Navios Group News

Japan-based Itochu Corporation has this week formed a joint study framework of 23 companies and organizations with the objective of collaboratively discussing common issues in pursuit of the utilization of ammonia as an alternative marine fuel, Bureau Veritas said Friday.The aim of the Joint Study Framework is to verify and organize common issues regarding the use of ammonia as a maritime fuel, which is a new challenge for maritime stakeholders. Also, BV said this was a step toward…

The Marshall Islands-based shipping company Navios Maritime Containers has closed the acquisition of the remaining four container vessels and as a result has completed the acquisition of the entire 14 container vessels fleet. Navios Containers acquired the 14 vessels for a total purchase price of $118.0 million plus certain delivery and other operating costs. The Fleet was partially financed through two loan facilities of $61.0 million in aggregate, including a previously announced $40.0 million facility, and a recently completed $21.0 million facility. Following this acquisition, Navios Containers controls a fleet of 14 vessels, totaling 57,100 TEU and the current average age of the fleet is 9.7 years.

Navios Group has  launched Navios Containers, a vehicle dedicated to the container sector. Navios Containers has the right to acquire all containerships offered to the Group, said Angeliki Frangou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Navios Containers used the proceeds of the private placement, which was  closed on June 8, 2017, to acquire five 4,250 TEU vessels from Navios Partners for a total purchase price of $64.0 million. The payment terms included a $24.0 million credit by Navios Partners for a period of up to 90 days from the purchase date at LIBOR plus 375 bps, of which $14.0 million remained outstanding as of June 30, 2017.

Navios ShipManagement Inc., a member of Navios Group, has issued a letter of intent endorsing DuPont Clean Technologies as the preferred supplier of exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) for its vessels. The letter of intent also confirms that Navios and DuPont Clean Technologies will carry out a joint feasibility study and techno-economic analysis of marine scrubbing units for retrofitting or new build installation on a variety of vessels, from bulk carriers to containers and tankers. The planned feasibility study will examine the viability of fitting DuPont Marine Scrubbers on both retrofit and newbuild projects. “Talks with Navios reached this point because both companies are focused on efficiently reducing emissions.

International law firm Wikborg Rein has further strengthened its leading presence in the shipping and offshore and onshore construction sectors with the appointment of three key senior hires to its London offices. Nick Shepherd has joined as a partner from Ince & Co, where he was most recently the head of that firm’s office in Piraeus, Greece. Nick has a market-leading reputation as an 'owner's lawyer' for the Greek shipping market, where he is the first-choice lawyer for a number of the largest shipping groups, including TMS / Dryships / Ocean Rig (Mr George Economou); the Navios Group (MAngeliki Frangou); Alpha Bulkers / Pantheon Tankers (Mrs Anna Angelicoussi); and Marmaras Navigation / Delta Tankers (Mr Diamantis Diamantides).

Navios Group has agreed to acquire another 14 vessels from HSH Nordbank in the second major distressed fleet deal between the two parties in the past two years. HSH Nordbank and the Navios Group have signed a binding letter of intent for the acquisition of 14 ships at serious risk of insolvency. In the second transaction with Navios since 2013 a loan in a nine-digit USD amount will be financed by a new banking syndicate. Moreover, Navios will contribute fresh capital in an eight-digit amount to the financing. At the same time, HSH Nordbank will remain involved in the future financing construct in order to benefit from a potential recovery in the shipping markets. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

The world’s largest financier of ships HSH Nordbank AG wants to move forward in 2015 with the removal of bad shipping loans that racked up during a seven-year glut in the global container fleet, reports Bloomberg. The bank plans several transactions in which external shipping companies to take over ships of HSH-strapped borrowers, said Wolfgang Topp, head of restructuring division of HSH. He expects that the bank will speedily wrap up as many as three transactions with a gross value of 1.5 billion euros this year. Some transactions had failed in 2014, the Hamburg-based ship financer's market forecast didn't work well particularly concerning bulk carriers, differed from that of market participants.

Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. ("Navios Holdings" or "the Company") (NYSE: NM), a global, vertically integrated seaborne shipping and logistics company, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. Angeliki Frangou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased with our results for the first quarter of 2014, for which we reported net income of $2.0 million and EBITDA of $59.8 million. Angeliki Frangou continued, "By establishing and developing in house technical and commercial management, we have been able to achieve a significant competitive advantage through economies of scale. We self-manage our vessels because we believe that by doing so, we operate more efficiently, to the material benefit of our stakeholders.

The Navios Group, composed of Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM), Navios Maritime Acquisition Corp.(NNA) and Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NMM), announced the formation of Navios Europe Inc. as the next step in concluding the letter of intent signed with HSH Nordbank AG in April of 2013. Navios Europe, which will initially acquire five product tankers and five container vessels from debtors of HSH, will be owned 47.5% by Navios Holdings, 47.5% by Navios Acquisition and 5% by Navios Partners. It is anticipated that funding requirements will be satisfied in the same percentages. In August 2013, Navios Europe arranged technical and commercial management for five out of the 10 vessels.

Examining key industry drivers is the focus of the 17th annual Hellenic-American and Norwegian-American Chambers of Commerce annual conference, often called the New York Shipping Conference. Entitled “Challenges & Opportunities for the Shipping Industry: Is There a New Normal?” the conference will present the macro shipping and economic overview, the impact of increasing environmental regulation on the shipping market, the availability of capital and its many forms, the growing influence of China and India on Shipping, and shipowners’ points of view. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 8th at the Waldorf-Astoria (a new venue for this event) starting at 0815 with conference registration and coffee.

Angeliki Frangou, Chairman & CEO of the Navios group of companies has been named as the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) Commodore for the year 2011. Frangou follows a long succession of influential maritime industry leaders as Commodore. The Award will be presented to Frangou on March 23, 2011 at the Gala Dinner marking the conclusion of the annual Connecticut Maritime Association conference and trade exposition. The Award is given each year to a person in the international maritime industry who has contributed to the growth and development of the industry.