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B2 News

28 Nov 2022

Marine News' Top Vessels of 2022

Mark W. Barker (Photo: Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding)

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted the most notable newbuilds delivered in 2022. From sturdy and nimble workboats, to the first new Jones Act laker in a generation, each vessel on display showcases the industry’s engineering prowess and technological ingenuity, with the focus on improving efficiency in operations. The maritime industry has no shortage of challenges to overcome, and each of Marine News’ top vessels will, in one way or another, aid efforts to tackle them.Mark W.

14 Sep 2020

Court Orders Seizure of GP Global's Oil Tanker Over Loan Default

An Indian court has ordered the seizure of a tanker belonging to Dubai-based oil trading firm GP Global after a petition from UAE lender National Bank of Fujairah over a loan default, a court document showed.The Gujarat High Court directed the authorities of Pipavav Port on Sept. 9 to seize the company's bunkering tanker, GP B3, and detain it until a further court order or until the outstanding loan amount of just over $2 million is paid, a court document seen by Reuters shows. The next hearing is on Sept. 17.GP Global said last month it had appointed restructuring experts after failing to reach a deal with its lenders over debt restructuring.

26 Sep 2019

Moody's Downgrades CMA CGM's Rating

Global ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the corporate family rating of French shipping major CMA CGM due to its "materially weaker" liquidity. The rating was downgraded to B2 from B1.Concurrently, the company's senior unsecured ratings were downgraded to Caa1 from B3. The outlook was changed to stable from negative."Today's rating action reflects that CMA CGM's liquidity profile has weakened materially in the last 12 months as a consequence of the acquisition of CEVA Logistics AG, although expected by Moody's to improve somewhat in 2020", says Daniel Harlid, Assistant Vice President -- Analyst and lead analyst for CMA CGM.The downgrade of CMA CGM's rating follows the acquisition of CEVA Logistics AG (Ceva…

18 Feb 2019

Hapag-Lloyd Gets Ratings Upgrade from Moody's

The international rating agency Moody’s has upgraded the German cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG's corporate family rating (CFR) to B1 from B2 and its senior unsecured bond rating to B3 from Caa1. The outlook remains stable.According to Moody's release, the improved rating acknowledges Hapag-Lloyd’s progress in integrating United Arab Shipping Company Limited (UASC) while reducing leverage and generating positive free cash flow on the back of tight cost management and increased efficiencies, Moody’s concluded in its press release published today.The rating upgrade reflects Hapag-Lloyd´s ability to achieve the level of expected…

25 Oct 2016

Moody's: Ratings of Overseas Shipholding on Review for Downgrade

Moody's Investors Service, has placed the ratings of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) under review for downgrade, including its B2 corporate family and Caa1 senior unsecured ratings, and the B1 and Ba2 senior secured debt ratings of its subsidiaries, OSG Bulk Ships, Inc. (OBS) and OSG International, Inc. (OIN). The review follows the company's announcement that its Board of Directors has approved the plan to separate its business units into two independent public companies via a spin-off of the international business, OIN. The spin-off is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including regulatory requirements. The current debt at OIN and at OBS will remain with those entities post separation. Moody's also affirmed the SGL-2 speculative grade liquidity rating.

06 May 2016

Moody's Dings Hurtigruten's Outlook Due to Newbuilds

(Photo Courtesy: Hurtigruten AS)

Moody's Investors Service, (Moody's) issued a press release affirming the B2 corporate family rating (CFR), B2-PD probability of default rating, and the B2 senior secured rating of Silk Bidco AS (Hurtigruten), the full owner of Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten  ASA. While the ratings have been affirmed, the outlook has been changed to stable from positive. "The change in outlook to stable reflects the higher credit risk and weaker liquidity that Hurtigruten's recent capex spending announcement entails" says Guillaume Leglise, Moody's lead analyst for Hurtigruten.

19 Nov 2015

EMC: U.S. Patent for MEO SatCom Power Booster

EMC earned recognition from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO) with its latest patent - US 9,130,644 B2 - for a power booster that improves efficiency and performance of connectivity links with Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite networks operating in the Ka- and Ku-band frequency ranges. “We developed this MEO Booster to manage the seamless switchover between MEO satellites as they move across the sky from horizon to horizon,” said Federico Fawzi, vice president of advanced engineering, EMC. “A descending satellite can conduct a handoff to an ascending satellite when the propagation delay from the two are equal by aligning amplitudes, frequency offsets and phases.

01 Oct 2015

Moody's Changes Hapag-Lloyd to Positive

Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) changed the rating for German Container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd to positive from stable, thanks to cheaper fuel. According to  Moody’s the outlook on the B2 corporate family rating (CFR), the B2-PD probability of default rating (PDR) and the Caa1 senior unsecured rating of Hapag-Lloyd AG. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the ratings assigned to the company, including its B2 CFR, B2-PD PDR and Caa1 senior unsecured rating. The change in outlook to positive from stable mainly reflects the company's improved operating performance since the beginning of 2015, driven by the lower bunker fuel price.

