Nafs november 2015

107

ΝΑΥΣ www.nafsgreen.gr

Bimohthly Review for the Shipping Industry NOVEMBER 2015 issue 107

50 years

TED PETROPOULOS

of development of Greek shipping and Greek shipfinance in a global context Petrofin Research

2015 – Research and Analysis:

Greek shipping companies 1st part of 2015 Petrofin Research©

Maintenance Management Agreement.

Profit more by doing less.

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An MMA is a collaborative service support model that gives you the freedom to act as you see fit on our recommendations. And whenever you choose to follow our recommendations, we do the rest: We process the order, set up a service schedule, get the spare parts needed at the best price, and perform the service for you. You actually profit more by doing less. www.abb.com/turbocharging

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Index ISSUE 107 - NOVEMBER 2015

06. ΚΩΣΤΑΣ ΔΟΥΚΑΣ: Πληθαίνει το εφοπλιστικό λόμπι στά media 08. ΝΙΚΟΣ Κ. ΔΟΥΚΑΣ SAILADVANCE™ - a new standard in advanced 10. SIGMA antifoulings from PPG Protective and Marine Coatings Turbocharging - Imagination meets expertise 14. ABB More power, less fuel, lower emissions

years of development of Greek shipping and Greek 16. Fifty shipfinance in a global context – Research and Analysis: Greek shipping companies 1st 38. 2015 part of 2015 Petrofin Research© VERITAS Marine Division celebrated Grand Opening 60. BUREAU in Limassol

61. DESMI’s New Step into Poland 12 nafs POSIDONIA 2014

IN

pilot projects for Green Coastal Shipping programme 62. Five chosen Greek shipping company committing to early compliance with FINANCIAL63.

FOCUS ship recycling regulations 64. Record Growth of Marshall Islands Registry Unprecedented

TED PER N I R A P ED P L C Y REC

65. Q3 Tsavliris Activities

Shipping finance lagging behind the recovery of Shipping

By Ted Petropoulos, Head Petrofin Research

Banks witnessed, after However, there were other more significant reasons for the banks’ lack a long and arduous road of ship lending appetite. It relates to the fundamental weakness in the since 2009, a useful liquidity and capital ratios of European banks in the light of Basel III and shipping recovery in the new ECB regulatory overview of all E.U. banks. Banks simply lacked 2013 in both vessel the financial resources and the risk appetite to step on the gas pedal. values and cash flows European banks especially found themselves bracing for the ECB loan via higher freights. Alreview and proving their financial robustness. In a world of doubt, to though the recovery was banks, profitability came second to financial strength. As the majority of erratic and not evenly shipping banks were European (72% of global ship finance in December spread among the vari2013), Petrofin Bank Research (c) the difficulty of European banks had a ous shipping sectors, pronounced and adverse effect on Greek ship lending. it had a pronounced beneficial effect on the To add insult to injury, three of shipping champions of previous BUREAU VERITAS TED PETROPOULOS Dorothea Ioannouyears i.e. quality of the banks’ loan RBS, HSH and Commerzbank were under immense pressure to downsize Marine Division celebrated Grand Opening in Limassol Fifty years of development of is promoted to Global Greek shipping and Greek portfolios and in bank’s their shipping portfolios and/or leave ship lending altogether.

Business Development Director shipfinance in a global context borrowers’ ability to During this time, some banks stood out for either lending counter-cyclicalmeet their (often restruc- ly or standing their ground as ship finance providers. These were mainly tured) loan obligations.

DVB, ABN AMRO, Credit Suisse and ING among European banks and 04 NAFS NOVEMBER 2015 Confidence grew among China Exim, CDB, and Korean Exim, from the Far Eastern banks. banks that shipping was on the way to recovery and this was felt even

16.

60.

64.

