Bank Facilities News

Ingalls Shipbuilding has reopened its rebuilt and modernized facility on the east bank of the Pascagoula River after much of the site was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.The Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder announced Friday that it moved the newly built destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) to the east bank's Pier Four, signifying the site's official reactivation. Ingalls, a division of Virginia-based naval shipbuilding giant Huntington Ingalls Industries, had shifted all of…

GasLog signed an Export Credit Agency-backed debt financing of $1.05 billion with 12 international banks for its current newbuilding program.The LNG carrier owner and operator has seven LNG carriers on order at South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), five of which are for delivery in 2020 with two more due in 2021.The Newbuild Facility covers the balance due to the shipyard on delivery and consequently the final installments of the seven newbuildings are fully funded.Five of these seven newbuildings are scheduled to deliver from the yards into firm multi-year charters in 2020 and the remaining two into firm multi-year charters in 2021.The facility has a tenor of up to 12 years with an amortization profile of 18 years from vessel delivery.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Thursday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division will reactivate part of its shipbuilding facilities that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The site on the east bank of the Pascagoula River is the original Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., founded in 1938. According to the shipbuilder, its reactivation will restore the facility’s ability to support Ingalls’ current ship construction and modernization programs as well as help the company better prepare for future work, including next-generation amphibious assault ships and surface combatants.

Swedish OSV owner Viking Supply Ships (VSS) has signed a final agreement to complete the restructuring of its finances as credit committees of all its senior lenders have approved the completed programme. According to the agreed and approved restructuring, VSS loan facilities will carry significant less cash interest and instalments until maturity on 31 March 2020. Limited cash interest and instalments will be paid until Q4 2018. Financial covenants on the loan facilities are amended to provide Viking Supply Ships A/S with ample room to operate under the present challenging market conditions. Cash at hand exceeding a certain level will through a cash sweep mechanism be distributed as repayment of the bank facilities.

Gulf Marine Services (GMS), the leading provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs) serving the offshore oil, gas and renewable energy sectors, is looking at acquisitions due to opportunities in the market, reported Gulf News. GMS, which supports the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors with barges, has a fleet of fourteen vessels that help in offshore oil and gas platform refurbishment and maintenance activities, offshore wind turbine maintenance work, as well as offshore oil and gas platform installation and decommissioning, among other things. The report quoted its chief executive officer Duncan Anderson as saying: "There is more room for consolidation with other businesses in future.

The EMAS Offshore (EOL) board of directors warns that the Chapter 11 filing of parent company Ezra Holdings  may negatively impact EOL and its subsidiaries, which could possibly lead it to face a going concern issue. As at 30 November 2016, the Group had an aggregate amount of approximately US$170 million owing to Ezra, of which US$125 million was subject to a deferred payment over a period of three years, says a statement from the company. In addition, the Group has an aggregate of approximately US$566 million of loans owing to financial institutions. The Group also has substantial charter hire liabilities valued at approximately US$231 million as at 30 November 2016, relating to charterparty agreements entered into by the Group.

Monaco-headquartered owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers GasLog Ltd. has launched a debt financing of USD 1.05 billion with a number of international banks to re-finance six legacy vessel facilities. The Legacy Facility Re-financing covers eight on-the-water vessels, which were delivered between 2010 and 2015. Terms of the Legacy Facility Re-financing are in line with GasLog's existing facilities, demonstrating the banks' strong appetite to lend to leading companies in the LNG industry. The Legacy Facility is currently in the documentation stage and is expected to close early in H2 2016. Post the completion of this financing, GasLog will have four debt facilities in total (from nine before today's announcement).

