Dnb Nor Bank News

Diamond S Shipping announced today that it has completed the acquisition of 30 medium-range product tankers and related charters from Cido Shipping of Hong Kong. The product tankers, built between 2007 and 2010, are under long-term charters with a number of global shipping companies, including A.P. Moeller, d'Amico, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Overseas Shipholding Group and ST Shipping. The tankers are being added to Diamond S' fleet of ten new buildings now under construction, with the first delivery scheduled for January 2012. A group of institutional investors led by WL Ross & Co. and First Reserve Corporation, and including China Investment Corporation…

The executive committee of Euronav NV announced that it has signed a new $750 million forward start senior secured credit facility led by Nordea Bank Norge ASA and DnB Nor Bank ASA acting as Lead Arranger and Bookrunners and ABN Amro Bank N.V., Fortis Bank SA/NV, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Danish Ship Finance, Danske bank A/S, ING Belgium SA/NV, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ) acting as Lead Arrangers and ITF International Transport Finance AG and ScotiaBank (Ireland) Limited acting as Co-Arrangers and Banque LBLux S.A., KBC Bank NV and Dexia Bank Belgium SA/NV. Nordea is also the facility agent. The credit facility is comprised of a $250 million non-amortising revolving credit facility and a $500 million term loan facility.

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) ("Scorpio Tankers" or the "Company") announced today that the Company executed a credit facility with Nordea Bank Finland plc, acting through its New York branch, DnB NOR Bank ASA, acting through its New York branch, and ABN AMRO Bank N.V. for a senior secured term loan facility of up to $150 million and filed a shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 2011 Credit Facility will be used to finance 50% of the two 2008 built 51,000 DWT product tankers that the Company agreed to acquire last week. The aggregate purchase price for the vessels is $70.0 million. The vessels are charter free and are scheduled to be delivered to the Company in the first half of May 2011.

Examining key industry drivers is the focus of the 17th annual Hellenic-American and Norwegian-American Chambers of Commerce annual conference, often called the New York Shipping Conference. Entitled “Challenges & Opportunities for the Shipping Industry: Is There a New Normal?” the conference will present the macro shipping and economic overview, the impact of increasing environmental regulation on the shipping market, the availability of capital and its many forms, the growing influence of China and India on Shipping, and shipowners’ points of view. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 8th at the Waldorf-Astoria (a new venue for this event) starting at 0815 with conference registration and coffee.

Knightsbridge Tankers Limited reports net income of $8.9 million and earnings per share of $0.48 for the third quarter of 2010. The average daily time charter equivalents ("TCEs") earned by the Company's VLCCs excluding bareboat charters and Capesize vessels were $30,800 and $40,700, respectively, compared with $49,800 and $45,500 in the preceding quarter. VLCC revenues and TCEs decreased mainly due to weaker results from the Mayfair, which operated in the spot market and the absence of profit share from the Hampstead and Kensington in the third quarter. Although Capesize revenues increased due to the delivery of Golden Future in July, average  Capesize TCEs decreased due to the lower rate earned by the Golden Future compared with the other two vessels.

General Maritime Corporation (NYSE:GMR) reported its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010. The company recorded a net loss of $14.3 million or $0.25 basic and $0.25 diluted loss per share for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to net income of $7.3 million or $0.13 basic and $0.13 diluted earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2009. The decrease in net income was primarily the result of an 18.1% decrease in TCE to $22,633 per day for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to $27,649 per day for the prior year period, as well as an $11.2 million increase in net interest expense to $19.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to $7.8 million for the prior year period.

