Im Skaugen News

Norway-based owner of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers IM Skaugen has filed for restructuring in Singapore seeking court protection from its creditors. "We wish to announce that I.M. Skaugen SE (IMSSE), together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, SMIPL and IMSPL filed applications to the High Court of the Republic of Singapore on 31 May 2018 for a moratorium to commence the reorganisation of liabilities and businesses of the IMS Scheme Companies," said a press release from the company. With the filing of the Scheme Moratorium, the IMS Scheme Companies automatically qualify for protection from the Singapore Court under a 30-day moratorium that will apply against creditors' claims.

Teekay LNG Partners L.P. launched a new in-house commercial management for ethylene-capable liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels. The Teekay Multigas Pool is expected to reach at least 12 vessels by the end of 2017, including third-party vessels, as well as the partnership’s seven directly-owned ethylene-capable LPG carriers, some of which are also capable of small-scale LNG shipping, from I.M Skaugen’s Norgas Carriers Pool. “This is the right time for Teekay LNG to bring commercial management of our seven ethylene-capable LPG carrier fleet in-house,” said Mark Kremin, President and CEO of Teekay Gas Group Ltd.

Norwegian Marine Transportation Service Company I.M. Skaugen SE reported interim losses but cautiously positive and expecting a gradual recovery of trading opportunities for long routes the petrochemical market. The gas carrier owner reported profit before and after tax of minus $ 5.1 million (loss) in Q2 2016. The same quarter a year ago profit before and after tax minus $ 0.5 million. Freight revenues amounted to $ 18.5 million in this year's 2nd quarter, against 15.7 million in last year. I.M. Skaugen SE’s (IMSK) core business is liquefied gas transportation. The fleet of 15 advanced gas carriers is operated in a revenue sharing pool managed by Norgas Carriers Pte Ltd.

Skaugen seeks about $50 mln from VW marine unit MAN; says MAN sold engines that underestimated fuel use. MAN also has counter-claims against Skaugen. Norwegian shipowner I.M. Skaugen has disclosed it is seeking $50 million in compensation from a marine unit of Volkswagen for rigging performance tests of ship engines produced over a decade ago. I.M. Skaugen alleges that the specifications of the six engines it bought from MAN were misleading and it is seeking compensation for higher fuel use than specified over the expected 30-year lifetimes of the engines. VW now owns 75 percent of MAN Diesel and Turbo SE, although it was not an owner of MAN when the engines were made. MAN supplied the engines to Skaugen in 2002-03 and has legal counter-claims over contracts with Skaugen.

Teekay GP LLC, the general partner of Teekay LNG Partners L.P. has declared a cash distribution of $0.70 per unit for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, an increase of 1.2 percent over the cash distribution of $0.6918 per unit for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. The cash distribution is payable on February 13, 2015 to all unitholders of record on January 15, 2015. The increase to the fourth quarter distribution coincides with the completion of the purchase-leaseback of an on-the-water liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier from I.M Skaugen SE in November 2014.

The ship 'Norgas Cathinka' remains detained in Indonesia following a September 2012 collision. In a statement, the operators,  Singapore-based Norgas Carriers said that the ship, the Norgas Cathinka, was still carrying 3,045 metric tons of the highly flammable and explosive chemical propylene, which was vaporizing every day, creating a buildup of pressure in the cargo tanks. The Singapore-bound ship was ordered detained by Indonesian authorities after it collided with a passenger Ferry, the Bahuga Jaya, in the Sunda Strait on Sept. 26. Forty-three people on board the ferry are believed to have been killed when the ferry capsized after the accident, reports the Jakarta Globe.

A Joint Industry Project (JIP), co-funded through MPA’s MINT fund, is aimed to provide recommendations to the Singapore government authorities on enabling LNG bunkering in Singapore, ensuring operational safety, alignment with industry expectations and best practice, and compliance with relevant international rules, regulations and standards. LNG bunkering is a process of refuelling ships by transferring LNG fuel from the LNG carrying trucks, barges or onshore tanks. Switching from conventional marine fuel to LNG fuel provides both environmental and economic benefits to shipowners and public. However, the most common key barriers…

Around 200 professionals from the shipping, logistics and liquefied natural gas development sectors converged on Singapore today to take part in the Sustainable Marine Transportation Conference organised by the Norwegian Embassy in Singapore and partners Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Business Association in Singapore. The global shipping industry’s carbon footprint has come under increasing scrutiny from governments, lobbyists and environmental protection agencies in recent times.