Greece-based DryShips Inc. (DRYS) reported first-quarter of 2016 net income of $55.4 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The company said it had profit of $2.05 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 78 cents per share. Vessel impairment charges and loss on sales, of $40.8 million, or $1.53 per share. Net income pick-up from the Company's 40.4% ownership in Ocean Rig, of $116.5 million, or $4.36 per share. The operator of oil rigs and dry cargo carriers posted revenue of $11.9 million in the period. On April 11, 2016, the Company received notice of termination from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) of the contract for the oil spill recovery vessel Vega Inruda effective as of April 6, 2016.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), or DryShips or the Company, an international owner of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels, today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2015. * For the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company reported a net loss of $527.6 million, or $0.79 basic and diluted loss per share. - Vessel impairment charges and non-cash losses, of $119.1 million, or $0.18 per share. - Non-cash write down of our investment in Ocean Rig of $310.5 million, or $0.47 per share. Excluding these impairment charges and losses, the Company’s net results would have amounted to a net loss of $98.0 million, or $0.14 per share. * The Company reported negative Adjusted EBITDA of $14.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Glencore's debt and equity plunged on Monday on the back of a damning analyst note, with only the commodity firm's shortest bonds maturing this year managing to resist the sell-off. But the outlook for the debt-laden firm does not appear to be as bleak as the headline figures suggest. Glencore still has access to billions of dollars of undrawn bank loans and, with the company teetering on the edge of losing its investment grade rating, some investors think dropping into junk territory will spark a rally in the issuer's debt. While Angle American's five-year CDS reacted by widening 10bp to 423bp, the drama lay in Glencore's CDS moves. The firm's five-year CDS leapt by 214bp to 745bp, according to CreditViews. Those swaps were trading at 368bp in early September.

Goldenport Holdings Inc reported a net loss of USD14.7 million in the first six months of 2015, significantly wider than the USD1.4 million net loss a year earlier as revenue fell by a quarter to USD18.5 million from USD24.7 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at USD4.4 million, over a 40% fall from USD7.6 million. "For the six months ended 30 June 2015, the Company reported a 25.2% decline in revenues, reflecting a decrease in the average number of vessels from 15 to 13, and a 14.2% reduction in the time charter equivalent rate for the fleet that was partly offset in dollar terms by a reduction in average daily operating expenses," says a CEO Statement. Revenue fell after the company reduced its fleet of trucks and container vessels.

Singapore-listed Vallianz Holdings Limited, that provides offshore support vessels and integrated marine solutions to the oil and gas industry, has received an investment of $10 million from institutional investor fund United Orient Capital Pte Ltd (UOC). According to its filing to the Singapore Exchange, Vallianz will issue 10 million convertible preference shares at an issue price of USD1 each to UOC under the subscription deed. Vallianz said the net proceeds of $9.5m will go towards fleet expansion, with the remaining going to replenish general working capital, adding that the existing bank facilities and working capital available to the group are sufficient to meet current requirements.

Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd., a global fishing company based in the People's Republic of China (PRC), has announced that the company recently ordered 25 newly-built fishing vessels as a continuation of its fleet replacement plan. The vessels have received ratifications from the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China (MOA), which ensures that the licenses to fish in foreign waters will be transferred to the new vessels. The company will retire 25 of its older existing fishing vessels…

COSCO (Qidong) Offshore Co.,has delivered the third Sevan 650 Ultra-Deepwater Cylindrical Drilling Rig it has built for Sevan Drilling. The Sevan Louisiana, measuring 99 meters in LOA, 75 meters in breadth and 24.5 meters in depth, has a working depth of 3,800 meters and drilling depth of 12,000 meters. The deep water drilling rig and will start the transit to the US Gulf of Mexico, and is expected to commence operation for LLOG Bluewatert owards the end of Q1 2014, following completion of mobilization and certain additional equipment installations.

In a comment John B. McGuckian Chairman stated, ‘‘This was a positive half years trading with increases in revenue and operating profit driven mainly by higher freight carryings and lower fuel costs, partially offset by weaker passenger markets. In the prior year the group disposed of its subsidiary Feederlink and the comparatives set out in the Interim Management Report have been restated to exclude trading from discontinued operations. The Board of Irish Continental Group plc (ICG) reports that, in the seasonally less profitable first half of the year, the group recorded revenue of €120.9 million compared with €117.0 million in the same period in 2012, an increase of 3.3%.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has successfully placed USD 325 million US Private Placement notes with 24 institutional investors in the United States. The issue was heavily oversubscribed with a book close to USD 2 billion. The senior notes carry a 10 year maturity with an annual interest rate of 3.66%. The proceeds of the private placements, together with USD 190 million cash received from the recent disposal of Archirodon, will be used to fully repay the USD 525 million bridge facility, which purpose was to partly finance the acquisition of Dockwise. With these US private placements, in addition to the three and five year committed bank facilities and the existing 2010 US private placements, Boskalis will continue to have a solid financial structure.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) publishes theirl financial report for 2012. Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) achieved a record revenue of EUR 3.1 billion in 2012 (2011: EUR 2.8 billion). Net profit amounted to EUR 250 million, thus remaining virtually stable compared to 2011 (EUR 254 million). Despite the slight decline in net profit and a substantial increase in the number of outstanding shares as a consequence of the recent equity issue in connection with the acquisition of Dockwise, Boskalis intends to pay-out an unchanged dividend of EUR 1.24 per share. EBITDA dropped to EUR 568 million (2011: EUR 591 million) and the operating result (EBIT) fell to EUR 337 million (2011: EUR 354 million).