I hope that this headline, if you saw it, scared you as much as it did me. Although I have some confidence about the future of shipping, or I wouldn’t be here, my topic today is about forecasting. Forecasting, to the ancient Greeks and Romans, had a lot to do with omens. The ancient Greeks sought their guidance from the stars, which they believed help them predict the course of future events. The Romans, on the other hand, sought to predict the future in the flight of birds, the cackling of geese, and most famously in the examining of entrails of poultry and domestic animals. The experts who did this kind of thing were called augurs. Today, we rely on Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. History, however, is on the side of the ancients.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), a global provider of marine transportation services for drybulk cargoes, announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008. Financial Highlights: For the fourth quarter of 2008, the company reported a loss of $1.02 billion or $18.42 per share. Included in the fourth quarter results are a non-cash loss of $700.5 million or $12.68 per share related to the impairment of goodwill associated with the acquisition of Ocean Rig ASA, a loss related to contract termination fees and forfeiture of vessel deposits of $160.0 million or $2.90 per share, a non cash loss of $177.0 million or $3.20 per share associated with the valuation of the Company’s interest rate swaps…

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), a global provider of marine transportation services for drybulk cargoes and off-shore contract drilling oil services, announced that it has reached final agreement and received formal approval from Nordea Bank Finland Plc, DnB NOR Bank ASA and HSH Nordbank AG regarding the previously announced covenant waiver in connection with the $800m Primelead facility consistent with the terms previously announced on February 9, 2009. George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are delighted to have reached a definitive agreement with the three lenders on the Primelead facility. This agreement is a testament of the support of Nordea Bank Finland Plc, DnB NOR Bank ASA and HSH Nordbank AG to DryShips.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), a global provider of marine transportation services for drybulk cargoes and off-shore contract drilling oil services, announced on Feb. 9 that it has reached preliminary agreement with Nordea Bank Finland Plc to obtain a covenant waiver in connection with the $800m Primelead facility, which was used to partially finance the acquisition of Ocean Rig ASA. As of today, the outstanding loan amount under the facility is $650m. In accordance with the main terms of the waiver: (i) the company will pay a restructuring fee of 0.15% on the outstanding loan amount under the facility plus an amount equal to 1.00% per annum on the loan outstanding for the period from January 9…

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) announced on Jan. 26 that it has entered into an agreement to amend the company's $1.4b credit facility. DnB NOR Bank ASA and Bank of Scotland PLC acted as the lead arrangers of the ten-year facility. Under terms of the amended ten-year $1.4b facility, the collateral maintenance requirement will be waived until such time that Genco is in a position to satisfy the covenant and certain other conditions. Genco will continue to be able to borrow the undrawn portion of the loan during the waiver period. Amounts borrowed under the amended facility begin to reduce on March 31, 2009 at $12.5m per quarter and will bear interest at LIBOR plus 2.00%.

Stolt-Nielsen S.A. will enter into a new five-year $150 million credit facility to be fully underwritten by DnB NOR Bank ASA. The facility will be secured by a pledge of the Company's Stolthaven Houston and Stolthaven New Orleans terminal-storage assets. The facility will be used to prepay an existing $64 million credit facility on Stolthaven Houston, which is scheduled to mature in January 2005, and for general corporate purposes. The transaction is expected to close by the end of July 2004. "SNSA continues to strengthen its liquidity position," said Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, chief executive officer of SNSA. "The completion of this latest transaction is expected to provide us with sufficient liquidity for the foreseeable future."

Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. has closed on a new five- year senior secured revolving credit facility that increased the amount of the borrowing base, extended the maturity, lowered the interest rate and improved the financial flexibility of the covenant package of the Company's prior revolving credit facility, commensurate with its enhanced credit standing. The new revolving credit facility has increased the Company's borrowing base from $60 million to $100 million, with an accordion feature that allows for the potential expansion of the facility up to $250 million in total. The new facility has also extended the maturity of the prior facility from February 2009 to September 2011.

Matson Navigation Co. Inc. says it has drawn $70m under a $105m revolving credit facility in connection with its latest containership purchase. The 10-year senior secured reducing revolving credit facility is with DnB NOR Bank ASA, Norway's largest financial services group. "A portion of the funds borrowed under the facility was used in connection with Matson's purchase of a new containership, the MV Maunalei, which Matson took delivery of on July 12," Matson said Tuesday. The funds were drawn on July 12, the same day Matson, a subsidiary of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc., took delivery of the Maunalei, the fourth new containership it bought since 2003 in a $500m modernization program.