Abn Amro Bank News

Swedbank has signed the Poseidon Principles, a global framework for integrating climate considerations into lending decisions within ship financeThe Poseidon Principles provide a standardised methodology for data collection and reporting of emissions from banks’ shipping portfolios, with the overall ambition of supporting and facilitating the decarbonization of the shipping industry.The Poseidon Principles are consistent with the policies and ambitions of the IMO, including its…

Maritime battery supplier EST-Floattech appointed Mark Witjens as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Joep Gorgels as Chief Financial Officer/Chief Business Development Officer (CFO/CBDO). Since its foundation in 2009, EST-Floattech has a track record of more than 200 projects and a growing number of recurring customers. Recently, the first successes have also been achieved by its Hamburg office, which opened in August 2021. With the arrival of Witjens and Gorgels, who will be working from the headquarters in Badhoevedorp…

A Singapore court has approved a freeze on up to $3.5 billion of assets of the family behind collapsed Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, boosting the prospect of debt recovery from the former oil trading empire that counts some of the world's biggest banks among its creditors.Hin Leong was wound up in March after failing in a year-long effort to restructure more than $3 billion in debts after the COVID-19-led oil crash laid bare huge losses. Founder Lim Oon Kuin admitted in a court document…

Global Ship Lease (GSL), UK-based holding company and containership charter owner, has now settled a five-year refinancing of its debt.According to the container ship owner, the new syndicated $268m credit facility is signed with a number of commercial lenders including Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, CIT Bank, Hellenic Bank and Siemens Financial Services.GSL expects to draw down the first tranche of the New Senior Loan, in full, of $230 million shortly and will use the proceeds to refinance five existing senior credit facilities with maturities in December 2020 and April 2021, thereby reducing its cost of debt…

Monaco-based shipowner GasLog has taken delivery of the 180,000-m3 GasLog Warsaw liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) from South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) on July 31.GasLog Warsaw is the first 180,000 cbm LNG tanker delivered to the company by SHI. The shipbuilder has a further seven units for GasLog on order.GasLog Warsaw is a 180,000 cubic meter (cbm) Mark III Flex Plus carrier with low pressure dual fuel two-stroke (X-DF) propulsion.The vessel was immediately delivered into a new charter with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheniere Energy for the period prior to the commencement of her long-term charter with a subsidiary of Endesa in May 2021.On June 25, 2019, GasLog entered into a loan agreement with ABN AMRO BANK N.V.

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised Norway’s DNB Bank ASA (DNB), as facility agent and security agent for a syndicate of banks comprising itself, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., BNP Paribas, Danish Ship Finance and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, in relation to a US$310m loan facility provided to Star Bulk Carriers Corp.Secured on 26 vessels in Star Bulk’s fleet, the facility consists of two tranches: (a) a first tranche of US$240m used to refinance Star Bulk’s debt under five existing facility agreements; and (b) a second tranche of US$70m used to finance the prospective capital expense for the retrofitting of vessels…

The diversified holding company HC2 Holdings announced that it is exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale, for its  Global Marine Group (GMG)  subsidiary.As part of this process, Global Marine Holdings, a leading provider of offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, renewables and oil & gas industries through its operating subsidiary Global Marine Systems Limited, has engaged Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and ABN AMRO Bank as joint advisors to explore strategic alternatives for the business."Since our acquisition four years ago, the management team at Global Marine has repositioned and strengthened itself by securing and maintaining leadership positions in various key growth markets…

Flex LNG, controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, has raised $300 million in a private placement of shares to help pay for five new vessels costing $918 million, it said on Thursday.Fredriksen's companies typically add high-yield bond issues and bank loans at a later time to pay the cost not covered by share sales.When the vessels are delivered from the yards of South Korea's Daewoo (DSME) and Hyundai (HHI) in 2020 and 2021, Flex LNG will have a fleet of 13 ships, Flex said.Fredriksen himself bought shares for $100 million, cutting his overall stake in the firm to 44.6 percent following the placement from 49.9 percent.The new shares of Oslo-listed Flex were sold at 14.25 Norwegian crowns each, a five percent discount to Wednesday's closing price of 15 crowns, and the plac