Moody's Investors Service says that operating results of BW Group (Ba2 negative) in 1H 2012 were better than expected, largely because of the higher charter rates achieved by the company for its vessels. "We had expected BW Group's performance to weaken, as many of its vessels were coming off profitable time-charters in 1H and it was increasingly exposed to deteriorating spot-market rates. However, spot rates, especially in the gas carrier segments, either held up or improved," says Vikas Halan, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst. The average time charter equivalent or TCE income per day for BW Group's very large gas carriers and large gas carriers rose over 40% from a year ago. The average TCE for very large crude carriers grew about 5%.

Globus Maritime Limited (AIM: GLBS) (LSE: GLBS), the owner and operator of Handymax and Panamax dry bulk vessels, announces that it has delivered the Handymax vessels Coral Globe (built in 1994) and Sea Globe (built in 1995) to their new owners, two unaffiliated third parties. George Karageorgiou, Chief Executive of Globus, said, "We have today concluded the sale of the last two of our vessels built in the mid-1990s. Taking advantage of the cash on our balance sheet and the available bank facilities, we will seek to acquire younger assets that will generate value for our shareholders. Elias Deftereos, Chief Financial Officer, said, "In the middle of turbulent times, Globus has today a very healthy balance sheet as our cash balances today exceed $68.4m.

Globus Maritime Limited (AIM: GLBS) (LSE: GLBS), a marine transportation company that owns and operates Handymax and Panamax dry bulk vessels, announced that a subsidiary of the company has entered into a new time charter agreement for the M/V Tiara Globe with Transgrain Shipping at a gross rate of $20,000 per day, for a minimum of 24 to a maximum of 26 months starting sometime in February 2010. The M/V Tiara Globe is a geared Panamax bulkcarrier built in 1998 with a carrying capacity of 72,929 dwt. George Karageorgiou, Chief Executive of Globus, commented: "We are pleased to announce this new employment agreement for our Panamax vessel, Tiara Globe, which enhances the stability and predictability of our revenues and cash flows.

Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the debt ratings of General Maritime Corporation ("General Maritime"), completing a review for possible downgrade that was initiated on March 29, 2004. The confirmed ratings include: $250 million senior unsecured notes due 2013, rated B1 Senior Implied rating of Ba3 Senior Unsecured Issuer rating of B1 The rating outlook is stable. General Maritime's ratings had been placed on review for possible downgrade following the announcement by the company of its proposed purchase of Soponata SA for approximately $415 million. At the time of the announcement, Moody's was concerned about the increased levels of debt associated with this acquisition and its effect on near term liquidity…

Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the debt ratings of General Maritime Corporation, completing a review for possible downgrade that was initiated on March 29, 2004. The confirmed ratings include: $250 million senior unsecured notes due 2013, rated B1 Senior Implied rating of Ba3 Senior Unsecured Issuer rating of B1 The rating outlook is stable. General Maritime's ratings had been placed on review for possible downgrade following the announcement by the company of its proposed purchase of Soponata SA for approximately $415 million. At the time of the announcement, Moody's was concerned about the increased levels of debt associated with this acquisition and its effect on near term liquidity…

Cammell Laird's $500 million contract with U.S. firm Luxus could fail unless loan guarantees are received from the British government by the end of February. "It's urgent. I'd like to think it (loan guarantee approval) was certainly this month," Juan Kelly said. Kelly said he had written to British Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers to urge the speedy approval of loan guarantees for Luxus, which has ordered two luxury liners from Cammell Laird. Without the guarantees, Luxus, which is a start-up company, may not get bank loans to fund the orders, sources at Cammell Laird said recently. The guarantees could cover some 60 percent of the value of the contract.