Bank Of America News

Abu Dhabi's Al Seer Marine, a subsidiary of International Holding Company (IHC), has said it has acquired two vessels, valued at a combined AED 246 million ($66,97 million), to meet the "rapidly growing demand for transportation of liquified petroleum gas (LPG)."Al Seer Marine has purchased LPG tankers, MT Alcor and MT Alkaid, each with a capacity of 20,700 cubic meters. The vessels are expected to provide an internal rate of return (IRR) of 25%, Al Seer Marine said. The company plans to buy up to 15 ships in 2022.

Arnold W. Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation & PLC, has been selected as the recipient of Seafarers’ House International Golden Compass Award for 2022. The award is given each year to those who have achieved distinction in the maritime world, those whose vocation or avocation has been the sea, or those who have ministered to or otherwise assisted seafarers.Donald grew up in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans with 27 foster brothers and sister. His parents’ generosity made a significant impact on his life.

Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday as the United States and European allies weighed a Russian oil import ban and delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled supply fears.In the first few minutes of trade Brent crude reached $139.13 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $130.50, both benchmarks striking their highest levels since July 2008.By 1017 GMT, prices had lost some of those gains, with Brent up $6.60, or 5.6%…

Vineyard Wind, which is on track to be the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, closed on a $2.3 billion loan and will begin construction in Massachusetts later this year, its owners said on Wednesday.The senior debt financing allows the project, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, to mobilize its contractors and suppliers to begin work, the companies said.The U.S. government approved Vineyard Wind in May, billing it as the inauguration of a new domestic industry that will help eliminate emissions from the power sector…

The inland waterway system, flowing through the United States heartland, is a microcosm of all that has been happening in 2020: trade tensions, infrastructure issues, shifting trends in fuel consumption and the pandemic that has gripped us since the winter months. Shortly after the initial coronavirus outbreak here in the U.S., maritime workers were deemed to be “essential”, paving the way for cargo flows to recover from their springtime nadir. As COVID-19 infections turned up on U.S. shores, the boats continued plying the waterways, albeit with reduced volumes in some cases.

Sovcomflot's shares fell below their offer price in their market debut in Moscow on Wednesday after the initial public offering (IPO) of Russia's biggest shipping company was priced at the lower end of its range.Sovcomflot's IPO, the first share offering by a Russian state company since 2013, will allow the government to reduce its stake to 82.8% following the sale of new shares worth about $550 million.The deal was priced at 105 roubles ($1.34) per share, at the lower end of the initial guidance of between 105 roubles and 117 roubles per share…

Russian shipping company Sovcomflot is guiding investors to expect its initial public offering (IPO) to price at the low end of the marketing range, two bookrunners organizing the transaction said on Tuesday.The first big stock market float by a Russian company in a couple of years comes as wider investor sentiment towards Moscow has turned negative after the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, protests in Belarus and renewed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.Russian assets…

The minimal impact on oil prices from a global deal for record output cuts showed that oil producers have a mountain to climb if they are to restore market balance as the coronavirus shreds demand and sends stockpiles soaring, industry watchers said.After several days of discussions, oil producing and consuming countries aim to remove nearly 20 million barrels per day (bpd) or 20% of global supply from the market, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.The oil market has barely shrugged, however: Brent crude gained 1.5% on Monday, while U.S. crude ended the day lower. The move underscores what both…

New marine fuel rules to boost diesel prices for at least a year -analystsGlobal prices for diesel and marine fuels should rise by October ahead of a January switchover to new, very low-sulfur marine fuels, and remain higher for at least a year as refiners shift production to make more of the new fuels, analysts said.Marine fuels containing no more than 0.5% sulfur by weight, down from the 3.5% currently used, to power ocean-going vessels will be required for ships without exhaust scrubbers on Jan.

A primer for navigating the ‘ups and downs’ of marine money for domestic stakeholders. Vessel financiers are resourceful and adaptable to changing markets. On the domestic side, financiers of Jones Act and “brown water” assets have continued to serve their customers through shifting shoals in both broader capital markets and in the marine markets – both known for their ups and downs. Marine finance can take many forms. In the broadest sense, funding can be done through loans, where the vessel is owned by the borrower…

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.

Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipper, is venturing into trade finance, as it seeks to fill a lending gap left by indebted banks pulling out of the crisis-hit shipping industry. Moving into traditional bank territory and further down the shipping value chain, Maersk Line, part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, is offering to finance shipments and remove the paper trail from financing deals. Maersk says it has no need to ask for collateral - one of the biggest headaches for banks and customers in trade finance deals - because it is carrying the goods on its vessels. In trade finance, banks traditionally act as an intermediary for companies importing or exporting goods, but many are being driven out of shipping.

