Vessel Purchase News

Kristian Siem, founder and longtime leader of Siem Offshore, is stepping down as chairman of the Norwegian offshore support vessel (OSV) firm after reaching a deal to acquire nine vessels in exchange for his 35% stake in the company.The company announced it has reached an "amicable agreement" to sell Siem Barracuda, Siem Stingray, Siem Opal, Siem Pearl, Siem Topaz, Siem Pilot, Siem Pride, Siem Symphony and Siem Thiima to Kristian Siem's Siem Sustainable Energy S.a r.l and related companies in exchange for 35% of the company’s shares.The other major shareholder is Christen Sveaas' Kistefos…

Covington, La.-based offshore vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore Services has reached a deal to acquire six offshore supply vessels (OSV) from an affiliate of its peer Edison Chouest Offshore.Hornbeck announced Monday it entered into a definitive vessel purchase agreement with Edison Chouest's Nautical Solutions to buy the "high-spec new generation" OSVs for an undisclosed cash price. Each of the vessels are U.S.-flagged, Jones Act-qualified, 280 class DP-2 OSVs with capacities of circa 4…

On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, the firefighting vessel Strażak-28 was ceremoniously christened in Szczecin, hoisting the Polish flag. The vessel joined the fleet of the Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority SA.The event was attended, among others, by Grzegorz Witkowski – Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Zbigniew Bogucki – West Pomeranian Governor; Wojciech Zdanowicz – Director of the Maritime Office in Szczecin, Dariusz Jaguszewski – Member of the Management Board of Remontowa Shipbuilding SA…

Ocean Yield, which describes itself as a ship-owning company with investments in vessels on long-term charters, has agreed to buy a 5,500 TEU container vessel newbuilding under construction at HJ Shipbuilding, Korea. The vessel design enables it to be converted to dual fuel operation with methanol as fuel. Delivery of the vessel is expected in May 2023. Upon delivery, the vessel will start a seven-year time charter contract to ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., which will…

A vessel that formerly operated as an oil spill response vessel has been converted to a pilot station vessel and delivered to the United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association.The conversion work was performed by Feeney Shipyard of Kingston, N.Y., and design and engineering work for the project was led by JMS Naval Architects, of Mystic, Conn. The 208-foot vessel, previously known as Maine Responder, has been renamed New York, and it will go to work for the Sandy Hook pilots…

JMS Naval Architects informs conversion work is nearly completed of the former oil spill response vessel OSRV Maine Responder to a pilot station vessel for Sandy Hook Pilots Association of Staten Island, N.Y. The conversion work contract was competitively awarded to Feeney Shipyard of Kingston, N.Y.The Sandy Hook pilots have been piloting ships in the New York harbor for more than 300 years. They operate a pilot station boat by Ambrose Light year-round and in all weather conditions.

Shipowner Seaspan Corporation said it has entered into purchase orders to build five 12,200 TEU containerships. Upon completion and delivery, all five vessels will commence long-term charters with a global liner company and are subject to vessel purchase obligations at the conclusion of the charters.Seaspan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Corp, said the newbuild vessels are to be financed from additional borrowings as well as cash on hand. This transaction is expected to add approximately $910 million of contracted cash flows over the charter period.Bing Chen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan, commented…

Saudi Arabia’s International Maritime Industries (IMI) has signed a vessel purchase agreement (VPA) with the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) and a subsequent sub-contract agreement with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to build one very large crude carrier (VLCC).Hyundai Heavy will transfer architectural designs and related technological know-how for the building of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to IMI. It will build one 319,000 DWT Class Crude Oil Carrier  with delivery expected in October 2021."This project award further strengthens the business relationship between IMI and its shareholders…

