% expansion in container traffic at CMIT in 2015 over the year prior, to 724,768 TEUs. CMIT, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, is a deep-water facility located in the Ba Ria‐Vung Tau Province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and is capable of accommodating larger deep-draft vessels of up to 15,000 TEU capacity, now cascading into Vietnamese trade routes.

The executive committee of Euronav NV announced that it has signed a new $340 million senior secured credit facility led by ING Bank NV acting as sole Bookrunner and together with Citibank NA, Danish Ship Finance A/S, DnB Bank ASA and KBC Bank NV acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers whilst Belfius Bank NV, BNP Paribas Fortis NV, Deutsche bank AG and ITF International Transport Finance Suisse AG are acting as Lead Arrangers. ING is also the facility agent. The credit facility comprises of (i) a $192 million term loan facility and (ii) up to $148 million non-amortising revolving credit facility. The facility will be available as from today for the purpose of (i) refinancing four Suezmax vessels: the Cap Felix (2008 – 158…

China’s shift towards a domestic consumer demand-oriented economy could provide a significant boost to the global shipping industry, as the world’s second largest economy targets more sustainable growth. “2013 will be another peak year of new vessel deliveries. Oversupply of capacity is still an obstacle for the shipping industry to overcome, but with the improvement of the world economy, the shipping sector is expected to experience moderate growth,” said Mr Xu Lirong, President of China Shipping (Group) Company. Mr Xu will examine this key issue affecting China, and the nation’s pivotal position in the international maritime arena, in a conference summit at Sea Asia, the region’s leading maritime event, in Singapore next April.

The executive committee of Euronav NV announced that it has signed a new $750 million forward start senior secured credit facility led by Nordea Bank Norge ASA and DnB Nor Bank ASA acting as Lead Arranger and Bookrunners and ABN Amro Bank N.V., Fortis Bank SA/NV, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Danish Ship Finance, Danske bank A/S, ING Belgium SA/NV, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ) acting as Lead Arrangers and ITF International Transport Finance AG and ScotiaBank (Ireland) Limited acting as Co-Arrangers and Banque LBLux S.A., KBC Bank NV and Dexia Bank Belgium SA/NV. Nordea is also the facility agent. The credit facility is comprised of a $250 million non-amortising revolving credit facility and a $500 million term loan facility.

Topaz Energy and Marine recently took delivery of the newest addition to its fleet, the Caspian Protector. The vessel will be deployed in Azerbaijan in support of a 10 year $225m BP contract won in 2008. The Caspian Protector is a state-of-the-art 200-ft vessel designed for emergency recovery and response (ERRV), standby duties and fire fighting operations. It is the first vessel in the Caspian region to be equipped with three daughter craft and two fast rescue craft. The vessel…