Bank Accounts News

ShipMoney has expanded its agreement with Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) to include the ship manager’s global fleet.Extending the existing agreement to the worldwide fleet reinforces BSM’s commitment to digitizing its payment processes to enable greater financial management efficiencies for all crew wages and CTM payments while offering seafarers freedom and flexibility to manage their wages.ShipMoney is a purpose-built proprietary digital account management system which enables bespoke scalable payment solutions.

Stuart Ostrow developed ShipMoney as a means to make the process of paying crew more efficient and cost-effective for both vessel owner/operators and the crew. Little did he realize then that his company would be instrumental in helping seafarers during their greatest time of crisis.Stuart, to start, how did you come create ShipMoney and get into a career in the maritime business?I'm the definition of an accidental salesman. By professional training, I'm a Big Six CPA, and I was always one of those frustrated accountants. Many years ago, I read a business plan that talked about prepaid.

As the health and welfare of seafarers continues to be a point of focus around the world, Maritime Payment Solutions, LLC (d/b/a ShipMoney), a provider of payment solutions for maritime companies, introduced ShipMoney Virtual Cards and the Transfer Marketplace, a pair of services designed to expedite payments to crew members and their families while providing a broad range of remittance options.ShipMoney’s Virtual Card solution uses Visa’s virtual card technology, which enables crew members to immediately access their wages from anywhere in the world while onboard or at home…

Whilst investigating a cyber incident onboard a ship the USCG found that the security risk presented by the shipboard network was well known among the crew before the incident.In its recent Marine Safety Alert 06-19, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) shares its findings from an investigation into a cyber incident onboard a commercial vessel:“In February 2019, a deep draft vessel on an international voyage bound for the Port of New York and New Jersey reported that they were experiencing a significant cyber incident impacting their shipboard network.

IN a recent notice, the U.S. Coast Guard again warns of the importance of maintaining your guard on cyber security, on land and at sea.In February 2019, a deep draft vessel on an international voyage bound for the Port of New York and New Jersey reported that they were experiencing a significant cyber incident impacting their shipboard network. An interagency team of cyber experts, led by the Coast Guard, responded and conducted an analysis of the vessel’s network and essential control systems.

Seafarers employed on Tsakos-owned vessels operated under its management arrangement with Columbia Shipmanagement will now be paid electronically as opposed to by ‘Cash-by-Master’, under an agreement signed with ShipMoney.The deal means crew members will have control and access to their wages while onboard ship, including the timing and currency of remittances sent home. It will  reduce the need for large amounts of cash to be delivered to ships and eliminate the need for Tsakos to administer individual crew wire payments sent to home bank accounts. The latest contract with the Greece-based shipmanagement company will see ShipMoney’s products being rolled out to its fleet of 90 vessels consisting of tanker…

A Libyan coastguard commander sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged human trafficking and migrant smuggling said he hits migrants but does so for their own safety to prevent them from capsizing.Abdalrahman al-Milad, who heads a coastguard unit in Zawiya, just west of Tripoli, was one of six people sanctioned for involvement in people trafficking or smuggling in Libya on June 7, in the first move of its kind.The sanctions freeze bank accounts of those listed and ban them from travelling internationally…

Police say 17 arrested in connection with oil theft; 11 charged; Shell expects "short delay" in operations due to case. Eleven men were charged in a Singapore court on Tuesday in connection with a large-scale oil theft at Shell's biggest refinery, while police said they were investigating six other men arrested in a weekend raid. Police in the island-state said on Tuesday they had detained 17 men, whose ages ranged from 30 to 63, and seized millions of dollars in cash and a small tanker during their investigations into theft at the Pulau Bukom industrial site, which sits just south of Singapore's main island. Oil refining and shipping have contributed significantly to Singapore's rising wealth during the past decades.

On a sunny day on the Helsinki seafront, sparks fly from steel welding at the bustling Arctech shipyard, which seems insulated from Finland's economic recession as it strives to meet an order book that stretches into 2017. The world's biggest manufacturer of icebreakers, or ships that can navigate ice-covered waters, Arctech is poised to benefit from an expected flurry of activity in the Arctic, which is being reinforced by U.S. President Barack Obama's Arctic push. As climate change is melting sea ice and opening the Arctic to more shipping, mining and oil drilling, icebreakers will forge waterways for other ships, carry out rescue missions and do stand-by duties for oil platforms in the region.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the world-leading marine, cargo and supply chain solutions provider, has teamed up with Brightwell Payments, Inc. to introduce an innovative payment system for ship owners and managers to simplify cross-border crew payments, cut onboard cash and enhance crew and vessel safety. The new payments platform, Brightwell Navigator, will significantly reduce overall cash on board. Instead, ship owners and managers can send crew payments via bank transfer and/or loaded to an OceanPay® MasterCard® Prepaid Card to ensure a ‘cash free vessel’ and help safeguard crew against piracy and theft. With commercial shipping, crew traditionally receive part or all of their wages in cash.

A Brazilian judge sentenced a former international director at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA to five years in prison for money laundering on Tuesday, the second company executive convicted in an ongoing corruption probe. Federal Judge Sergio Moro said there was ample evidence to support charges by prosecutors that the former director, Nestor Cervero, used bribe money stolen from the company to buy a luxury apartment in Rio de Janeiro. Cervero was fired from Petrobras, as the company is known, in 2014 and arrested in January as he stepped off a plane from Europe. He is also suspected of receiving bribes in exchange for awarding drilling ship contracts.

