Cerberus News

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is on a mission to weaken China's global network of ports and bring more strategic terminals under Western control, according to three sources familiar with the plan.The drive is part of the most ambitious effort to expand U.S. maritime influence since the 1970s and is designed to address growing fears in Washington that it would be at a disadvantage to China in the event of a conflict.Trump administration officials believe the U.S.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has conducted a steel cutting ceremony for a 115,000-ton product tanker at the HD Hyundai Philippines Shipyard in Subic Bay, Philippines.The vessel is the first ship built by HD Hyundai Philippines and is the first in a series of four vessels ordered from an Asian shipping company in December last year.Last May, HD KSOE signed a lease agreement with Cerberus Capital for a portion of the Philippine shipyard site, marking the…

Cerberus Capital Management has entered a strategic partnership with HD Hyundai to launch a new maritime investment strategy, Cerberus Maritime.Cerberus Maritime is aligned with the U.S. Government’s initiative to revitalize the maritime capabilities of the United States and allied nations. The strategy aims to identify high-impact opportunities that strengthen strategic maritime infrastructure and supply chains, maritime logistics infrastructure, port modernization, and advanced maritime technologies. The strategy will have a particular focus on U.S.

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has expressed interest in acquiring the lease to Australia’s strategically vital Darwin Port, according to a senior executive at Landbridge, the Chinese company currently operating the port.Terry O’Connor, non-executive director for Landbridge in Australia, confirmed that a Cerberus executive recently met with Darwin Port CEO Peter Dummett to discuss a possible acquisition. However, he noted that Cerberus had not yet entered formal talks with Landbridge’s board.

Cerberus Capital Management agreed to lease part of its 350-hectare Philippine shipyard in Subic Bay to HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, which plans to build a facility there to manufacture offshore wind platforms.The shipyard was run by Hanjin Philippines before it defaulted on loans worth $1.3B in 2019.

With a lame-duck CNO, a divided Congress and the impending launch of the next Presidential election cycle, America’s naval market is locked into something of a fragile and fearful autopilot, cruising inexorably towards whatever excitement 2024 might bring.Materially, don’t expect much change: The demand for naval platforms will continue to outstrip available funding, meaning there will be little movement or growth in America’s major shipbuilding programs of record. The procurement outlines are already set.

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus will acquire for $300 million a debt-laden shipyard in the Philippines at a former U.S. navy base close to the South China Sea, the facility's trustee and two sources with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.The fate of the strategically located Subic Bay shipyard has been a national security concern for defense chiefs, with fears it could be taken over by state-run firms from China, with which the Philippines has a long history of mistrust.In 2019…

Philippine creditors are close to selling a strategically located but debt-laden shipyard north of the capital Manila, government officials said on Tuesday, with a North American company cited as being an investor in the deal.Hanjin Philippines, a unit of South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd, in 2019 defaulted on $1.3 billion in loans, of which $900 million is owed to South Korean banks and the rest to five Philippine lenders.Talks with investors were almost complete…

Israel-based international defense electronics company Elbit Systems has signed an agreement to buy maritime defense contractor Sparton for $380 million. Elbit said Wednesday that its U.S. subsidiary Elbit Systems of America had signed a definitive agreement with an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. for the acquisition of Sparton. Sparton Parent, Inc.—formerly known as Striker Parent 2018—an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. bought Sparton in March 2019.The Elbit transaction is conditioned on various closing conditions, including receipt of U.S.

Geophysical seismic surveys and port security may appear to have little in-common. However, it turns out that managing complex marine seismic operations, where 10km-long seismic streamers have to be deployed harmoniously alongside other offshore marine assets, isn’t that dissimilar to managing – and protecting – port facilities.It's an area that ION Geophysical, more known for seismic data acquisition technology, has recently been proving its expertise in, using its Marlin system for marine operations management.

Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd and U.S. private equity firm are considering a joint bid for a strategically located but debt-laden Philippine shipyard, the facility's trustee said on Wednesday.Hanjin Philippines, a unit of South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd, in January defaulted on $1.3 billion in loans, of which $900 million is owed to South Korean banks and the rest to five Philippine lenders.Austal and Cerberus are interested in the distressed shipyard…

German lender Norddeutsche Landesbank (Nord/LB) has completed the sale of a EUR 2.6 billion (USD2.9bln) shipping loan portfolio. The bank recently announced its withdrawal from shipping.A US hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management took over the portfolio, which comprises of the 263-vessel book - known as "Big Ben" -  with a non-performing loan (NPL) portion of some 90%.The transaction was closed on 9 April, in accordance with the signing of the purchase agreement dated February 2019, the German bank said. The bidding process was launched in autumn 2018 as part of the bank’s transformation program.The parties agreed to maintain confidentiality about the terms of the transaction…

A growing number of hedge funds are moving into shipping debt, an asset class few have invested in before, looking to buy up loans and bonds as banks cut their exposure to the troubled sector.World economy worries and cost pressures are dampening prospects for a proper recovery in many segments of the shipping sector, which has struggled with tough markets for a decade.Meanwhile European banks, particularly German lenders, are trying to offload distressed and performing loans…

Cerberus Capital Management announced that one of its affiliates has entered into an agreement with TE Connectivity under which Cerberus will acquire TE's Subsea Communications business (SubCom).Headquartered in Eatontown, New Jersey, SubCom is a leading global supplier of subsea communications systems with approximately $700 million in revenue, based on fiscal year 2018 expectations. The business designs, manufactures, deploys, and maintains the subsea fiber optic cable systems that are vital for global communications.To date, SubCom has completed more than 100 cable systems and deployed over 610,000 kilometers of cable through its eight high-performance cable ships, which are among the most efficient and capable in the industry.