Greece-based dry bulk shipping company DryShips Inc announced that it has agreed to acquire from an entity that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by its Chairman and CEO, George Economou, one Newcastlemax drybulk carrier built in 2017, for a purchase price of approximately $50.0 million. The purchase price was based on the average fair market value of the vessel, as determined by independent third party broker valuations, and the transaction was unanimously approved by the board of the Company and a special committee of independent and disinterested directors and remains subject to satisfactory documentation, said a press release…

Nowegean bulk ship operator Belships has agreed to acquire the 55,866 dwt bulk carrier M/V SEPHORA from Prospero Marine Ltd, a company controlled by Greek shipowner Elias Kulukundis.The vessel was built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan in 2007, the Oslo-listed company informed.The agreed purchase price for MV SEPHORA is USD 12.0 million, of which half will be paid in cash. The remaining consideration will be settled through a proposed issue of 7,405,114 new Belships shares to the seller of the vessel. The agreed share price in the transaction is NOK 7.00 per share. Belships expects the cash payment to be fully financed within the previously announced financing package (see stock exchange release 14 March, 2019).

Norway-based bulk ship operator and management company Belships has signed an agreement to acquire a 58,700 dwt bulk carrier from Wenaas Shipping AS.The vessel was built at Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu), Inc. in the Philippines in 2008, informed a press note from the dry bulk owner.The agreed purchase price is USD 13.0 million, of which half will be paid in cash. The remaining consideration will be settled through a proposed issue of 8,060,650 new Belships shares to the seller of the vessel. The agreed share price in the transaction is NOK 7.00 per share.Belships expects the cash payment to be fully financed within the previously announced financing package.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. announced that it has consummated the previously announced acquisition of 16 dry bulk vessels in an all-share transaction, from entities affiliated with Augustea Atlantica SpA and York Capital Management.The final consideration for the Augustea Vessel Purchase is 10.3 million common shares of the Company, equal to approximately 11.3% of Star Bulk’s common shares after the closing of the Augustea Vessel Purchase.As part of the transaction, the Company will assume debt of approximately $309 million.Following the closing of the Augustea Vessel Purchase, Raffaele Zagari will be appointed to the Board of Directors of Star Bulk as a Class C Director.

Global shipping company Star Bulk Carriers, announced  that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of fifteen operating dry bulk vessels  from Songa Bulk  for an aggregate of 13.725 million common shares of Star Bulk  and $145.0 million in cash. Following the closing of the Vessel Purchase Transaction, (i) Arne Blystad will be appointed to the Board of Directors of Star Bulk as Class C Director and Herman Billung will join the management team of Star Bulk as Senior Vice President and (ii) Songa is expected to distribute the Consideration Shares to its shareholders. First trading day of the secondary listing of the Company’s common shares on Oslo Børs, a regulated stock market operated by Oslo Børs ASA of Norway, is expected to take place by mid-July.

Star Bulk Carriers announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of three  newbuilding Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels in an all-share transaction, from Oceanbulk Container Carriers (OCC). The final consideration for the OCC Vessel Purchase Transaction is 3,304,735 million common shares of the Company. OCC is an entity affiliated with Oaktree Capital Management and with family members of our CEO, Petros Pappas and entities affiliated to them. The three vessels are being constructed at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), with expected delivery dates in the end of 2018 and first half of 2019. CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping Company Limited has agreed to provide $104.4m to finance the remaining $103.8m capital expenditure of the three vessels via a ten-year capital lease.

Star Bulk Carriers  announced that Songa Bulk has informed the Company that 99.73% of the present shareholders of Songa, at the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of Songa held on June 5, 2018, have voted in favor of and approved the previously announced transaction. Accordingly, Star Bulk will acquire 15 operating vessels of Songa for an aggregate of 13.725 million common shares of the Company  and $145 million in cash. The approval of the shareholders of Songa was a condition to the closing of the Vessel Purchase Transaction, which has now been satisfied. The Vessel Purchase Transaction remains subject to other customary closing conditions, and is expected to be consummated by the third quarter of 2018.