Tradewinds’ Fifth Oslo Shipping Forum, scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, gathers industry leaders to focus on Norwegian shipping and the new financial landscape. In an uncertain market characterized by falling freight rates, tonnage oversupply and fierce competition, the Norwegian shipping industry faces significant challenges. The Fifth Oslo Shipping Forum, organised by Nor-Shipping 2009 Conference Partner Tradewinds, has assembled leading industry voices to focus on how the Norwegian shipping industry can succeed in the current tumultuous markets. Organised into four sessions, presentations at the day-long event will focus on a board range of topics…

I.M. Skaugen ASA, Oslo (IMSK) will take delivery of its sixth vessel in the newbuilding program, MV "Norgas Napa", on October 31, 2003. The vessel is built by the Hudong - Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group in Shanghai, China. The successful completion of the newbuilding program combined with the new alliance with A.P. The Norgas fleet currently consists of 19 gas carriers (18 with ethylene carrying capacity) has about 150,000 cbm capacity. The age of the Norgas fleet have with these new vessels been reduced to an average of 16 years. The total delivered cost (incl. of all pre delivery cost such as supervision and financing cost during construction) is about $21.5 million per vessel.

The IM Skaugen group reported a pre-tax result of MUSD 20.3 in 2003 including a net gain from sale of assets of MUSD 19.3 - (MUSD 4.8 in 2002). The result on EBITDA basis is MUSD 24.8 in 2003 (MUSD 25.8 in 2002 and MUSD 33.9 in 2001). The Board has decided to recommend to the Annual General Meeting on March 1st 2004 to pay a dividend of NOK 7.- per share (NOK 7.50 in 2002 and 7.00 in 2003). The payment of this dividend, for the calendar year 2003, is in addition to the extraordinary dividend paid in November'03 of NOK 13.00 per share. The outlook for IMS is considered positive. The two alliances we formed on October 1st 2003, with Teekay re future development of SPT and with AP Moller- Maersk re: Norgas…

I.M. Skaugen ASA announced that Skaugen PetroTrans (SPT), its 50 percent owned joint venture company, has appointed Mr. Per Voie as its President. He succeeds Mr. Trygve Munthe, who was named its President of SPT in 1993. Mr. Per Voie (52) comes to SPT after a 28-year career with the Stolt Nielsen Group where he has held a variety of managerial positions. Most recently as General Manager of the recently commissioned "Stolthaven New Orleans LLC". Skaugen PetroTrans is the leading US lightering company handling more than 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day employing an average of 11 aframax tankers. The company has completed 11,500 lightering operations handling more than 5 billion barrels over its 22 years of operations. SPT is owned 50% by I.M.

Stolt-Nielsen S.A. appointed Otto H. Fritzner as CEO of Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group (SNTG). Fritzner most recently served as Managing Director, Ship Owning at SNTG. He succeeds James B. Hurlock, who was named Interim CEO of SNTG in July 2003. • SNTG's global operations will be organized into three regions - the Americas, administered from Greenwich, Conn.; Asia-Pacific, administered from Singapore; and Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), administered from Rotterdam, SNTG's corporate headquarters. • SNTG's Indian Ocean Service and the Europe-to-Asia Pacific Service will be operated out of Rotterdam. I.M. Skaugen ASA announced that Skaugen PetroTrans (SPT), its 50 percent owned joint venture company, has appointed Per Voie as its President.

The I.M. Skaugen group reported a pre-tax result of minus MUSD 1.5 in 2Q04 (MUSD 0.8 in 1Q04, minus MUSD 3.0 in 4Q03 and MUSD 2 in 2Q03). The result on EBITDA basis is MUSD 3.8 for this period (MUSD 4.4 in 1Q04, MUSD 5.4 in 4Q03 and MUSD 7.5 in 2Q04). The Gas Activities, and mainly Norgas experienced a much weaker EBITDA result in 2Q04 than anticipated. A worldwide shortage of product supply resulted in more idle time for the MNGC fleet and thus a reduced EBITDA contribution. The general picture is still considered optimistic for the world economy in late 2004 and beyond and hence also for Norgas. SPT - The Shuttle Tanker Activities reported a satisfactory overall performance and achieved acceptable results after a challenging period in the beginning of the year.