05 Aug 2015

Bergeron to be Keynote Speaker at SHIPPINGInsight

Scott Bergeron, CEO of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), has agreed to serve as a keynote speaker at the SHIPPINGInsight 2015 Fleet Optimization Conference & Exhibition, which takes place in Stamford, Conn., Oct. 13-14. Bergeron joins four other distinguished keynoters at the annual maritime technology event. He will lead off the roundtable on “The Role of Class & Flag” in the “Efficient Ships” session on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Other keynote speakers are Gary Vogel, partner and group CEO of Clipper Group (USA), Inc.; Paal Jacobsen, vice president and director of operations maritime for DNV GL; Angus Campbell, managing director, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement; and Ronald Spithout, president, maritime, Inmarsat. The conference chairman is Capt.

23 Jun 2015

Ecopetrol Breaks Silence in Risk-on Day for LatAm Markets

A recovery in LatAm debt spreads opened a window for Colombia's Ecopetrol on Tuesday when it printed a US$1.5bn 11-year bond - the state-owned oil company's first debt issue in nine months. Optimism over Greek debt talks spurred risk buying on Tuesday, leaving LatAm debt spreads tightening against a weaker US Treasury market, and also benefiting the oil credit that has received a battering in secondary this year. "We are trading well today and are tighter across most credit spreads," said a New York based trader focused on Latin American credits. Even with Heinz's jumbo US$10bn multi-tranche deal in the US high-grade market, Ecopetrol came on a relatively quiet day in the primary market, leaving the runway open for the Colombian borrower.

17 Jun 2015

Moody's Changes Hapag-Lloyd Rating to Stable

Photo: Hapag-Lloyd

Moody's Investors Service has changed to stable from negative the outlook on the B2 corporate family rating (CFR), the B2-PD probability of default rating (PDR) and the Caa1  senior unsecured rating of Hapag-Lloyd AG. Concurrently, Moody's has  affirmed the ratings assigned to the company including its B2 CFR, B2-PD  PDR and Caa1 senior unsecured rating. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Hapag-Lloyd AG is the fourth-largest  container shipping company in the world measured in TEU. During 2014,  Hapag-Lloyd reported revenues EUR6.8 billion.

02 May 2015

NZ Ports to Turn Away Cruise Liner

Radio New Zealand says that ports of Auckland is set to turn away one of the world's largest cruise ships after agreeing with its council-owner not to build one of two planned wharf extensions. It said, without the extension, it could not berth the Ovation of the Seas, which means the mega-liner may also drop stops at four other New Zealand ports. The cruise ship industry believes millions of dollars are at risk if extensions to Auckland's Bledisloe Wharf are delayed. After a months-long stoush, Auckland Council yesterday announced an agreement with Ports of Auckland to proceed with only one of two planned wharf expansions at Bledisloe Wharf - the eastern B2 wharf - and to commit to having it removed if the forthcoming Port Future Study found it to be redundant.

21 Apr 2015

Royal IHC introduces IHC Workhorse

Royal IHC has announced an extension to its innovative range of vessels with the introduction of the IHC Workhorse. This new design for a hybrid anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel has been developed specifically for the offshore sector. It follows the IHC Packhorse platform supply vessels (PSV), which was launched in 2014. • Ease of operation: the IHC Workhorse introduces an intelligent touchscreen concept that offers operators an effortless, user-friendly interface – even when using the most sophisticated hybrid power configurations. • Significant fuel savings: the advanced hybrid system is configured to manage all power requirements consistently at the most efficient fuel saving level.

23 Mar 2015

Imtech Supplies HVAC System to Marathon Oil Platform

Image: Imtech Marine

On December 19, 2014 Heerema Fabrication Group (Zwijndrecht) awarded Imtech Marine a contract to supply the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to the 6,000-metric-ton Alba B3 Greenfield compression platform, which is currently under construction for Marathon E.G. Production Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation. Kees de Kruyf, Imtech Marine Sales Director Global Offshore, said, “A dedicated team from Imtech Marine is deployed on the project, many of the engineers have more than 25 years of experience.

19 Feb 2015

CMA CGM Finance Stronger than Hapag-Lloyd

The credit profile of CMA CGM S.A. (CMA) is more robust than that of competitor Hapag-Lloyd AG (HL) on account of its higher profitability, bigger market share and more diverse geographic presence, says Moody's Investors Service. The agency points out that the credit profile of the French container shipping company CMA  (B2 positive) is more robust than that of German peer HL (B2 negative) on account of its superior profitability, bigger market share, and more diverse geographic presence. In the report entitled ‘Shipping: CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd: Peer comparison’, Moody's says that the French liner may have an advantage when tapping the capital markets for future fleet investments, assessments.