Star Bulk Carriers announced that it has entered into a $310 million loan agreement, which includes a $70 million tranche (Green Loan Tranche) that will exclusively finance the procurement and retrofitting of scrubbers for up to approx. 50 vessels in Star Bulk’s fleet. According to a press release from the global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, DNB Bank, acted as the Mandated Lead Arranger, Facility Agent and Coordinator, along with ABN AMRO Bank, BNP Paribas, Danish Ship Finance and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken as Mandated Lead Arrangers.The remaining $240 million were drawn on September 28, 2018 and refinanced in full a group of 26 vessels…

Scorpio Bulkers Inc. said it has received a commitment from ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale for a loan facility of up to $60 million that will be used to finance up to 60 percent of the fair market value of two Ultramax dry bulk vessels (SBI Perseus and SBI Phoebe) and two Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels (SBI Electra and SBI Flamenco).The loan facility has a final maturity date of five years from drawdown date and bears interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 2.25 percent per annum.The loan facility, which is expected to close within August, would increase the company’s liquidity by approximately $21 million after repayment of the vessels’ existing debt.

Monaco-based international shipping company Scorpio Bulkers announced that it has received a commitment from ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale for a loan facility of up to USD 60 million.The loan facility will be used to finance up to 60% of the fair market value of two Ultramax dry bulk vessels (SBI Perseus and SBI Phoebe) and two Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels (SBI Electra and SBI Flamenco).The loan facility has a final maturity date of five years from drawdown date and bears interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 2.25% per annum.This loan facility, which is expected to close within August, would increase the Company’s liquidity by approximately $21 million after repayment of the vessels’ existing debt.

DESS Aquaculture Shipping AS, a joint venture between Solstad Farstad ASA (SOFF) and Marine Harvest ASA, took delivery of the harvest vessel “Aqua Merdø” on May 24th 2018.    The vessel will commence its 10-year charter contract with Marine Harvest upon delivery at location within few days.   “Aqua Merdø” is developed in close collaboration between the owners and Salt Ship Design and has been built by Myklebust Verft, Norway. Long term financing of “Aqua Merdø” is arranged by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.   “Aqua Merdø” is a harvest vessel with a capacity of handling up to 20,000 fish per hour, and transport up to 400 tons of fish to the processing plant.   DESS Aquaculture Shipping was established in June 2016 as a joint venture between Marine Harvest and Deep Sea Supply.

Scorpio Tankers announced that, following from the announcement of new financing initiatives on April 25, 2018, the Company has received commitments from four leading European financial institutions for three separate loan facilities of up to $195.9 million in aggregate. It will raise $53.9 million of new liquidity in aggregate after the repayment of $142.0 million of existing secured debt. The Company expects to make announcements for further individual transactions in the coming weeks. The Company has received a commitment from ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB for a loan facility of up to $120.6 million. The loan facility will be used to finance up to 65% of the fair market value of one Handymax product tanker, one MR product tanker and three LR2 product tankers.

International Seaways announced that its joint ventures with Euronav NV, which own the FSO Africa and FSO Asia floating storage and offloading service vessels, have closed on a $220 million credit facility. Based on INSW’s 50% ownership in the joint ventures, the Company has received $110 million in proceeds from the drawdown of the facility, which it expects to use for general corporate purposes, including to partially fund the previously announced VLCC acquisition. “With the $110 million term loan, International Seaways has further enhanced our financial flexibility while maintaining overall balance sheet strength,” said Lois K. Zabrocky, INSW’s President and CEO. Ms.

Tanker shipping company Euronav has secured a loan facility providing financing for four ice-class suezmax newbuildings under construction by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., two of which have recently been delivered with the remaining two scheduled for delivery later in 2018.Watson Farley & Williams LLP (WFW) said it acted for Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in relation to a $173.5 million loan facility for Euronav NV signed on March 22, 2018. The commercial lenders were Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV and Sea Bridge Finance Limited and The Export-Import Bank of Korea acted as ECA lender.WFW also acted for ING Belgium SA/NV on a $220 million loan facility for Euronav and International Seaways signed on March 29…

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) informed that it has signed a new $252 million 7-year credit facility with a consortium of six leading international banks, which includes: ABN AMRO Bank; BNP Paribas; Citibank; ING Bank; KfW IPEX-Bank, and Société Générale. The funds will be used towards financing a series of six Aframax tankers, the first-ever such vessels purpose-designed to be powered by LNG, currently under construction and due for delivery from Q3 2018 to Q2 2019. These innovative vessels set new environmental standards for the global tanker industry through adopting cleaner-burning LNG as a primary fuel for Aframax tankers. Each 114…

