Financial Services News

Iridium Communications has entered into an agreement to acquire Satelles, Inc., a leader in secure satellite-based time and location services that complement and protect GPS and other GNSS-reliant systems. The service, named Satellite Time and Location (STL), is designed as an easy-to-adopt, secure solution that increases the efficiency and reliability of timing systems for digital infrastructure like 5G base stations, data centers, and other critical infrastructure and protects…

Market drivers have created a significant opportunity for Wallem to grow a specialised area of business, according to Capt. Anurag Mathur, Managing Director, Commercial Services, Wallem Group.Wallem’s portfolio of commercial services is ideally placed for expansion across a full range of vessel types, according to the executive appointed to drive for growth in January 2023. And Capt. Anurag Mathur, whose previous roles include senior managing directorships at leading ship owning and ship management companies…

A rise in spot prices for Russian crude oil to above the $60 per barrel cap imposed by western powers has made ship insurers even more nervous of running foul of the rules as they are unable to independently track the value of cargoes, executives said.To curb Moscow's oil revenues following the Ukraine war, the Group of Seven Nations, the European Union and Australia imposed price caps on Russian crude and oil products from December and February, respectively.So long as the prices do not exceed capped levels…

Japan, the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, is facing its latest challenge in securing vital gas supplies from Russia after Western reinsurers said they would halt marine war insurance for ships travelling in Russian waters from Jan. 1.Having joined other G7 countries in imposing sweeping sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, Japan has been reducing its reliance on Russian oil and coal, but it continues to buy Russian LNG amid elevated prices in a tight…

Conrad Industries Announces Appointment of Larry J. Callais to its Board of DirectorsMorgan City, La. based shipbuilding group Conrad Industries, Inc. announced on Firday that it has appointed Larry J. Callais to its Board of Directors. Callais will serve as an independent Class I director, and as a member of the company’s Independent Directors Committee, effective immediately.Johnny Conrad, Conrad Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to welcome Larry Callais to our Board.

The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…

Braemar, expert advisors in shipping investment, chartering, and risk management, today announced the appointment of John Beckwith as Group Director of Human Resources.The hire of Beckwith strengthens Braemar’s leadership team, enhances and enables Braemar’s ability to grow organically and via Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), and it represents a further investment in the professional development of its shipbroking and corporate finance teams.Beckwith has been the HR/people subject-matter expert on multiple mergers, demergers, and acquisitions throughout his career, including an IPO process.

A New York state regulator on Friday fined cruise line operator Carnival Corp $5 million for "significant" cybersecurity violations, following four security breaches from 2019 to 2021 that exposed substantial amounts of sensitive customer data.New York's Department of Financial Services said Carnival violated a state cybersecurity regulation by failing to use multi-factor authentication that would make it harder for wrongdoers to access its internal network.It also said Carnival…

The European Commission has proposed to ban in a month's time all shipping, brokerage, insurance and financing services offered by EU companies for the transport of Russian oil worldwide, an EU source told Reuters on Wednesday.The measure is part of a proposed embargo on Russian oil that is meant to cripple Russia's oil industry. Read full storyProvided the proposal gets the approval of EU governments, all insurance, finance, and shipping services for Russian oil transport would be banned in a month's time…

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Felisa Sanchez as of counsel in the maritime and finance practices. She joins the firm’s Houston office from Foley & Lardner LLP.Sanchez focuses her practice on a wide variety of corporate, finance, and commercial matters for domestic and international clients in the financial services, maritime, transportation, and energy sectors. She has nearly 20 years of experience representing public and private companies in complex transactions, including maritime financings and restructurings…

The U.S. ban on Russian oil and gas imports is likely to leave more cargoes at sea with no buyers, and the European Union's decision to continue imports was unlikely to make much difference to disarray in Russian oil trade, analysts said on Tuesday.U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine and Britain said it would phase out imports through the end of 2022.The European Union did not join the ban because it is more dependent on Russian oil and gas supplies.

