Euronav Secures Loan for Four Ice-class Suezmaxes
Tanker shipping company Euronav has secured a loan facility providing financing for four ice-class suezmax newbuildings under construction by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., two of which have recently been delivered with the remaining two scheduled for delivery later in 2018.Watson Farley & Williams LLP (WFW) said it acted for Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in relation to a $173.5 million loan facility for Euronav NV signed on March 22, 2018. The commercial lenders were Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV and Sea Bridge Finance Limited and The Export-Import Bank of Korea acted as ECA lender.WFW also acted for ING Belgium SA/NV on a $220 million loan facility for Euronav and International Seaways signed on March 29…
$252m Finance for LNG-Powered Tankers
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised ING Bank (“ING”), as agent, security trustee and the syndicate of lenders on the US$252m financing of the world’s first ever LNG-powered aframax tankers for leading Russian shipowner Sovcomflot Group (“SCF”). The six 114,000dwt, ice-class vessels are being built by Hyundai Samho, with two of the vessels to operate under time charter to Shell for up to ten years. Shell will also provide LNG fuel for all six tankers across north-west Europe and the Baltic. In addition to ING, international lenders ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Citibank, KfW IPEX-Bank and Société Générale were part of the financing syndicate for the facility.
WFW Advises Berenberg on Shipping Loan
International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised private bank Berenberg on its acquisition, jointly with a Japanese financial institution, of a circa US$460m performing shipping loan portfolio from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). WFW previously advised Berenberg on the acquisition of a similar US$300m portfolio from RBS in February 2017. Hamburg-based international investment and private bank Berenberg was founded in 1590 and is the world’s oldest merchant bank and the world’s second oldest bank overall. It is especially active in pan-European equity research, brokerage and capital markets transactions, in addition to private banking for wealthy customers and institutional asset management.