12 Sep 2014

Vard Marine Obtains US Dual-Fuel Vessel Patent

Vard Marine says it has been awarded a US Patent for their design and engineering of a Dual Fuel Vessel. Later this year; the first of six 5100 dwt vessels to be built under this patent, designed by Vard Marine and built by Gulf Coast Shipyard Group for Harvey Gulf International Marine will be delivered. These vessels represent the first US flag vessels capable of operating exclusively on natural gas or diesel fuel oil. As per US Patent No. US 8,690,622 B2, filed September 13, 2011, the patent is applicable to: a small size, self-propelled floating vessel having a dual fuel system, monohull or catamaran hull shape with an overall length ranging from sixty meters to one hundred and seventy meters, azimuthing thrusters, and with LNG tank capacities between 100cbm and 1200cbm.

04 Sep 2014

Exercise KAKADU War Games at Sea Kick Off

Photo: Nicolas Gonzalez

More than 1,200 mariners from the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions have completed the first sea phase of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest maritime warfare exercise, KAKADU 2014. Occurring off the coast of Darwin from August 25 to September 12, 2014, eight ships and 26 aircraft from Australia, Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand and the Philippines have been divided into two fleets for a fictitious battle over disputed maritime territory. On the first day at sea, Royal Australian Air Force Fast Jets simulated an ‘attack’ threat…

04 Jul 2014

Moody's Rates Sovcomflot Ba2: Negative Financial Outlook

Moody's Investors Service says it has confirmed the Ba2 corporate family rating (CFR) and the Ba2-PD probability of default rating (PDR) of Sovcomflot JSC with $800 million of rated debt affected. Concurrently, Moody's has confirmed Sovcomflot's Ba3 senior unsecured issuer rating and the Ba3 senior unsecured rating assigned to the $800 million Eurobond issued by SCF Capital Limited, which is a 100% indirect subsidiary of Sovcomflot (Sovcomflot guarantees the Eurobond). The outlook on all ratings is negative. This confirmation of Sovcomflot's ratings reflects Moody's expectation that the company will be able to improve its financial metrics over the next 12-18 months…

11 Dec 2013

BWMS Technology: US Patent Granted to Siemens

Seacure: Image courtesy of Siemens

The U.S. Patent Office has awarded Siemens Water Technologies a patent for a system and method to control biofouling of filters used as a first stage of treating ballast water in its SeaCURETM Ballast Water Management System. The patent, entitled “Method and System for Biofouling Control of Shipboard Components" (U.S. patent no. 8,591,740 B2), involves injection of biocide into ballast seawater before it reaches the large surface filter intakes to reduce the growth of marine organisms that can clog the filters.

10 Jan 2014

Siemens’ Ballast Water Management Anti-biofouling Earns U.S. Patent

Photo: Siemens

The U.S. Patent Office has awarded Siemens Water Technologies a patent for a system and method to control biofouling of filters used as a first stage of treating ballast water in its SeaCURETM Ballast Water Management System. The patent, entitled “Method and System for Biofouling Control of Shipboard Components" (U.S. patent no. 8,591,740 B2), involves injection of biocide into ballast seawater before it reaches the large surface filter intakes to reduce the growth of marine organisms that can clog the filters.

23 Jan 2014

Prestige Files for an IPO

Moody's Investors Service said Prestige Cruises International, Inc. , the indirect parent company of Oceania Cruises, Inc. (Oceania - B3, positive) and Seven Seas Cruises S. DER.L. (Regent - B2, stable), filing yesterday to take the company public is a credit positive. Oceania is a five-ship cruise company (one ship on charter through April 2014). Oceania targets the upper premium segment of the cruise industry. Regent is a three-ship (plus one on order) cruise ship operator that targets the luxury segment of the cruise industry. moodys.com

25 Feb 2014

Siemens System Controls Filter Biofouling

The U.S. Patent Office awarded Siemens Water Technologies a patent for a system and method to control biofouling of filters used as a first stage of treating ballast water in its SeaCURETM Ballast Water Management System. The patent, entitled “Method and System for Biofouling Control of Shipboard Components” (U.S. patent no. 8,591,740 B2), involves injection of biocide into ballast seawater before it reaches the large surface filter intakes to reduce the growth of marine organisms that can clog the filters.

31 Mar 2014

CMA CGM Reports Solid Performance in 2013

Photo: CMA CGM

The Board of Directors of France’s CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping company, met under the chairmanship of Jacques R. Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to review the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013. “In 2013, in a difficult market, we successfully reduced our costs while increasing our volumes carried much faster than the market, enabling us to report one of the industry’s best financial performances, “Saadé, said. “In this way, year after year, we are reinforcing our position as the world’s third largest container shipping company.