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Vapores News

24 Oct 2017

Fiat Chrysler Sues Shippers over Alleged Price Fixing

(File photo: Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS)

The automaker wants the Federal Maritime Commission to order payments from Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS and its sister company EUKOR Car Carriers Inc, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, Compania Sud Americana de Vapores, Hoegh Autoliners AS and affiliated companies. Fiat Chrysler filed its complaint on Oct. 17. All but one of the shippers sued by Fiat Chrysler pleaded guilty and admitted to price fixing as part of a Justice Department investigation. The remaining firm, Hoegh, agreed last month to plead guilty and pay a $21 million criminal fine.

21 Aug 2017

FTC Fines Global Car Shipping Firms USD 37.8mln

South Korea's antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission (FTC)  has imposed a combined 43 billion won (US$37.8 million) in fines on nine global auto shipping companies for bid rigging and price fixing, reported Yonhap. According to the FTC, the nine car shipping companies colluded between August 2002 and September 2012 in global biddings offered by car manufacturers that they should “respect” existing contracts of one another so as not to compete. The nine car shipping companies are Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Nissan Motor Car Carrier and Eastern Car Liner, Norway’s Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and Hoegh Autoliners, Chile’s Compania Sudamericana de Vapores S.A. and Korea’s Eukor Car Carriers.

29 Jun 2017

S&P Confirms Hapag-Lloyd Rating After Merger with UASC

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s confirmed Hapag-Lloyd’s B+ rating and took the company off its CreditWatch with future negative implications. Hapag-Lloyd was upgraded to Outlook Negative. The merger with UASC has added debt to Hapag-Lloyd’s capital structure. However, due to the acquired ships and containers of UASC no bigger investments are planned in the next few years. Thus, more cash flow should be available for repayment of debt and deleveraging. “The company should be able to maintain credit ratios we consider commensurate with the current rating in 2017-2018,” Standard & Poor’s wrote in the Research Update. The rating agency also acknowledged the competitive advantages of the merger with UASC such as Hapag-Lloyd’s larger size and capacity…

08 Jun 2016

Shipping Exec Indicted for Price Fixing

Another ocean freight executive has been indicted for participation in a long-running conspiracy to restrain trade in international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the Port of Baltimore and elsewhere in the United States, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. A grand jury in the District of Maryland returned the indictment. Mauricio Javier Garrido Garcia (Garrido), an executive of Compañia Sudamericana de Vapores S.A. (CSAV) and resident of Chile, is charged with allocating customers and routes, rigging bids and fixing prices for international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo, including cars, trucks and construction and agriculture equipment. Garrido is accused of participating in the conspiracy from as early as 2000 until at least September 2012.

29 Apr 2016

EU Clears CMA CGM, NOL Merger, with Conditions

The European Commission said on Friday it had cleared French shipping group CMA CGM's $2.4 billion takeover of Neptune Orient Lines on condition that NOL pulls out from a rival shipping alliance. The announcement confirms a Reuters report on April 21 about the impending approval. CMA CGM, the world's third-biggest container shipping company, is looking to strengthen its position against bigger rivals Maersk Line and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC). The European Commission said in a statement that its approval was conditional on CMA CGM's commitment to withdraw NOL from the G6 alliance, which competes with its own Ocean Three alliance.

21 Apr 2016

EU to Okay $2.4 bln Box Shipping Deal

EU approval conditional on NOL pulling out from G6 alliance. French shipping group CMA CGM's $2.4 billion takeover of Neptune Orient Lines is set to be cleared by the European Union's competition regulators, on condition that NOL pulls out from a rival shipping alliance, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. CMA CGM, the world's third-biggest container shipping company, is looking to strengthen its position against bigger rivals Maersk Line and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC). CMA CGM's plan to withdraw NOL from the G6 alliance, which competes with its own Ocean Three alliance, was able to address European Commission concerns, the people said.

