Unicredit News

Fratelli Cosulich Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd. christened and launched its second Small Scale LNG carrier - the Paolina Cosulich - at the CIMC SOE shipyard in China.The event  was attended by Diana Mok - Managing Director at Fratelli Cosulich Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd, acting as the godmother of the vessel. Paolina Cosulich will sail under the Italian flag with Captain Vincenzo Scotto at the helm. The 5,300 DWT vessel can carry 8,200 m3 of LNG and 500 m3 of MGO and will be fitted with Wartsila's Dual Fuel technology.Boil off management techniques will be used by the LNG subcooling plant…

Swiss-headquartered shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA continues to expand with an agreement to acquire towage provider Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.The company announced Sunday a deal through its wholly owned subsidiary SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sàrl to acquire 100% of the share capital of Rimorchiatori Mediterranei S.p.A. from Rimorchiatori Riuniti and a fund managed by DWS’s Infrastructure Investment business.Completion remains subject to the receipt of approvals…

Much like the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic disruption that it has caused, a global shipping crisis looks set to go on delaying goods traffic and fueling inflation well into 2023.Shipping rarely figures in economists' inflation and GDP calculations, and companies tend to fret more about raw materials and labor costs than transportation. But that might be changing.The cost of shipping a 40-foot container (FEU) unit has eased some 15% from record highs above $11,000 touched in September, according to the Freightos FBX index.

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) signed a $110 million credit facility, for 10 years, with ING BANK N.V., SMBC BANK EU AG and UNICREDIT BANK AG, to finance two new ice-class shuttle tankers.The ships, scheduled to be delivered in Q1 2022, will serve the Sakhalin-1 project (oil and gas development in the Sea of Okhotsk, on the north-eastern shelf of Sakhalin Island, Russia. Exxon Neftegas Ltd. (an affiliate of Exxon Mobil) is the project’s operator and acts as the charterer for the vessels.

Newport Shipping said Ingmar Loges has joined the company as Managing Director, Germany, supportSing U.K.-based drydocking services firm in group financial strategy and marketing strategy for the German market.Loges comes with more than 30 years of industry experience in domestic and international marketplaces. His previous roles included Global Head of Ship and Offshore Finance for the last 15 years in financial institutions DVB BANK SE Amsterdam, HSH Nordbank AG Hamburg, UniCredit…

The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Ocean Breeze Energy GmbH & Co. KG by Sage Holdings, ultimately indirectly controlled by Macquarie Group Limited.Ocean Breeze Energy is the owner of North Sea wind farm BARD Offshore 1, from Unicredit. The 400MW offshore wind farm is positioned 100 kilometres off the coast of northwestern Germany.Under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns as the companies are not active on the same or vertically related markets, announced European Commission.Comprised of 80 5MW wind turbines spread over 59 square kilometres, the project harnesses powerful North Sea winds to supply the equivalent of approximately 463…

Italian motor yacht maker Sanlorenzo aims to list on the Milan Stock Exchange at about the same time as the rival Ferretti Group, with an initial public offering (IPO) expected to be launched as early as the second half of October, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The group is controlled by Italian entrepreneur Massimo Perotti through a family holding which bought back shares from third party investors in the recent years.The group plans to issue a mix of existing and new shares, targeting a free float of about 35%, one of the sources added.Sanlorenzo has picked Unicredit, Banca Imi and Bofa Merrill Lynch as global coordinators for its IPO.

