Paul Slater News

Global law firm White & Case LLP announced the availability of a new report, "Restructuring & Beyond: The marine industry's routes to safety." The report focuses on survival strategies for those affected by the industry's downturn as well as emerging opportunities for companies, banks and investors. "Market equilibrium remains out of balance, and risks remain for the maritime sector," said Christopher Frampton, Partner and Global Head of the Asset Finance Practice of White & Case. "We have seen some contraction in the bank market. This, together with continued demand for capital, presents opportunities for alternate sources of finance.

Calls for a new Maritime Standards Board came from ship financier Paul Slater, speaking at the Maritime London event. Addressing the IMarEST and RINA debate on the single / double hull issue, Slater said that there is no standard established for the design, construction and operation of double-hulled tankers. "One cannot build a factory or an apartment building or a truck or even a container without meeting standards established by the government or local authority in which they are to be built or operated", he said. A new Maritime Standards Board would gather all the necessary information, which already exists within classification societies, to establish new standards which would then be presented to the IMO for adoption by maritime governments, he suggested.

Airline chief Stelios Haji-Ioannou's tanker company Stelmar has abandoned its bid for the First International fleet of clean tankers and is now reportedly considering those of Singapore-listed Osprey Maritime, Reuters reported. "Stelmar is looking at the Osprey ships, because the deal with First International is now looking too messy and too time-consuming," a New York-based source told Reuters. Stelmar's London office declined to comment. Shipping magnate John Fredriksen, whose World Shipholding Group holds a 54 percent stake in Osprey, announced in late December that he planned to sell off Osprey's 14 clean tankers to generate cash to invest in gas carriers. The source said that U.S.

Airline chief Stelios Haji-Ioannou's tanker company Stelmar has abandoned its bid for the First International fleet of clean tankers and is now reportedly considering those of Singapore-listed Osprey Maritime, Reuters reported. "Stelmar is looking at the Osprey ships, because the deal with First International is now looking too messy and too time-consuming," a New York-based source told Reuters. Stelmar's London office declined to comment. Shipping magnate John Fredriksen, whose World Shipholding Group holds a 54 percent stake in Osprey, announced in late December that he planned to sell off Osprey's 14 clean tankers to generate cash to invest in gas carriers. The source said that U.S.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou's tanker company Stelmar is poised to swoop on a fleet of modern petroleum products tankers but the deal has become ensnared by a bitter legal battle. The dispute is between the tankers' owner, First International, controlled by the high-profile shipping entrepreneur Paul Slater, and the company's financiers Berliner Bank, industry sources say. "Berliner Bank is leaning heavily on (Slater) to sign the company across to them, but the ships are mainly financed through U.S. bonds -- and the bondholders want to sell to Stelmar. They won't let Paul sign the company across to Berliner," said one industry source. The fleet…

Soaring shipping stocks may have attracted a raft of new investors including private equity funds and hedge funds, particularly in the U.S., but buyers should beware that shipping has always been and will remain a cyclical business, financier Paul Slater told the Mare Forum meeting in Amsterdam. “The economics of the shipping industry can appear simple to the outsider but the recent increase in shipping stock values can obscure the risks of the business,” he said. Pointing out that the wet and dry fleets will expand by 25-40% between now and the end of 2007 while the capacity of the container fleet is due to grow by almost 50%, Slater has a clear warning for newcomers to shipping stocks who believe their stock will continue to rise in value.