Bahrain Designated “Home Port” for U.S. Ships
In a move that is likely to increase repairs of U.S.-flagged ships at Bahrain’s ASRY, the Bahraini Government has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Government to designate Bahrain as a ‘home port’ for U.S. ships. ASRY has been repairing U.S. Navy and MSC ships for a number of years, especially during the Kuwait and Iraq Wars. On the commercial side, ASRY has also been carrying out emergency repairs to U.S.-flagged ships. However, under this new agreement, U.S.-flagged commercial vessels can now repair in ASRY without paying the 50% levy to the U.S. Government by repairing overseas. Bahrain is the only major Gulf shiprepair country to enter into this agreement with the U.S. Authorities.
S&P Cuts MC Shipping Outlook To Negative
Standard & Poor's has revised the outlook on MC Shipping Inc. to negative from stable. At the same time, the company's single-'B' long-term corporate credit rating and single-'B'-minus senior unsecured debt rating were affirmed. The rating on MC Shipping reflects the shipping industry's below-average characteristics, and the company's weak financial profile. MC Shipping is part of the Vlasov Group-a major ship-owning and ship-management group. Weak fundamentals and high industry-risk characterize the shipping market in general. To a large extent, MC Shipping is exposed to freight-rate volatility, as only a few of its vessels are on medium- to long-term charter. The current depressed container and small gas carrier markets are having a particularly strong negative effect on MC Shipping.