Ίσαλος Γραμμή

Πληθαίνει το εφοπλιστικό λόμπι στά media Μετά τούς εφοπλιστές Κυριακού, Αλαφούζο, Βαρδινογιάννη, Μαρινάκη, Ρέστη, φαίνεται ότι η μιντιαρχία, αν αληθεύουν οι δημοσιογραφικές πληροφορίες, αποκτά έναν ακόμη εφοπλιστή, που φιλοδοξεί να αγοράσει (αν δεν το αγόρασε ήδη) το πλειοψηφικό πακέτο του τηλεοπτικού σταθμού MEGA. Είναι (απροσδοκήτως) ο πρόεδρος της Ενώσεως Ελλήνων Εφοπλιστών κ. Θεοδ. Βενιάμης, ένας εφοπλιστής όχι μικρής ναυτιλιακής εμβέλειας, ο οποίος επέλεξε νά επενδύσει στό λεγόμενο κανάλι των εκδοτών, παρά να ξεκινήσει εκ του μηδενός διεκδικώντας μία νέα συχνότητα, αποκτώντας το πλειοψηφικό πακέτο του τηλεοπτικού σταθμού, που τελευταία σχολιάζεται δυσμενώς για τα δάνεια που πήρε, όταν η κυβέρνηση προκηρύξει τόν σχετικό διαγωνισμό. Ο αθόρυβος αυτός παίκτης της ναυτιλίας. που θεωρείται ένας από τους πιό ισχυρούς του «σκληρού πυρήνα του ελληνικού εφοπλισμού», ο ιδιοκτήτης της ναυτιλιακής εταιρίας Golden Union, χαίρει εκτίμησης από την πλειοψηφία των εφοπλιστών σε Ελλάδα και Λονδίνο, γι’ αυτό και κέρδισε την προεδρία της ΕΕΕ με 17.044 ψήφους, διαδεχθείς τον πρώην πρόεδρο του Ολυμπιακού Νίκο Ευθυμίου. Ο Θ. Βενιάμης έφερε νέο άνεμο στην ΕΕΕ. Έχει ισχυρές διασυνδέσεις στο σύνολο των πολιτικών κομμάτων. Βασική του φιλοσοφία είναι ότι οι πολιτικοί έχουν ανάγκη τούς εφοπλιστές και όχι το αντίστροφο, διότι οι εισπράξεις από την ναυτιλία αντιστοιχούν στο 7% του ΑΕΠ. Έτσι με την τακτική του αυτή έχει δημιουργήσει αποστάσεις ασφαλείας από τα δύο μεγάλα κόμματα. Αναλαμβάνοντας όμως την τύχη ενός μεγάλου τηλεοπτικού σταθμού, ο κ. Βενιάμης θα πρέπει να συνειδητοποιήσει, ότι τώρα θά τον έχουν ανάγκη όχι μόνον οι πολιτικοί, αλλά κυρίως ο Ελληνικός λαός, ο οποίος σε πολύ δύσκολους καιρούς και με λίαν δυσμενείς προοπτικές για την παγκόσμια κατάσταση, θα πρέπει να έχει σωστή και

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

υπεύθυνη ενημέρωση και όχι πληροφόρηση που να εκπηγάζει από την επιχειρηματική διαπλοκή και χειραγωγεί την κοινή γνώμη. Ο κ. Βενιάμης έχει κάνει μεγάλους αγώνες για να πείσει τις ελληνικές κυβερνήσεις να καταστήσουν την ελληνική σημαία πιό ανταγωνιστική και να προσελκυσθούν περισσότερα πλοία στο εθνικό νηολόγιο. Αυτή όμως η πολύ καλή και σωστή προσπάθεια γιά το καλό της ναυτιλίας και της χώρας, δεν κατόρθωσε να αποτρέψει την διατύπωση δυσμενεστάτων σχολίων από τον πολιτικό κόσμο σε βάρος του συνόλου του εφοπλισμού, μία μικρή μερίδα του οποίου ανεμίχθη ενεργά με την μιντιαρχία και τις ποδοσφαιρικές ΠΑΕ, αλλά και με κάποιες δικαστικές υποθέσεις εξοπλιστικών προγραμμάτων καί μιζών. Και ενώ η αλλαγή της ξένης σημαίας με την ελληνική σε δύο δεκάδες πλοίων του έδωσε το έναυσμα για την τόνωση του εθνικού νηολογίου, η ανάμιξη τώρα του κ. Βενιάμη με την μιντιαρχία είναι σχεδόν βέβαιο ότι θα δώσει την αφορμή επικριτικών σχολίων για τον πραγματικό ρόλο των εφοπλιστών μας στα ελληνικά πολιτικά πράγματα. Το νέο εν δυνάμει αφεντικό του MEGA διαθέτει στόλο 28 πλοίων συνολικής μεταφορικής ικανότητας άνω των 2 εκατομμυρίων τόννων dw. Η εκ Βροντάδου Χίου οικογένεια Βενιάμη είναι ακραιφνώς ελληνοτραφής, τηρεί τα ήθη και τα έθιμα της ελληνικής παραδόσεως, που ακολουθούν και τα τρία παιδιά, ο Λευτέρης, ο Νίκος και η μοναχοκόρη Μαιρίνη, που ο κ. Βενιάμης υπεραγαπά. Μπορεί η είδηση περί εξαγοράς του MEGA να προκάλεσε αίσθηση στην κοινή γνώμη – κυρίως επειδή ένας ακόμη εφοπλιστής συνδέεται με την ενημέρωση και όχι μόνο του Ελληνικού λαού – αλλά όσοι γνωρίζουν την δημιουργικότητα του κ. Θ. Βενιάμη και την πολυσχιδή επιχειρηματική του δραστηριότητα, δεν δοκίμασαν ιδιαίτερη έκπληξη, αφού ο πρόεδρος της ΕΕΕ έχει στο ενεργητικό του πολλές επιχειρηματικές δράσεις και συνεργασίες, πέραν της ναυτιλίας, όπως η συνεργασία του με τον κ.