Shipowners are known for having distinct differences of opinion, but the one thing that all agree on is the importance of having access to capital. In an industry in which assets are generally big-ticket items and operating margins can be thin, access to proper financing serves the dual purposes of fleet growing the generation of healthy operating returns. Most shipowners would also agree that financing for maritime assets generally isn't easy to find. There are various reasons for this. One reason is that few lenders focus exclusively on marine finance and a result most lending institutions are not familiar enough with marine assets to feel comfortable financing them.

Navigazione Montanaria Spa has reportedly made a cash bid valuing I.M. Skaugen at $50 million.

Navigazione Montanari will reportedly extend the offer period on its bid to take over Norwegian shipping firm I.M. Skaugen by two weeks.

A U.S. oil majors' Internet tanker venture is merging with a shipping dot-com in a bid to become the first live online chartering exchange for the industry. SeaLogistics, which is backed by five oil groups, is merging with OneSea Direct, which has several major shipowner investors, to combine their efforts in web-based tanker chartering, the two companies said. SeaLogistics currently involves U.S. oil companies Texaco, Chevron, Koch Industries, L.G. Caltex and Coastal Corp. OneSea includes support from leading shipping companies such as A.P. Moeller, Bergesen, Teekay, I.M. Skaugen, OMI Corp., Osprey, Leif Hoegh, Worldwide, Acomarit, and V.Ships.

Following the record month of August, the All Share Index in Oslo fell by 3.7% in September. The index for Cruise, Shipping and Offshore stocks (the Shipping index) fared slightly better, falling 2.2% during the month. Oil prices continued to rise in the beginning of September, but fell back significantly at the end of the month. All but six of the OSE-listed offshore stocks, experienced negative share price movements in the period. Topping the offshore loser's list, Petrolia Drilling (PDR) and Northern Offshore (NOF) fell by 32 and 28% respectively. Ocean Rig (OCR), the best performing offshore stock in September, was up 7%. Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NAT), up 12%, and Frontline (FRO), up 4%, were among the few bright spots in September.

The Shipping Index at the Oslo Stock Exchange performed well in the quite summer month of July, rising 2.7 percent, and thus again lifting the maritime sector of shipping, offshore and cruise shares above the levels of year-end 1999. Within the sector, 29 shares rose during the month, while only 12 decreased in market value. Among the offshore stocks, Nortrans Offshore (NOL) were again strong, as in May, after a 10 percent fall in June. With a rise of 23 percent it ended as the month's winner. Also Havila Supply (HAV) rebounded strongly from a rather poor June performance, while Northern Offshore (NOF) only continued its upward trend.

Share prices in Oslo continued to rise during June and in the first six months of 1999 the Shipping Index rocketed 30.6 percent. The All Share Index is not far behind with an increase of 23.7 percent during the same period. Trading at the Oslo Stock Exchange has never been more active than in 1999 so far with the daily average turnover for the first half of the year at NOK 1,640 million. This is 27.1 percent higher than the average for the whole of 1998. On average 4,775 transactions were carried out each day during June.This is 42 percent higher than the average for last year.The Italian company Navigazione Montanari has offered NOK 60 per share in I.M. Skaugen (SKA), sending the stock up almost 40 percent and to the top of the winner list for June.

A six-ship fleet of state-of-the-art ethylene carriers building for Norway’s I.M. Skaugen at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, China are being fitted with a comprehensive range of fire-fighting and fire-protection systems from Unitor. All six ships, known as the Super Coolers, have been specially designed for operation within the Norgas fleet of gas tankers. The first four vessels, Norgas Orinda, Norgas Sonoma, Norgas Petaluma and Norgas Alameda have a capacity of 8,556m³, while the remaining two vessels, Norgas Shasta and Norgas Napa, are slightly larger at 10,208m³. The Norwegian owner holds an option on a further four vessels.

Teekay LNG Partners LP, a Bahamas maritime firm, will pay $106m to buy four liquefied petroleum gas carriers. Upon their delivery to Teekay LNG, all of the vessels will run on long-term, fixed-rate time-charters, Teekay said Wednesday. The company expects that each ship will generate about $11.6m per year in revenues. Three of the LPG carriers are under construction and will be purchased from IM Skaugen ASA upon their delivery from the shipyard between early 2008 and mid-2009. Source: United Press International