11 Apr 2016

CMA Offers Concessions to get EU Approval for NOL Deal

French container shipping group CMA CGM has offered concessions in a bid to win European Union antitrust approval for its $2.4 billion takeover of Singaporean rival Neptune Orient Lines. CMA CGM, which ranks behind No. 1 Maersk Line and Swiss peer MSC in global shipping, submitted the concessions on Thursday, a filing on the European Commission website showed on Monday, without giving details. CMA is expected to withdraw NOL from competing shipping alliances to allay concerns, people familiar with the matter said. The tie-up between German container shipping company Hapag Lloyd and Chilean peer Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV)…

28 Mar 2016

Hapag-Lloyd Back in Black

German container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd has reported a net profit of €114 million ($127.5 million) on revenue of €8.8 billion for 2015 – a turnaround from a loss of €604 million on revenue of €6.8 billion the previous year. The firm has suffered from serious losses in recent years and posted a €604 million loss in 2014. The firm noted that presence in attractive niche markets, combined with a balanced trade portfolio had led to "synergies, cost-cutting program and a more competitive fleet. The company announced that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to €831 million ($929 million), a jump up over the year previous when EBITDA earnings were €99 million ($110.7 million).

23 Mar 2016

Hapag-Lloyd Sees Better Market, Lower Costs Boosting 2016 EBIT

Photo: Hapag-Lloyd

German container shipping group Hapag Lloyd said it expected a clear increase in operating profit this year thanks to a market recovery, cost cuts and synergies from its merger with Chilean shipper CSAV. Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) had swung to a 366 million euro profit in 2015, from a year-earlier loss of 383 million. It swung to a net profit of 114 million euros from a 2014 loss of 604 million, Hapag-Lloyd said on Wednesday. Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd completed a merger with Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) in December 2014.

01 Mar 2016

Report Calls for Shipping Liners to Consolidate

The need of the hour is consolidation of container ship lines order to regain profitability and to overcome financial struggles, consulting firm AlixPartners says in a new report. The report says that an increased supply of vessels, coupled with the introduction of giant ships, had met with a dwindling demand in the second half of last year resulting to overcapacity, low profitability and reduced cash flow. The shippers with “M&A on their minds need to be proactive” if they hope to reap the kind of rewards winners in consolidated industries enjoy—or to prevent becoming acquisition targets themselves, the consultants suggested, pointing to the successful consolidation of the US airline industry as a possible template to follow.

28 Dec 2015

China Fines Shippers $63 mln for Price Fixing

China has fined seven shipping companies, including Japan's Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, a total of 407 million yuan ($62.85 million) for price-fixing, the country's state economic planner said in a statement on Monday. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the companies colluded to raise rates on shipments of cars, trucks, and construction machinery across five shipping routes, including between China and Europe, for at least four years, violating the country's anti-monopoly laws. The other six companies fined were Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines and Eastern Car Liner Ltd., South Korea's Eukor Car Carriers, Norway's Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS, Chile's Compania Sud Americana de Vapores, and a separate shipping subsidiary within CSAV, the NDRC said.

28 Dec 2015

China Fines 8 Global Shippers

China is going after container shipping lines for freight rate abuses. The Chinese Ministry of Transport has fined a total of $65 million on price-fixing charges. The National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement that the imposed fines are equivalent to 4% to 9% of their international shipping sales “concerning transport to and from China". The investigation lasted for more than a year, the NDRC said. Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, Mitsui OSK lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Eastern Car Liner, Korea's Eukor Car Carriers, Norway's Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Chile's Cia Sud Americana de Vapores and its shipping line were the eight indicted after a year-long investigation.

12 Nov 2015

Hapag-Lloyd Posts Third Straight Quarter of Profits

Photo: Hapag-Lloyd

German continuer shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG recorded its third consecutive profitable quarter, marked by higher transport volumes and reduced shipping costs in the third quarter of 2015. For the first nine months of 2015, the shipper posted a €6.8 billion revenue, up €1.9 billion compared to the same period a year ago, attributing much of the increase to its December 2014 merger with the shipping business of Cia. Sud Americana de Vapores SA (CSAV). Hapag-Lloyd also recorded a net profit of €160.4 million in the first nine months of 2015…

04 Nov 2015

IPO: Hapag-Lloyd Raises $300 Million

Hapag-Lloyd AG, the German container shipping company, has succeeded in completing its  initial public offering (IPO), after a hard campaign in which the outcome sometimes looked in doubt. It has set the final offer price for its shares at €20 ($21.91), the low end of the bookbuilding range. The Container shipping line said it raised approximately $300 million in primary proceeds through the initial public offering. The deal’s main target was to raise primary proceeds for the company. The target for this was reduced from $500m to $300m (€265m) at the start of the bookbuild on October 14, but Hapag-Lloyd has succeeded in raising that much.