Γράφει ο

Κώστας Δούκας

Δημοσιογράφος Μέλος ΕΣΗΕΑ Βραβείο Ιδρ. Μπότση

Α. Βγενόπουλο στην τράπεζα της Marfin, οι πολλές συμμετοχές του σε κατασκευαστικές εταιρίες και γενικότερα στό real estate – η σημερινή πτώση της αξίας των ακινήτων δέν τόν φοβίζει, διότι πιστεύει ότι η αγορά ακινήτων κάνει κύκλους – η μετοχική συμμετοχή του στην εταιρία Mediterre, που ελέγχει τα καταστήματα Masticha shops, αφού ως Χιώτης θέλει να προάγει το βασικό προϊόν της νήσου του, την μαστίχα, στην διεθνή αγορά, και ίσως η συμμετοχή του και σε άλλες δραστηριότητες που δεν γνωρίζουμε. Η στήλη αυτή παγίως πιστεύει ότι ο ελληνικός εφοπλισμός έχει απεριόριστο εθνικό και διεθνές επενδυτικό πεδίο δράσης, αλλά θα πρέπει να αποφεύγει τις επενδύσεις στα media, διότι ειδικώς στην Ελλάδα οι επενδύσεις αυτές μπορεί να αποφέρουν χρήματα, αλλά δέν φαίνεται να έχουν συμβάλλει ούτε στον εκδημοκρατισμό της χώρας ούτε στην επίλυση των μεγάλων κοινωνικών και οικονομικών προβλημάτων ούτε στην προαγωγή του πνεύματος, του πολιτισμού, της παιδείας και της αισθητικής. Θέλουμε να πιστεύουμε ότι ο κ. Βενιάμης, εφ’ όσον επαληθευθούν οι δημοσιογραφικές πληροφορίες, θα διαφοροποιηθεί από το μιντιακό κατεστημένο και θα προσφέρει ένα νέο ενημερωτικό προϊόν, που θα εκτιμηθεί από την κοινή γνώμη, η οποία κυριολεκτικά τρέφει την χειρίστη γνώμη κατά της διαπλεκομένης μιντιαρχίας, και θα δημιουργήσει μία ουσιαστική αλλαγή του τοπίου στον τηλεοπτικό χώρο. Αλλά ειλικρινά αυτό δεν το πιστεύουμε. Όταν ο εφοπλιστής αναμιχθεί με την πολιτική σε τόσο ενεργητικό βαθμό, είναι μοιραίο να συμβιβασθεί αργά ή γρήγορα και να αναπαράγει το ίδιο τηλεοπτικό προϊόν με τα ίδια παρεπόμενα, που τόσα δεινά έχουν επιφέρει στον τόπο τις δύο τελευταίες δεκαετίες. Ή παπάς, ή ζευγάς. Κ. ΔΟΥΚΑΣ

Ανεμολόγιο

Maritime Cyprus 2015

CONCLUDING REMARKS OF THE CHAIRMAN Mr. ALECOS MICHAELIDES

Γράφει ο

Νίκος Κ. Δούκας

Εκδότης - Δημοσιογράφος Μέλος ΕΣΗΕΑ

Maritime Cyprus 2015 has successfully reached its completion. A Conference of a worldwide range, organised for the fourteenth time since its inception in 1989.

Here we pulish the final speech of the Chairman Mr. Alecos Michaelides.

The “Maritime Cyprus 2015” Conference is reaching a successful completion today. This is the 14th Maritime Cyprus Conference and the overwhelming participation of more than 800 distinguished participants from all around the world, proves once again that this is one of the most successful and popular shipping conferences worldwide.

On Monday morning the Opening Address of the President of the Republic of Cyprus was delivered by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works. The first day´s Conference theme was Shipping “Politics & Economics” divided into two sessions. The first session’s theme was Shipping “Politics”: Regulators versus. Industry. Various interesting views were expressed during this discussion on the need to adopt global rules and ensure a level playing field. During the discussion, it was highlighted that political realities often do interfere in the decision making process. The panellists indicated that there is a need for the regulators’ and the industry’s joint efforts to be concentrated in developing smart global solution oriented legislation.

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The second session of the first day of the Conference concentrated on the issue of The World Economy and the Shipping Cycle. The discussion focused on shipping demand and supply. There was an exchange of views and interesting prognostics on the fluctuations in the demand and supply balance with particular mention to the importance of limiting the oversupply in tonnage by proceeding with further ship scrapping and refrain from placing new orders.

The second day of the Conference focused on The New Shipping “Environment”. The first session of the debate focused on the theme “Do shipping People Influence Decisions?” Interesting views were expressed in relation to the influential role of the maritime industry representatives in the decision making arenas and concerns were expressed about some environmental decisions taken in the past. It was further indicated that the shipping industry should be proactive in adopting best practices and should take coordinated action to persuade the public that the shipping industry attributes great importance to environmental issues.

The second session of the debate focused on “E-Shipping”. The panellists of this discussion highlighted the developments in technologically advanced integrated maritime information systems and the important role that such systems have to play in today’s demanding and heavily regulated shipping industry. It was stressed that the aim of “e-shipping” is not to substitute seafarers but to supplement and reinforce seafarers in making ships safer and more efficient.