As the global cruise industry enjoys it most robust period of growth ever, the question invariably becomes: How long can it last?Cruising, which is a blend of the hospitality and maritime businesses, continues to grow at a historic pace. The Cruise Trends & Industry Outlook publication from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) projects a passenger count of 30 million in 2019 – up nearly 2 million from the previous year. By year end 2019 CLIA members – a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the largest brands – will have 272 vessels…

Russia’s maritime shipping company Sovcomflot has announced that it has entered into a new USD 264 million six-year revolving credit facility with a consortium of five leading international banks.The completion of this credit facility marks the successful finalisation of SCF’s 2018 financing plan, with total new debt capital raised this year amounting to circa USD 900 million, said Nikolay Kolesnikov, Senior Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer of PAO Sovcomflot."The fund allows us to fully address the Group’s mid-term financing requirements, to optimise and smooth-out its debt repayment profile, and to build up an additional liquidity cushion…

Cruise liner MSC Cruises has reached an agreement for an EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.74 billion) financing for two new Seaside EVO class cruise ships.BNP Paribas, Unicredit and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti will provide EUR 1.5bn in financing for two Seaside EVO class passengerships. The financing syndicate of lenders also include SACE SIMEST, the Italian ECA, fully backing the credit line and stabilising the interest rate.The first ship is expected to be delivered in May 2021 and the second in February 2023. With the addition of these new ships, MSC Cruises now has plans in place for up to ten new ships to be built by 2026.The 339m long vessels…

Geneva-headquartered energy and commodities trader Vitol has signed an US$8bn loan refinancing of credit facilities agreed in October 2016, the company announced on Wednesday. The revolving credit facility, which is used for working capital and general corporate purposes, comprises a three-year tranche and a 364-day tranche. The three-year tranche totals over US$7bn. ABN AMRO Bank, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole CIB, HSBC Bank and ING Bank were active bookrunners on the transaction. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, MUFG, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered Bank, SMBC and UniCredit Bank were mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

Pillarstone Italy said on Friday it had finalized the acquisition of 100 percent of Italy's Premuda and would invest 50 million euros ($53.5 million) to support the relaunch of the troubled shipping company. Pillarstone Italy is a platform set up by U.S. private equity firm KKR to restructure ailing companies. The shipping industry is in an eight-year downturn due to slowing international trade. Pillarstone also said Popolare Emilia Romagna had joined rivals Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and Carige in transferring to the platform credits towards Premuda. (Reporting by Valentina Za)

At the recent annual Maritime Law Conference (MLA) held at Arabella in the Western Cape, various prominent government and international speakers took to the floor to debate and discuss national global maritime phenomena including inter alia; the progress in handling international oil spillages, port congestion, salvage and vessel arrests. Progress and unity was evident amongst the highly respected panel of speakers including Captain Rufus Lekala (TNPA Chief Harbour Master), Captain Alan Reid, representing P&I interests, Sobantu Tilayi (South African Maritime Safety Authority) and Dumisani Ntuli (Department of Transport) who spoke of enhanced engagement amongst each department and coordinated efforts to increase efficiencies.

SCF Group completed a series of financing transactions in the total amount of USD 1.26 billion. The deals include USD 750 million of unsecured public debt and USD 512 million of bank loans raised for purposes of funding the fleet renewal and expansion programme and for the refinancing of maturing debt. The latest in this series were new long-term credit facilities for a total amount of USD 252 million signed in August 2016, with a number of international banks including: Citibank; DVB Bank; ING Bank; Nordea Bank and Unicredit Bank. The funds raised are being used to finance the acquisition of nine ice-class tankers and two multifunctional icebreaking supply vessels as well as for refinancing of the Group’s existing bank debt.

Pillarstone Italy, owned by U.S private equity firm KKR, will take on the bulk of the debt owed by Italy's Premuda to a group of banks, in a first move that could make Pillarstone one of the main shareholders of the shipping company. Under the deal, Banca Carige, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo will transfer around 250 million euros ($281 million) in loans to Pillarstone, making it the main creditor of Premuda, a spokesman for the KKR unit said on Friday. "Pillarstone will enter talks with other creditor banks to reach a final deal aimed at restructuring the whole debt," Premuda said, referring to its total net debt of 320 million euros at the end of 2015. It added that a part of the debt held by the KKR unit could be converted into shares.