Germany's HSH Nordbank, once the world's biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry as it emerges from years of turmoil, a top bank official said.The bank's regional government owners are selling the lender to buyout groups Cerberus Capital Management and J.C. Flowers, with investors GoldenTree, Centaurus Capital and Austrian bank BAWAG also taking stakes."HSH, at the end of this process of privatization, will for the first time since 2008 be restored.

Germany's HSH Nordbank, formerly the world's largest ship financier, is being sold to private equity firms as it emerges from crippling writedowns and state bailouts amid the deepest sector slump on record.   The bank's state owners on Wednesday said that they sealed the sale to a consortium of buyout groups Cerberus and J.C. Flowers, with investors Goldentree, Centaurus and Austrian bank BAWAG also taking stakes.   The purchase price for 94.9 percent of HSH is roughly 1 billion euros ($1.22 billion), they said.   The buyers had been since mid-January in exclusive talks with HSH's owners, the German regional states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg as well as regional savings banks.   Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Arno Schuetze

Top national lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are stepping up efforts to offload distressed shipping loans, finance sources said, as the German banking system grapples with $100 billion in toxic debt from the sector. While the shipping sector is showing signs of recovery after a near-decade long downturn, it is still struggling with an excess of ships and sluggish growth in global trade, which has led to some shipping companies going to the wall. German banks, once global leaders in ship financing, have written off billions of euros in loans to shipping companies, while other European lenders - facing capital pressure from regulators - have quit the business.

Royal Australian Navy apprentices have been working directly with industry in Adelaide, building on their initial trade training, and at the same time becoming part the next phase of naval warfare from the ground up. The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance shipyard has provided a hand-on training environment for the sailors as part of the team building the Navy's new destroyers. Developing and strengthening their skills to complete the final elements of their trade qualifications, 11 apprentices are working in the shipyard, with another nine possible positions to be filled in the future. On joining the Alliance, the apprentices complete a rotation through the shipyard where they are assigned to their relevant trade groups including electrical, mechanical, refrigeration and welding.

The people of Cairns will have a rare opportunity to tour HMAS Parramatta comes alongside Trinity Wharf and opens its gangway to the public on Monday, 17 April, says a press release of Royal Australian Navy. One of the sailors who will be on board to show people around is former Cairns local, Able Seaman Boatswains Mate Thomas Ketchell. “I am extremely proud to be a member of ship’s company in HMAS Parramatta and I have been given some fantastic opportunities to see not only Australiabut the world,” he said. Able Seaman Ketchell’s role includes seamanship, gunnery, weapons handling, boats and navigation. Parramatta is one of the most potent warships in the world, capable of conducting air, surface and undersea warfare simultaneously.

Sailing on the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia in a Royal Australian Navy frigate is just another day in the life of Seaman Boatswain's Mate Paige Powers. After completing her initial recruit training at HMAS Cerberus in Westernport, Victoria, Seaman Powers underwent category training at Seamanship School in order to become a qualified Boatswain's Mate. Seaman Powers is now an important member of HMAS Parramatta’s ship’s company. “As a Boatswain's Mate, I specialise in a number of small weapons and I’m involved in ship’s husbandry and the seamanship side of things,” she said. ship’s busy schedule, she expects that to change soon.

Sailors at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon have had a very small but very important piece of kit to show the public. The item officially known in Royal Australian Navy parlance as the 'Boarding Life Jacket Load Bearing', is a new capability that turns three items of Navy equipment in one. Sailors from the Seamanship School at HMAS Cerberus were kept busy answering questions about the new jacket which will be used by members of Australian Navy boarding parties. Leading Seaman Boatswains Mate Kerin Young and Able Seaman Boatswains Mate Jarryd Parsons took turns modelling the jacket in the stifling heat and dust at Avalon. “The new integrated boarding life jacket brings together webbing, a life jacket and body armour, in one tailor-made solution,” Leading Seaman Young said.

Victorian base, HMAS Cerberus opened the gates at on 23 October for their biennial open day, offering visitors an insight into initial training, naval tradition, new capabilities and life in the ‘blue suit’. Cerberus, often referred to as the ‘Cradle of the Navy’ due being home of Recruit training, actually provides training for Navy, Army and Air Force personnel. With a staff of up to 800, Cerberus trains in the order of 4,000 Defence members annually averaging 1,500 trainees onboard at any one time. With training offered for all three services it was a great opportunity for Army and Air Force to also put on a show for the crowds. Commanding Officer Captain Stephen Bowater said there were more than 30 military activities to see and participate in…