The panellists indicated that the success of “e-shipping” greatly relies on it being “user need led” rather than led by technologists and regulators.

Yesterday afternoon the “Young Executives” session took place for the fifth time since its inception in 2007. Young people had the opportunity to discuss and exchange interesting views on the session´s theme “Challenge” the Leadership Process.

There was an exchange of views on the characteristics and values that a young leader should have in order to be respected

in his/ her shipping working environment and be appreciated by more senior colleagues.

The panellists shared their experiences with the session’s participants and advised them that they should be bold, seize opportunities that come their way and do not give up when they experience a failure.

Today’s 3rd day discussions were focused on the new world order on shipping and it was divided into two parts, the first one examining “The Geopolitical Developments versus Shipping” whereas the second inquired into “Markets Oracle”.

The first discussion relating to “The Geopolitical Developments versus Shipping touched upon the trade trends in shipping.

Particular reference was made to the tremendous potentials and impact of the energy sector and the exploration of hydrocarbons to the geopolitical realities and the shipping sector. Emphasis was given to the issues of oil supply in trade routes and the effects of sanctions as well as the importance of ships’ speed in maritime transportation.

The second discussion inquired into “Markets Oracle”. The discussion was focused on the current market trends and the outlook for the bulk, tanker and container sector. Moreover, reference was made to technological developments, how the human element is affected by such as well as the automation implemented on board ships.

Dear all. Another successful Maritime Cyprus Conference has come to an end.

I would like to thank all of you for joining us and especially those that came from abroad.

Particular thanks are due to our high calibre speakers, panellists and moderators. Furthermore, I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the Conference co-organisers the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, as well as to all Conference sponsors.

Once again I would like to thank you all for being with us and I’m looking forward to welcoming you to Maritime Cyprus Conference 2017. I do therefore officially declare Maritime Cyprus 2015 closed.

AP_Marine_210x280-2014:AP_Marine_210x280-2014 05/05/14 10:07 Page1

Η Μαριλένα Λασκαρίδου σεβόταν και λάτρευε τους οικογενειακούς θεσμούς. Σπουδαία Μητέρα και όχι μόνο για τα παιδιά της, σπάνια σύντροφος και φίλη, η ψυχή της οικογένειάς της και του Ιδρύματος, άφησε πίσω της αναπλήρωτο κενό.

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Move Forward with Confidence

Article Text by Sijmen Visser, Global Marketing Manager Marine, PPG Protective and Marine Coatings

SIGMA SAILADVANCE™ - a new standard in advanced

antifoulings from PPG Protective and Marine Coatings

Increasingly competitive market conditions mean that owners want to reduce energy consumption and lower their total costs regardless of how their ships are operating. The SIGMA SAILADVANCE range has been developed specifically to cover a wide range of vessel types and operational conditions and guarantees significant cost reductions. These low-friction, self-lubricating antifoulings deliver reduced fuel consumption and improved tolerance to idle time.

The SAILADVANCE range has been developed in the knowledge that to meet today’s market needs, a coating must cover a wide range of vessel types and operational conditions. SAILADVANCE RX and GX meet this need whether the ship is sailing, idle or slow steaming, regardless of being applied during new construction or during dry docking.

The range currently comprises four coatings, including the SIGMA SAILADVANCE RX and GX products, which are two completely new formulations based on PPG’s own patented technologies. The range also comprises the SIGMA SAILADVANCE MX antifouling (formerly

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

branded as SIGMA SYLADVANCE™ 700) and the SIGMA SAILADVANCE DX antifouling (formerly branded as SIGMA SYLADVANCE 800).

The SAILADVANCE range is designed for all vessel types and operating speeds and is particularly effective for slow-steaming because of the engineered CSP composition. The antifoulings also benefit from high-volume solids (up to 59%) for efficient application and evolve in a pattern of linear polishing, with consistent biocide release for predictable performance for up to 90 months.

New, high-performance technology The SIGMA SAILADVANCE RX and GX coatings are based on advanced technologies developed and patented by PPG that generate low friction, linear polishing, idle time tolerance and fuel savings.

The self-release binder technology is based on Controlled Surface Active Polymers (CSP) that act on the coating/water interface as a lubricant, which supports laminar flow, thereby lowering the hull friction when the ship is sailing. In addition, these CSPs (Controlled Surface Active Polymers) create a ‘slippery surface’ that will

increase the resistance to fouling when the ship is not sailing and, therefore, extend the possible idle days.

Features & benefits of SIGMA SAILADVANCE RX and GX: • Designed for all vessel types and speeds and particularly effective for slow steaming because of its Controlled Surface Active Polymers (CSP) binder composition • Suitable for application at New Build and Dry Dockings • Fuel savings averaging 5% • Evolves in a linear polishing and consistent biocide release for predictable performance up to 90 months • Low friction properties from lubricating CSP suppressing turbulent flow • Extended idle days through the release effect of CSP creating a slippery surface • Constant surface activity, limited leach layer build-up • PPG patent on the use of Controlled Surface Active Polymers (CSP)

ENERGY SAVER

SIGMA SAILADVANCE™ RX and GX Advanced low-friction, self-lubricating antifoulings PPG’s new SIGMA SAILADVANCE RX and GX antifoulings have been developed with the primary aim of reducing energy and therefore lowering total operational costs.

