Ship Finance Loans News

Shipping struggles to recover from worst crisis in 30 years; market for new ships remains weak. Sales of second-hand ships reached a 10-year high on cautious optimism that one of the shipping industry's worst ever downturns is nearing an end. An increase in cargo demand has helped revive confidence this year in a sector that is starting to emerge from a 10-year slump fueled by owners splurging on thousands of new ships. "Second-hand purchases go up when optimism is thriving. 2017 has certainly been a year that has lent optimism a hand," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at shipping industry group Bimco. Some 1,630 ships worth $19 billion were sold in the year up to Dec. 15, the highest since 2007 when sales hit a record 1,894, according to shipping services firm Clarkson.

Global private equity firm KKR has bought $150 million worth of shipping loans from two European banks amid a surge of interest in the industry as world trade in goods picks up along with the global economy. There have been a flurry of deals in recent months for ship finance loans, many of which are being put up for sale by banks under pressure to boost their capital in order to adhere to new, stricter industry legislation born of the financial crisis. The banks have suffered alongside the shipping firms they lent to, as the latter endured one of their worst downturns in decades.