Greece-based dry bulk shipping firm Star Bulk Carriers has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 18 dry bulk vessels in two all-share transactions. 15 of the vessels will be acquired from Songa Bulk and three of the vessels will be acquired from Oceanbulk Container Carriers. The consideration for the vessels was determined based on average vessel valuations by independent vessel appraisers. The Company has agreed to issue an aggregate of 13.725 million common and pay $145 million in cash for the acquisition of all of Songa’s 15 modern dry bulk vessels . The cash portion of the Songa consideration will be financed through proceeds of a new five-year capital lease of $180 million with China Merchants Bank Leasing with a margin of 280 bps…

UK-based containership owner  Global Ship Lease (GSL) reported a loss of $99.1 million in its fourth quarter. It posted revenue of $37.9 million in the period. For the year, the company reported that its loss widened to $74.3 million, or $1.61 per share. Revenue was reported as $159 million. Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, “In 2017, we continued to benefit from our attractive long-term charters and strong relationships with top-tier liner companies. "Alongside improving market fundamentals, this consistent track record of performance enabled us to refinance all of our outstanding debt on improved terms, not only generating ongoing savings, but also securing Global Ship Lease’s long-term financial strength and flexibility,” he added.

The London-based Global Ship Lease (GSL) said that it  is well-positioned as one of few publicly listed containership leasing companies to acquire attractive portfolios of ships, attract growth capital or find a complementary merger partner. The containership charter owner has engaged Evercore to act as financial advisor to assist in reviewing strategic alternatives focused on maximizing shareholder value. GSL has successfully refinanced of all of the its indebtedness in October 2017 and with a strengthening market backdrop. These alternatives include, among other things, a corporate acquisition, a business combination or a partnership, while continuing to develop vessel purchase opportunities.

Danish ship owner TORM said it has purchased four resale medium range (MR) tankers from Chinese shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), with an option to purchase up to four additional MR vessels. The first four vessels are due for delivery in 2019, and the following four would be delivered in late 2019 – all delivered according to TORM’s specifications. According to TORM Executive Director, Jacob Meldgaard, TORM was able to purchase the vessels “at very favorable prices” thanks to its long-standing relationship with GSI.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (the 2007 Act) authorized a Short Sea Transportation (SST) Program. As passed by the House, the legislation would have authorized $2 billion for the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Title XI Program and have extended the Capital Construction Fund Program (CCF or Program) to shipyards and operators building and operating vessels in SST services nationwide. Mr. Oberstar and his Congressional co-sponsors were confident that with their proposals in place, the much-discussed use of U.S.

Ferry operators across Canada applaud new changes made by the federal government that will allow infrastructure projects related to ferries to be eligible for funding under the New Building Canada Fund, according to the Canadian Ferry Operators Association (CFOA). The original eligibility criteria for the fund, established in 2014, excluded most projects related to ferries, meaning very few operators have been able to apply for infrastructure projects. The CFOA and provincial governments have worked together urging Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi to revise the criteria to include ferries and ferry operators.

Sino-Global Shipping America, which was recently listed on Nasdaq, is becoming a shipowner. The shipping agency, logistics and ship management services company today announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire a small oil/chemical tanker from Rong Yao International Shipping Limited, a Hong Kong corporation. Sino-Global will issue 1.2 million shares of its common stock to the Rong Yao as partial payment of the vessel purchase price. The parties further agreed that such payment should be valued at $2.22 million, with each share of the company's common stock being valued at $1.85.

Hornbeck Offshore Services has closed the sale of three 250EDF class OSVs to the U.S. Navy, the company announced today. The three vessels were sold for cash consideration of $114 million, the company reported. This is expected to result in a gain on sale of assets of approximately $33.0 million ($20.8 million after-tax or $0.57 per diluted share). The HOS Arrowhead, the HOS Eagleview and the HOS Westwind have been supporting the Navy's submarine fleet on the east and west coasts since they were constructed in 2008 and 2009.