Based on a new patented binder technology built on the Controlled Surface Active Polymers (CSP) inside, these coatings offer a self-lubrication and self-release mechanism resulting in low friction, idle time tolerance and fuel savings.

SIGMA SAILADVANCE RX and GX coatings offer: • Fuel savings averaging 5% • Low-friction properties from lubricating CSP suppressing turbulent flow • Extended idle days through the release effect of CSP creating a slippery surface

Follow the leader. Visit ppgpmc.com to learn more about PPG’s marine coatings.

Scan to learn more

The PPG logo is a registered trademark. Bringing innovation to the surface. and SIGMA SAILADVANCE are trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

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INTRA MARE

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ABB Turbocharging Imagination meets expertise More power, less fuel, lower emissions ABB Turbocharging is a global leader in the manufacture and maintenance of turbochargers for 500 kW to 80+ MW diesel and gas engines. Having produced the world’s first industrial turbocharger, we have continued to push the turbocharging technology forward, providing engine builders and application operators with advanced turbocharging solutions for efficient and flexible application operations and compliance with the most stringent environmental requirements.

Comprehensive turbocharger portfolio

ΑΒΒ Turbocharging systems cover all the major types of large engines used in all areas of application such as Marine, Oil & Gas offshore, Power generation, Earthmoving and mining equipment, Rail and include a full array of options: • Low, medium and high speed two-and four strokes • Diesel, gas and dual-fuel engines employing both the Diesel and Otto Cycle combustion processes • Outputs from around 500 kW up to the very largest marine engines producing close to 90 MW. In addition, ABB turbochargers boast some of the widest compressor maps in the large engine industry, allowing both flexible adaptation of compressor output to a maximum range of load profiles in a given engine application in a

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

given engine power range, and ensuring excellent engine response to load impositions within that load profile. On the latest engine generations, these high pressure ratios are also a key enabler of Miller Cycles of varying intensities as a means of greatly reducing NOx emissions at source, in the combustion chamber.

Research and development

Imaginative design and an unparalleled grasp of aerodynamics and thermodynamics have enabled ABB Turbocharging engineers to produce turbocharging systems which combine highest levels of performance with lowest unit weights, most compact dimensional envelopes and bestin-class accessibility for ease-of-maintenance.

ABB Turbocharging develops its single and two-stage turbocharging systems with three major aims: • Engine-friendly: to enable engine builders to offer best-in-class reliability, fuel efficiency and

flexibility, power density and load acceptance.

• End-user-friendly: to assist engine owners and operators to minimize the Total Cost of Ownership of both their engines and their turbochargers.

• Environmentally-friendly: to reduce emissions of NOx and greenhouse gases safely beyond legal limits.

To achieve these aims, ABB Turbocharging maintains not only the most able and innovative R&D organization in the turbocharger business, but also the most extensive aftersales network in the large turbocharger sector with over 100 Service Stations in more than 50 countries.

ABB Turbocharging offers engine builders and end-users outstanding long-term benefits, in particular: • Operational flexibility • Low fuel consumption • Low greenhouse gas and NOx emissions and

ABB Turbocharging Contact your local ABB Turbocharging Service Station to get the servicing that meets your exact needs. Start investing in the best service for your turbocharger, is one of the most effective ways to improve your performance while saving fuel and money.

compliance with the most stringent environmental regulations • Highest power density for maximised payloads • Excellent load acceptance and transient response for optimum tractability • Highest quality construction for unparalleled robustness • Low total cost of ownership thanks to long times between overhauls • Easy and ready access for maintenance, repair and overhaul • Highest operational safety levels

Service excellence - Protect your investment long-term with Original Service and Original Parts

ABB Turbocharging prides itself of service excellence to ensure customers make the most of their investment. The right service prevents repeat maintenance events and redundant spare part purchases, reduces downtimes, increases your application’s availability, and lengthens your application’s lifetime. That’s why we’re dedicated to providing all of our customers with Original Service and Original Parts that offer all those things.

We offer a full range of services 24/7 365 days a year at any one of our 100+ ABB Service Stations in 50+ countries across the globe. We own all of our Service Stations, and we employ 600 qualified service engineers at them so that you get the support you need, when you need it, where you need it.

Our Service Agreements are designed to help you minimize the risk of production interruptions

as well as increase the efficiency and reliability of your systems.

Why Original Service? The benefits of Original Service at a glance

• 24/7 availability • OEM trained technicians at over 100+ Service Stations in 50+ countries • 24-hour availability of 98% of all spare parts • Rapid problem solving from the most reliable source • Minimum downtime • Maximum availability • Direct, local access to the ABB Turbocharging technology and know-how • Solutions based on intimate knowledge of your application and turbocharger

Which service agreement is right for you?