After the first OPEC oil production cut in eight years took effect in January, oil traders from Houston to Singapore started emptying millions of barrels of crude from storage tanks. Investors hailed the drawdowns as the beginning of the end of a two-year supply glut - raising hopes for steadily rising per-barrel prices. It hasn't worked out that way. Now, many of those same storage tanks are filling back up or draining more slowly than investors and oil firms had expected, according…

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, the mood of the Russian delegation at the World Economic Forum in Davos was distinctly gloomy, with oil prices near 12-year lows below $30 per barrel and Western sanctions depressing their economy and financial markets. Since then, however, Russian stock and bond markets have risen about 50 percent, boosted by rebounding oil and - more recently - expectations the new U.S. presidency of Donald Trump will ease the sanctions imposed over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Russian officials and company executives at the forum attended by the world's political and business elites in the Swiss Alps this week were far more bullish, with many predicting the markets rally would continue this year.

Some positive market indicators could presage an investment revival in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico – and beyond. The good news, reported by Bloomberg, is that in the third quarter of 2016, the largest oil companies increased cash from operations by nearly $26 billion. This reflects a 67 percent increase from the previous quarter and more than twice the amount of the first quarter of 2016. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Total and BP indicated that the increase was due to lower spending, increased output and rising crude prices, although the numbers were still below last year’s numbers.

Royal Bank of Scotland is close to selling at least $600 million worth of shipping loans from its portfolio, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. RBS, which is more than 70 percent state-owned, is still in the throes of a restructuring, which includes asset sales, job cuts and tackling multi-billion dollar charges to settle litigation and pay regulatory fines for past misconduct. The sources said buyers of the various shipping loan tranches included Japanese financial services firm Orix Corp , Germany's Berenberg Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and asset manager Davidson Kempner. Bank of America and Berenberg declined to comment. Orix could not be reached for comment. Davidson Kempner and RBS declined to comment.

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk and DONG Energy are in talks to merge their oil and gas operations in a deal that would create a business worth more than $10 billion including debt, sources familiar with the matter said. Maersk is working with Bank of America on the potential deal, while JP Morgan is assisting Dong Energy, said the people, who cautioned there is no certainty the parties would come to terms. Maersk said in September it planned to merge or spin-off its energy assets as part of a major restructuring and instead focus on its core transport and logistics businesses.

United Arab Shipping Co (UASC) is considering the sale of its stake in United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC) for oil and petrochemicals  as part of its plans to merge with German container line Hapag-Lloyd, says Bloomberg. UASC hopes the sale will fetch over $600m, but deliberations are ongoing. Bank of America Corp has been tasked with finding buyers for the holding, says the report. The company held 95 percent of UACC according to the chemical shipping firm’s 2012 financial report, the most recent one available on the company’s website. No final decisions about the sale have been made, the people said. UACC, founded in 2007, is a mid-sized operator with a fleet of two dozen tankers.

When U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs said last year that oil could fall as low as $20 per barrel, it assigned a fairly low probability to that scenario. Fast-forward five months and in some parts of the world the forecast has already proved correct. Canadian physical crude has been selling this week at below $20 per barrel, less than it costs to extract and transport. Traders in the options market, meanwhile, are taking protection against prices falling below $25. The developments reflect growing concerns that a market already awash in too much oil is now suffering the double-whammy of a sharp slowdown in U.S. and Chinese demand.

The number of oil rigs in the United fell for a ninth straight week to the lowest level since December 2009, data showed on Friday, as energy firms continued to cut spending amid the collapse in crude prices. Drillers cut 26 rigs in the week ended Feb. 19, bringing the total rig oil count to 413, oil services company Baker Hughes Inc said in its closely followed report. The number of oil rigs in operation were less than a third of the 1,536 in service during the same week a year ago. Oil has shed 70 percent from highs above $100 a barrel in a selloff that has seen little pause over the past 20 months, forcing a collapse in the rig count as well. Since last Friday though, some traders believed the market had seen a bottom on talk that OPEC was on a plan to reign in production.

Off the coast of a nearly deserted island below the southern tip of Hong Kong, at least 10 massive ships that normally carry hundreds of thousands of tons of coal or iron ore lie idle near one of the world's busiest sea routes. These empty vessels paint a grim picture for the dry bulk shipping business that veterans of the industry say is grappling with an unprecedented crisis of too many ships and not enough cargoes. The hollow boats underscore the global economic doldrums that policymakers are struggling to overcome. "This is the worst we have seen in recent times. We have been hit by a perfect storm - huge order books, China slowdown…

Marine transportation service company American Commercial Lines (ACL) announced it has acquired commercial inland barge company AEP River Operations from American Electric Power (AEP). AEP River Operations is based in Chesterfield, Mo., with operations in Paducah, Ky.; and Convent, Algiers and Belle Chasse, La., and delivers approximately 45 million tons of products annually. Mark Knoy, president and CEO of Jeffersonville, Ind. based ACL, had previously run AEP River Operations for a decade before joining ACL in 2011.

The United States is temporarily easing trade restrictions on Myanmar by allowing all shipments to go through its ports and airports for six months, an effort to boost the country's opposition party after its landmark election win in November, U.S. officials said on Monday. The trade relief, coming after democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won Myanmar's historic election, applies to even port terminals and airports controlled by entities on the U.S. sanctions blacklist, the officials said. Reuters exclusively reported last month that major U.S. banks such as Citigroup, Bank of America and PNC Financial…