Geneva-headquartered energy and commodities trader Vitol has signed an US$8bn loan refinancing of credit facilities agreed in October 2016, the company announced on Wednesday. The revolving credit facility, which is used for working capital and general corporate purposes, comprises a three-year tranche and a 364-day tranche. The three-year tranche totals over US$7bn. ABN AMRO Bank, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole CIB, HSBC Bank and ING Bank were active bookrunners on the transaction. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, MUFG, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered Bank, SMBC and UniCredit Bank were mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

Shares of the world's leading provider of geoscience data to oil companies TGS fell by more than 6 percent on Thursday, after disappointing sales in the second quarter. TGS reported $108 million in quarterly revenues, 6 percent below consensus, and compared with $114 million in the second-quarter a year ago. "Part of the problem was that TGS failed to sell more in Brazil, where PGS and CGG did well, or in Mexico, where it had data in the wrong place or it was simply too expensive," Iver Baatvik at ABN-AMRO bank said. The so-called late sales of seismic data were down to $79 million from $84 million a year ago. Peers including Schlumberger, PGS and CGG all reported year-on-year growth in the second quarter.

Höegh LNG Holdings has announced that it has received commitment letters for a US$230 million debt financing for its eighth floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). The Facility comprises a 12 year export credit agency (ECA) term loan of up to USD 150 million backed by Garantiinstituttet for Eksportkreditt (GIEK) and Eksportkreditt of Norway, and a 5 year non-amortising commercial bank loan of up to USD 80 million funded by ABN AMRO Bank, Danske Bank, Nordea and Swedbank. The Facility is available to fund 65% of the delivered cost of the FSRU with no employment requirement, increasing to 75% upon securing long-term employment. The interest rate will be swapped from floating to fixed, and at the current market conditions the fixed interest rate is expected to come in at around 4.1%.

The European Investment Bank and Dutch bank ABN Amro will sign an agreement to support investments for greening the European shipping fleet. This framework is the first with a financial institution in the Netherlands and is supported by the Connecting Europe Facility and was made possible by the EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments), central pillar of the Juncker Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe. The framework guarantee agreement will ensure that promoters of sustainable projects in the maritime transport sector can benefit from favorable financial terms as a result of the EIB's AAA rating. The facility is open for both retrofitting of existing shipping as well as for projects that envisage the construction of new vessels with a green innovation aspect…

BW LPG Limited has signed a Debt Facility Agreement of USD290 million for the re-financing of six 2016 built ex-Aurora ships. The re-financing has been raised from The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) as ECA (Export Credit Agency) lender, with ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Singapore branch and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited as Mandated Lead Arrangers. ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Singapore branch also acted as coordinator and facility agent. The all-in cost for this financing is LIBOR plus 1.88%, with a 16-year amortization profile. Martin added: "The ex-Aurora fleet is now fully re-financed at similar competitive terms and structure as the rest of the BW LPG fleet, which further strengthens our competitive edge in a challenging market.

Euronav NV announces has signed a new USD 410 million senior secured amortizing revolving credit facility. The facility has been made available on 16 December 2016 for the purpose of refinancing 11 vessels as well as Euronav’s general corporate and working capital purposes. The credit facility was used to refinance the USD 500 million senior secured credit facility dated 25 March 2014 and will mature on 31 January 2023 carrying a rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 2.25%. Hugo De Stoop, CFO of Euronav said: “This new facility will provide a lot of flexibility for Euronav. It is a full revolving credit facility replacing a term loan, it has a lower margin (50 bps lower) than the facility it is refinancing, and it has a much longer maturity.

Tanker shipping company Euronav NV announced it has signed a new $410 million senior secured amortizing revolving credit facility. The facility has been made available on December 16, 2016 for the purpose of refinancing 11 vessels as well as Euronav’s general corporate and working capital purposes. The credit facility was used to refinance the $500 million senior secured credit facility dated March 25, 2014 and will mature on January 31, 2023 carrying a rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 2.25 percent. Hugo De Stoop, CFO of Euronav said, “This new facility will provide a lot of flexibility for Euronav. It is a full revolving credit facility replacing a term loan, it has a lower margin (50 bps lower) than the facility it is refinancing, and it has a much longer maturity.