Maintenance Management Agreement (MMA) Profit more by doing less A Maintenance Management Agreement (MMA) is a service agreement for maintaining your ABB turbocharging solutions in your fleet. The Maintenance Management Agreement is part of ABB’s Turbocharging well-structured offering of proactive service solutions for customer’s turbocharger. MMA specifically targets end users of turbochargers on marine and stationary engines wanting close support of their turbocharger servicing activities rather than complete delegation. Under an MMA, ABB Turbocharging takes over responsibility for planning and organizing service and spare parts logistics,

relieving the customer of both the technical and administrative workload.

It optimizes your maintenance management and reduces your workload. You get an annual budget plan, advance service recommendations, discounts on new original spare parts, and a single point of contact who will work with you in your language and on your time.

If you’re looking for a full-service support system that gives you a proactive role and full transparency, then an MMA is right for you. 150 of our customers are already convinced. They have chosen to cover some 7,000 turbochargers under an ABB MMA, and that’s not just because you can save up to 30% on service cost.

Cut your costs • Streamline your maintenance processes • Get the best discounts on new original parts • Get comprehensive recommendations well before they’re needed • Reduce your downtime through global access to original OEM service • Simplify service order processing through predefined rates for all your key service areas.

• Plan your needs proactively using our annual maintenance budget plan. The earlier you buy, the more you save.

Operation Performance Package (OPAC) Meets your exact needs everywhere, every time With ABB’s Operation Performance Package, or OPAC for short, you get a fully customizable, fully delegable OEM service package paid by the actual number of turbocharger running

NOVEMBER 2015 NAFS

15

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hours. Designed with and for our customers, the OPAC is a more flexible, cost-effective approach to turbocharger servicing that is made to meet your exact needs everywhere, every time, with Original Parts and Original Service.

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

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Financial Focus

Shipping finance lagging behind the Fifty years ofof development recovery Shippingof Greek shipping and Greek Text by Ted Petropoulos, Head, Petrofin Research

By Ted Petropoulos, Head Petrofin Research shipfinance in a global context

Banks witnessed, after However, there were other more significant reasons for the banks’ lack a long and arduous road of ship lending appetite. It relates to the fundamental weakness in the since 2009, a useful liquidity and capital ratios of European banks in the light of Basel III and shipping recovery in the new ECB regulatory overview of all E.U. banks. Banks simply lacked 2013 in both vessel the financial resources and the risk appetite to step on the gas pedal. values and cash flows European banks especially found themselves bracing for the ECB loan via higher freights. Alreview and proving their financial robustness. In a world of doubt, to though the recovery was banks, profitability came second to financial strength. As the majority of erratic and not evenly shipping banks were European (72% of global ship finance in December spread among the vari2013), Petrofin Bank Research (c) the difficulty of European banks had a ous shipping sectors, pronounced and adverse effect on Greek ship lending. it had a pronounced beneficial effect on the To add insult to injury, three of shipping champions of previous years i.e. quality of the banks’ loan RBS, HSH and Commerzbank were under immense pressure to downsize portfolios and in bank’s their shipping portfolios and/or leave ship lending altogether. borrowers’ ability to During this time, some banks stood out for either lending counter-cyclical1: The growth of tradetheir (deflated): 1948-1990.

Source: “ Estimating themainly effects ly world or standing ground as ship finance providers.

These were meetGraph their (often restructheobligations. container revolution on world trade”, Bernhofen etEuropean al, February 7, 2014 tured)ofloan DVB, ABN AMRO, CreditDaniel SuisseM. and ING among banks and Confidence grew among By banks that shipping was on the way to recovery and this was felt even Ted Petropoulos more by borrowers and private equity funds.

Head, Petrofin Research

China Exim, CDB, and Korean Exim, from the Far Eastern banks.

A classic West-East divide took place with shipping credit being more readily available in the Far East, where a large number of small to medium banks supported local clients. The same was not true in the West for any but the biggest and often publicly quoted companies.

Dry bulk thea way withand a 12-month (March 2013 to March 2014) There haslead been parallel rapid developrecovery of 41.4% in vessel values and 52.3% in freights (from Shipping ment by Greek shipping and Greek shipfinance Intelligence – 1st April 2014, below).

With overall shipping confidence over the last Inc. 50 years.

In this article, we will For Greek ship finance, in particular, it had been most hit as the biggest risingon to the record (Moore Stephens) and with the sector’s progress focus keyheights changes to both and on how lenders exited the market at precisely the time when Greek newbuilding pickingGreek up, one would have expected banks to be rushing headlong into today’s shipping and Greek shipfinance orders and second-hand purchases accelerated. With the Greek banks have unprecedented heights to which new evolved shippingto loans and for competition among banks grow. thrusting Greek shipping to the top position unable to provide new ship finance and caught by the difficulties of Euroglobally, a 16% market pean banks as a whole, Greek owners turned to the remaining few active With rareenjoying exceptions though ,thisshare. is not,This however, what happened and the performance has also to be seen in the context lenders, to Far Eastern lenders (linked only to shipbuilding orders) and, question is: why? of the development of global shipping over the increasingly, to US private equity funds (PEFs). period.