France on Saturday seized a car cargo ship in the English Channel that Washington says was linked to the son of a former Russian spy chief, in one of the first visible displays of the West enforcing sanctions on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion.The "Baltic Leader" was headed to St. Petersburg but was diverted to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. (0200-0300 GMT), Captain Veronique Magnin of the French Maritime Prefecture told Reuters.The vessel was "strongly suspected of being linked to Russian interests targeted by the sanctions," she said.The United States Treasury Department has issued blocking sanctions against the vessel because…

Freight and logistics insurer TT Club said it has appointed Kevin Blunsum as its first Chief Technology Officer.Blunsum is a highly experienced and well-respected member of the London-market insurance community. Over his 30-year career he has held a variety of positions engaged in insurance technology development and change management with Deloitte, EY, Accenture, and more recently with Aspen Insurance as Director of Business Transformation.Blunsum will be working closely with Lisa Gibbard…

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc., supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets, announced on Tuesday that its Board of Directors appointed President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Lorie Tekorius, as the company's next CEO and President, effective March 1, 2022. On the same date, Greenbrier's co-founder, Chairman and CEO William A. Furman will assume the newly created role of Executive Chair until his retirement in September 2022. Furman 's current Board term continues until January 2024.Furman said…

Top U.S. trade negotiator Katherine Tai on Monday pledged to exclude some Chinese imports from tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump while pressing Beijing in "frank" talks over its failure to keep promises made in Trump's trade deal and end harmful industrial policies.Tai said the United States would keep all options open as it continues to push China to stop pouring billions of dollars of state subsidies into its semiconductor, steel and other industries that Washington says harm U.S.

Kongsberg Digital is pleased to announce the appointment of Benedicte Willumsen Grieg to a newly created position as Vice President, Strategy. Willumsen Grieg will be part of the management team, reporting to Hege Skryseth. She will work to support the company’s further growth, with a special focus on strategy projects and operationalization, closely linked to strategic partnerships and acquisitions.Willumsen Grieg previously held the post of VP Business Development in Kongsberg Digital’s parent company…

In August, the Port of Brownsville announced the appointment of two new deputy port directors effective August 9, 2021.Melinda Rodriguez is the deputy port director of administration and will oversee the port’s Human Resources, Real Estate Services, Finance, Communications and Administrative Services departments.Rodriguez has worked in a variety of leadership positions with organizations such as NextDecade, Texas Southmost College, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, United Way of Hidalgo County, March of Dimes, Cystic Fibrosis-Central Texas, and United Blood Services.

Tanker shipping company Concordia Maritime said it has sold two IMOIIMAX vessels Stena Image and Stena Important to a Chinese leasing company.The two ships were sold to a large Japanese financial services company in 2016 and 2017 under sale-leaseback agreements. The agreements also included annual purchase options, which have now been exercised. The net liquidity surplus from the transactions amounts to approximately SEK 45 million ($5.2 million) and will be added to Concordia Maritime in connection with the delivery of the vessels to the buyer.“The sale of the vessels is in line with the continuing ambition to strengthen the company’s financial position and liquidity…

North Star Renewables, a North Star Shipping subsidiary established earlier this year to target offshore wind business opportunities, said Monday it had finalized a funding package of £96 million (around $131 million) to build its new renewables vessel fleet.The Aberdeen-based company has contracts in hand worth around £270 million (~$368 million), to deliver three service operation vessels (SOVs) to be used on what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger…

Dutch offshore survey specialist Fugro has secured a contract with RWE to carry out geophysical exploratory works at Five Estuaries offshore wind farm, the extension project of the existing 353MW Galloper wind farm.Works are expected to take place in the Southern North Sea from August to November 2021.Three dedicated vessels will map the characteristics of the seabed and bedrock to assess the conditions around the wind farm site and the potential cable locations. The seafloor…

A new touch-free payment platform for the maritime industry has been launched by Secure Seas.Secure Seas says its electronic payment platform is designed to provide financial security to seafarers by transferring their pay electronically, removing the antiquated and problematic system of cash distribution in U.S. dollars. This provides seafarers with basic facilities the rest of us take for granted: full access to their funds in their preferred currency, use of an International…

Norwegian maritime and offshore training software firm Mintra said it has appointed Kevin Short as CEO. Short, who has been chief commercial officer since 2018, takes over the leadership role from Scott Kerr following his decision to join the firm’s board of directors.“In these post-Covid times and as we slowly return to a world that can be considered more normal, there are tremendous prospects for both digital learning and human capital management software. We know that how things worked before – people constantly travelling to training facilities – will not be the same going forward.

Damen Shipyards Group is partnering with Purus Marine, an environmentally focused maritime vessel and infrastructure company established by EnTrust Global for the financing of green shipping projects. The partnership, named DP Lease, aims to support decarbonization of the maritime industry by providing flexible and attractively priced long-term lease financing solutions to solve the financing gap created by additional capital expenditure requirements associated with the purchase of environmentally-advanced vessels.Jan-Willem van Helden…