12 Oct 2015

Hapag-Lloyd Continues to Prepare for its IPO

Confirming that the company is preparing its initial public offering, Hapag-Lloyd said it “expects total gross proceeds in the equivalent euro amount of US$500 million from the IPO,” says a report in Reuters. Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive of Germany’s biggest container shipper said that: "There will never be a perfect time ... one should not be too dependent on (the market). Some $400 million will be raised from institutional and retail investors, with core owners Kühne Maritime and Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores placing orders of $50 million apiece, the company said earlier in a statement.

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.

29 Sep 2015

Hapag-Lloyd in US$500 mln IPO

German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd is looking to sell shares for a total US$500 million, and will seek listings in Hamburg and Frankfurt before the end of 2015. Hapag-Lloyd has confirmed that it is preparing for a US500 million initial public offering (IPO) this year, with the expectation that it will use some of the proceeds to order ultra large containerships. "This move will give us better access to the capital markets which will enable us to further invest in our business to become more competitive," Reuter quoted Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen as saying. Hapag-Lloyd may be valued at more than 5 billion euros in the IPO.

20 Apr 2015

Hapag-Lloyd Orders 5 Ships for More Panama Canal Trade

Ship container line Hapag-Lloyd has placed an order for five vessels as it looks to bolster trade in Latin America ahead of next year's planned expansion of the Panama Canal, the world's fourth biggest player said on Monday. Workers are installing 22-storey lock gates to accommodate larger container ships through the canal, one of the world's busiest maritime routes, which plans to open on April 1 2016. Hamburg-headquartered Hapag-Lloyd, which completed a merger with Chile's Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) in December, said it had placed an order for five 10,500 TEU ships, scheduled for delivery between October 2016 and May 2017. "They will be deployed primarily on South American routes.

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.

16 Jul 2015

ISS Drives Forward in South America with CSAV

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) is driving forward in South America with newly completed operations in Argentina and Panama as the car carriers agent for Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV). As general and port agents for the car carriers division of CSAV Group, the largest shipping company in Latin America, ISS managed the arrival of CSAV Rio Maipo at Zarate port in Argentina, successfully handling 1,648 vehicles. Most recently, ISS managed the arrival of CSAV Rio Nevado in Panama, with this vessel also transiting the Panama Canal. CSAV appointed ISS at the end of 2014 to attend one of its car carrier vessels at Callao port, Peru, when it successfully discharged 1,825 vehicles.

17 Jul 2015

Hapag Lloyd IPO Valued at Over $5.5 Bln

A flotation of a minority stake could value the world's fourth-largest shipping group German-Chilean Hapag-Lloyd AG at more than 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) and could take place as early as autumn. Hapag-Lloyd AG has already mandated investment banks Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Inc. and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. to advise on the initial public offering (IPO), as per various media reports. The reports indicate Hapag-Lloyd expediting efforts to float a minority stake on the Frankfurt stock exchange as early as this fall. The net proceeds from the IPO could be used to cover the company’s pretty extensive debt of USD 3.65 billion. However, the plans are yet to be confirmed by Hapag-Lloyd.

26 Aug 2015

Hapag-Lloyd Continues on Path for Profits

Photo: Hapag-Lloyd

Container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said it has increased transport volumes and revenue as well as earnings in the first half of 2015 as volume growth was driven by a merger with Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) that made Hapag-Lloyd the fourth largest carrier globally by capacity. The transport volume increased to around 3.7 million TEU in the first six months of 2015, up 29.4 percent compared to the same period in 2014 and mainly due to the merger with CSAV, the shipper said. The average freight rate in the first half of 2015 came in at $1,296/TEU, 9 percent below the same period of 2014.

27 Aug 2015

Hapag-Lloyd Swings to Profit in H1 2015

German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd is starting to see the commercial benefits of its integration with the container shipping arm of Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), which is now expected to deliver larger synergies than initially anticipated. The managed to maintain its profit from earlier this year with a positive result of $175million (EUR 157.2 m) in the first half of the year. This compares with almost $200 million loss incurred in the same period of 2014, before the takeover of Chilean container line CSAV. Revenue at Hapag-Lloyd reached $5.3 billion in the first half because of the incorporation of CSAV’s container shipping activities and the stronger U.S. dollar. It led to earnings before income tax of $307 million, the carrier said in an announcement to investors.