In 1965, was the The answer liescontainerised with the bankstransport themselves.

Commencing with their new system that swiftly replaced cargoweaker clients in the hope As the finance gap widened, PEFs were for many Greek owners often shipping exposures, many banksgeneral had nurtured transportation by cargo liners please see Graph of such a recovery. The process of recovery, though, could not work mira- the only way to take advantage of what promised to be a healthy shipping 2: Global Trade and Container Throughput (1970=100). Source: “ Estimating the ef1cles showing the growth of word by difficultGraph overnight.

It simply takestrade time assisted to work out loansof and were trade”, not onlyDaniel activeM. butBernhofen often scoured Greece for opporfects theimprove container recovery. revolutionPEFs on world et al, February 7, 2014 the container adoption process. In Graph 2, you the health of a bank’s loan portfolio. The recovery needs to be sustained tunities to co-invest and lend to Greek owners believing that the anticimay observe the growth of container throughand the recent fall in dry bulk freights demonstrated the still volatile nature pated shipping recovery would provide them with the high returns they put, which outpaced the growth of exports and of the recovery. In addition, from a common shipping approach by the have been seeking. The result was an explosion of Joint Ventures most GDP. In addition, the economics of vessel size boards of major banks to be cautious to achange, involving a willingness of which investing in eco-friendly vessels of new designs that is hoped will started to produce larger vessels to handle the to expand, one needs time. be the vessels of the future. increased flow of commodities in both the dry and wet sectors all aimed at reducing transport A second factor is that many shipping banks had what they believed to Characteristically, according to Tufton Oceanic data, on a global basis costs. It should be noted that the gradual lifting a higher than desired overall shipping and needed time to between January 2002 and January 2014, the share of global mortgage ofbetrade restrictions quotes and tariffs, as exposure well reduce it to acceptable of levels via client loanprorepayments. lending of the world fleet and orderbook fell from 43% to 36%. The above as the commencement the globalisation A third factor is that banks had set up very strict criteria for lending resultwas even more pronounced in Greece. There are no hard data for the cess and the opening of new trade areas, lifted ing in too few potential loan transactions meeting such requirements Greek shipping exposure by PEF, but we believe that there are over 40 economic growth and multiplied the demand Joint Ventures in place today. With interests primarily in drybulk and then for shipping. Sea trade grew from 1.6bn tons in 1965 to 10.3n tons in 2015. (Source: ”Will the next 50 years be as chaotic as the last?”, Martin Stopford, Lloyd’s List, Friday 15 May 2015). In the Table 1 we note the progressive increase of seaborne trade between 1970 and 2014 Table 1: Source: UNCTAD October 2015

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Financial Focus

Graph 3: Source: Marecon, Lloyd’s List Intelligence In Graph 3 you can see this growth for oil, coal, iron ore and grain over the period. Specialist vessels, such as Chemical tankers, LNGs, car carriers and open hatch bulks also emerged and soon were joined by LPG, offshore support vessels and other specialised vessels.

Aided by the adoption of flags of convenience, which further cut costs, shipping companies looked for time charters and contacts of affreightment in order to secure income and finance their newbuildings.

However, the economic and trade growth was not steady. In the last 50 years there were 11 business cycles, which created problems for the industry and lead to notable failures. We should draw attention to the two oil crises in 1973 and 1979, the financial crises of the early 90s and Graph 4 – Source : Marecon, Lloyd’s List Intelligence 2008, as well as the 1997 Asia crisis all which occurred which occurred in the last 40 years.

Earlier, in the 1960s and 1970s, the growth of Japan as the new ‘star’ of shipping, as well as Europe and the US, provided more consistent growth. In the 1980s, we saw the growth of South Korea and the Asian tigers, whilst in the 2000s we saw the emergence of China, as a world player. Currently, China accounts for two thirds of iron ore imports worldwide and 20% of global coal imports, 60% of container import values and 16% of global oil imports.

Sea trade, 50 years ago, was focused by 2/3 into OECD consumers with non OECD consumers accounting for only 1/3. This has reversed today with non-OECD consumers now accounting for 2/3 of global sea trade.

To carry this growing trade, the shipbuilding industry too has changed with the increasing newbuilding focus, especially for non-specialised vessels, away from European yards and towards Japanese yards in the 60s-80s.

South Korea took over the lead newbuilding role in the 2000s, as it developed a massive newbuilding capacity. Over the last decade, though, China took over the lead position but with Japan and Korea still providing substantial newbuilding volumes. Overall, the number of vessels being delivered increased over the last 50 years with DWT growth being even more significant (see Graph 4).