Financially troubled Chinese shipbuilder Sainty Marine has announced Bank of China and China Exim Bank have frozen its bank accounts. Shenzhen-listed Sainty Marine has also announced that it has reached an agreement with Dutch ship investment firm, Universal Marine, for the cancellation of four 2,350teu containerships. Universal Marine ordered the vessels at Sainty Marine in March 2014, however, it has been unable to secure the financing to start the newbuilding project, which has led to the cancellation of the vessels. No compensation is involved in the agreement. The struggling shipbuilder said that it had not received a court notice from the banks on their decision. The move comes following last week’s court order on freezing of the company’s assets worth RMB 300 million.

The Board of Directors of Swissco Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries have informed shareholders of the Company that the Group has discovered that an aggregate amount of approximately S$2.58 million was misappropriated from the accounts of the Group over the last 3 years by the VP - Finance (the “Employee”) of the Company. As of the date of this announcement, S$900,000/- has been recovered, leaving a balance of approximately S$1.68m to be recovered. Preliminary investigations revealed that the Employee had falsified the Company documents to direct payment of the Misappropriated funds to her personal and family members’ bank accounts. The Company immediately commenced investigations upon discovery of the misappropriation.

Shipping services that support Russia's attempts to extract oil from remote parts of the Arctic will run into difficulties as banks scale back energy financing due to Western sanctions, increasing transport costs for the frontier sector. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union over Ukraine have targeted the delivery of oil technology, goods and services, aiming to make it impossible for Moscow to access new oil sources. The world's largest energy exporter, Russia relies on oil and gas exports for about half its federal budget.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (GSL) announced  that it has priced an offering of $420,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 10.000% first priority secured notes due 2019 at an issue price of 98.5% in a private placement. The notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, on a senior basis by Global Ship Lease Services Limited and each of the company's 17 vessel-owning subsidiaries and in the future by certain of the company's existing and future restricted subsidiaries, as may be required by the terms of the indenture that will govern the notes. On the issue date, the notes will be secured by first priority ship mortgages on 17 vessels owned by certain subsidiary guarantors and certain other associated property…

Rotterdam-based law firm AKD says shipping and international trade and logistics operators should welcome a recent decision by European Justice Ministers which will improve their chances of successfully recovering money owed to them by trading partners in EU countries by effectively opening the door to the Europe-wide freezing of bank accounts. At the end of December, 2013, European Justice Ministers reached agreement on the European Account Preservation Order (EAPO), which will facilitate the recovery of cross-border debt claims throughout the EU.

Korea’s big three shipbuilders are committed to making a fresh start with regard to business ethics in 2014 after getting hit with bribery scandals in 2013, reports the Korea Joong Ang Daily. According to the Korea Joong Ang Daily,  Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s largest ship manufacturer, held an “ethics management resolution” event recently at its headquarters in Ulsan during a management strategy seminar. HHI Chairman Lee Jae-sung and more than 150 high-ranking executives, including CEOs from affiliates, signed a pledge to pursue ethical management.

Ship operators and managers are benefitting from the administrative efficiency of a single payment system for port calls launched by Wilhelmsen Ships Service. A Float Account scheme operated by the company enables the ship operator to deposit a fixed amount with them to cover a month’s anticipated port calls. The sum is used to cover all the expenses of the operator’s vessels, wherever they call in the world. Wilhelmsen Ships Service’s global network, plus its “Ships Agency Re…

On Friday, October 15, President Obama signed into law the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (H.R. 3619). This is the first such authorization act for the Coast Guard since 2006. The statute is lengthy (128 pages) and addresses a wide variety of maritime issues. This article will attempt to identify those provisions expected to have the most impact or of the most interest. I have grouped these provisions into broad categories, although there is some natural overlap. The Coast Guard is provided specific authority to enforce the U.S. coastwise trade laws and its personnel are to be trained with regard to these laws. This provision is somewhat redundant, in that the agency, since its founding as the Revenue Cutter Service in 1790, has had this authority.

Trico Marine Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMA) announced that its U.S. companies and its Cayman Islands holding company have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code (U.S. Bankruptcy Code) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Aside from the Cayman Islands holding company, Trico's foreign subsidiaries were not included in the filing and will not be subject to the requirements of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Trico's U.S. and worldwide operations are expected to continue without interruption during the restructuring process. Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer, Richard A.

Moore Stephens Yachting now provides financial advice and services to yacht crew, ranging from offshore bank accounts to pensions.  For over 100 years, Moore Stephens has a long-standing reputation in the global shipping industry.  Moore Stephens Isle of Man has been active in the superyacht industry for over eighteen years, particularly in the provision of turnkey yachting and VAT solutions.

Iraq has set the stage for enough snags in its oil-for-food export program to keep overheated oil markets nervous about possible export disruptions until mid-January, oil traders and analysts said, Reuters reported. Yet weary of false alarms on Iraqi supply, traders say they will now need to see real evidence of a halt to Iraqi supplies before they believe it. "The market has already priced in a chance that Iraq will suspend oil exports. In order to drive the prices noticeably higher, we now need to see some specific actions," said Timothy Evans, analyst with IFR-Pegasus in New York. "We've been down this route before. The market has got a bit desensitized on Iraq. We're waiting for something to really happen," said Nauman Barakat of ABN Amro bank. Iraq is using the window between the U.S.

Y2K. Remember the dire warnings four years ago as the world raced towards the stroke of midnight ushering in 2000? Editorials screamed that computer systems everywhere would fail making bank accounts inaccessible, traffic lights inoperable and the whole air traffic control system would come to a screeching halt leaving airplanes without guidance. Y2K disaster preparation "kits" were sold over the Internet as survivalists worried about governments all over the world failing and universal chaos occurring. Despite all these dire predictions from experts and average citizens alike governments, working in partnerships with industry (both large and small), took a very proactive approach, developed solutions and the great cyber meltdown never occurred.