Swiss commodities trader Trafigura has signed a $5.1 billion European revolving credit facility aimed at financing its growing operations. Trafigura, which reported in December an annual profit of $1.1 billion as it racked up record oil trading volumes, also said on Thursday it had closed a 46 million yen ($413 million) three-year loan, almost doubling the size of its 2014 Samurai Loan. Trading houses require large credit lines in order to finance shipments of commodities such as oil, gas and metals. Trafigura's 2015 profits were boosted by a 17 percent increase in the volume of commodities traded by its main divisions - oil and metals - to 198.4 million tonnes.

Safe Bulkers, Inc., an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, announced today that the Company has agreed to amend an existing loan facility secured by four vessels with an outstanding balance of US $51.8 million, delaying the balloon payment initially scheduled to be made in 2019 for 2022. * The total consolidated liabilities of the Company divided by its total consolidated assets must not exceed 85%. * The aggregate market value of the four vessels under the facility divided by the aggregate outstanding loan value must exceed 110% until year end 2017 and 120% from 2018 onwards. * The ratio of the Company’s EBITDA1 to its interest expense must be not less than 2.0:1 on a trailing 12 month basis, applicable from 2018 onwards.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide EUR 165 million (187.5m) to support the construction of a new sea lock at IJmuiden, the principal access to the Dutch Port of Amsterdam. The current Noordersluis lock was built in 1929 and the new larger lock will ensure that the next generation of bulk carriers, container ships and cruise ships can continue to access the Port of Amsterdam and the North Sea Canal, and is expected to reduce waiting time for ships. The new sea lock will be 500 meters long, 70 meters wide and 18 meters deep, and able to operate in all tides. The IJmuiden sea lock is expected to support economic activity both along the North Sea canal and for companies using the Port of Amsterdam, Europe’s fourth busiest port.

Container shipper Hapag-Lloyd announced it has signed a 12-year $372 million facility agreement with a banking syndicate to finance the construction of five new vessels ordered from a South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) in April 2015. Hapag-Lloyd did not specify the total investment volume of the order, but said it lies in the mid three-digit million dollar range. The five new 10,500 TEU vessels, due for delivery between October 2016 and May 2017, will be deployed primarily on the South American routes and will expand the shipper’s reefer capacity with 2…

German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd is looking to sell shares for a total US$500 million, and will seek listings in Hamburg and Frankfurt before the end of 2015. Hapag-Lloyd has confirmed that it is preparing for a US500 million initial public offering (IPO) this year, with the expectation that it will use some of the proceeds to order ultra large containerships. "This move will give us better access to the capital markets which will enable us to further invest in our business to become more competitive," Reuter quoted Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen as saying. Hapag-Lloyd may be valued at more than 5 billion euros in the IPO.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised long-time client MSC Cruises (“MSC”) on the €1.2 billion (US$1.35bn), export credit agency (ECA) supported financing of two newbuild ‘Seaside class’ cruise ships, which will be the largest vessels ever built by the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy. The financing for MSC was provided by a syndicate of banks including Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (“CA-CIB”), BNP Paribas, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.P.A., HSBC France, Banco Santander S.A and Unicredit S.P.A. as mandated lead arrangers and underwriters. CA-CIB also served as structuring agent and bookrunner. The financing was supported by Italian export credit agency Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (“SACE”).

Gazprom and UniCredit Bank signed a bilateral credit agreement worth a total of EUR 390 million in Vienna yesterday. The agreement is of great historical significance both for promoting the mutually beneficial relations between the two companies and for wider cooperation of Gazprom with financial communities of Italy and the entire Europe. Gazprom's delegation was led by Andrey Kruglov, Head of the Department for Finance and Economics.

Italian state-owned shipmaker Fincantieri aims to make its debut on the Milan bourse in July with a stock market value of up to 1.84 billion euros ($2.5 billion), it said on Friday. Fincantieri, maker of vessels ranging from luxury yachts to military aircraft carriers, said in a statement it would offer a stake of up to 38.2 percent stake, mostly made up of new shares, at a price range between 0.78 euros and 1 euro per share. That would value the company, based in the northeastern port city of Trieste…