NOVEMBER 2015 NAFS

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Financial Focus Table 2: Source: Petrofin Bank Research Š - May 2015

Financing the growing Greek fleet

Financing such fleet growth was initially the domain of UK and European banks, with prominent names such as Williams and Glyn, as well as a plethora of banks. The development in the early 70s of the US Eurodollar market unleashed the potential of US banks, which became global banks and focused into shipping as very promising industry to build up their lending.

The 80s’ shipping crisis took its toll among US banks which with Citibank as a notable exception, reduced their exposure or withdrew from shipfinance, only to begin to re-emerge recently. In the last 20 years, it was European banks and primarily German banks that lead world shipfinance with Deutsche bank, Deutsche Schiffsbank, HSH Nordbank and many others building up large loan portfolios. In Table 2 we provide the leading Greek shipfinance banks as of end 2014.

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

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Financial Focus

Table 3: List of the 33 US and UK publicly quoted Greek shipping companies – Source: Newsfront Naftiliaki, 20 November 2015 Vol. 16 / No. 44 The shipfinance industry over the last 35 years became more regulated and affected by the Basel I, II and III accords, regarding capital adequacy. Banks increasingly focused on an evaluation of risk and built up their risk departments alongside their credit departments in an effort to develop safer lending policies. As a result of the emphasis on risk control and in need to deleverage and slim their balance sheets, banks became increasingly selective and approached ship finance differently.

Whereas, from 1965 until the early 1990s, bulk shipping, as a family oriented business and shipfinance primarily focused on ‘name’ lending and the long term bank client relationship, a shift occurred over the last two decades. Banks increasingly focused on the larger owners as part of their risk containment efforts. Large shipping companies became increasingly more financially transparent offering audited, as well as consolidated, financials and adopting a corporate holding structure that provided greater comfort to banks.

In the 2000s, we saw the rapid rise of shipping publicly quoted companies primarily in the US and there followed in the last decade increasing interest in shipping by Private Equity funds via Joint Ventures with established owners across all shipping sectors on a global basis. (Table 3). As the western banks’ role reduced in importance over the last decade, primarily due to stringent capital constraints, the financing gap for newbuildings increasingly came from banks and leasing institutions from shipbuilding nations, i.e. China, South Korea and, lately, Japan. Export credit finance was linked to such loans in the Far East, but also for specialised vessels in Europe, such as offshore, dredges, chemical carriers, etc.

Towards the end of the 50-year period, we find the European banks’ market share declining from 95.58% in 2011 to 85.44% currently (Petrofin Bank Research © ) (see Graph 5), whereas Far Eastern banks share has risen from 1.9% in 2011 to 8.6% currently (see Graph 6).

Graph 5: European banks financing Greek shipping – market share Source: Petrofin Bank Research © - May 2015

Graph 6: Far Eastern banks financing Greek shipping – market share Source: Petrofin Bank Research © - May 2015

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Financial Focus

Graph 7: Source Marine Money Bankers’ Survey - 2014 The shift towards the bigger shipping companies, has now developed to such an extent, that small to medium size owners find it increasingly difficult to find lenders and when they do, they face very stringent terms and conditions.

Shipfinance lending percentages which traditionally were 60-70% of asset values, have declined substantially in line with lower cashflows in the last 8 years, across most shipping sectors. Loan margins which had fallen to below 1% in the heydays of the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as in the early 2000s, saw a rapid rise, as bank lending appetite and ability reduced and the loan risk profiles became more scrutinized. (see Graph 7 – average margins – from Marine Money Bankers survey 2014). Currently, the overwhelming majority of loans in Greece have spreads between 2-4%.

The development of Greek shipping and Greek shipfinance over the last 50 years Greek ship finance has followed the rapid development of Greek shipping over the last 50 years. As such, I will firstly focus on the key changes in Greek shipping and secondly on changes in Greek ship finance and draw on their parallel development.

In the 50s, Greece was emerging from the disastrous economic consequences of the Second World War and the Greek Civil War. Traditional Greek owners originating mostly from Andros, Chios, Kasos and the Ionian islands and operating primarily out of London, took advantage of the ‘Liberty ships’ to resurrect the WWII destroyed Greek merchant fleet.

Greece too, assisted by the ‘Marshall Plan’, commenced a period of rapid development and growth.

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The principal centres of Greek shipping in the 50s were London (about 45%), New York (about 35%, followed by Piraeus and other centres in South America, Europe, S.E. Asia and South Africa. In all, there were about 350 Greek shipping offices worldwide in 1958, 600 in 1975, 800 in 1990, 835 in 2000 and 648 today (Petrofin Research ©).

The Port of Piraeus which accounted for 96% of pre-war Greek trade fell to 18% in 1958, but then started to rise to 34% in 1974, 60% in 1990 and even higher today.

Fifty years ago, the bulk of Greek shipping consisted of about 100 Greek families most of them traditional London and New York based names.

There were, however, two dynamic Greek names, Niarchos and Onassis who although not from the traditional shipping islands, were responsible for a mass of newbuilding orders in the 1950s and 1960s, which transformed Greek shipping.

They were the main protagonists for the growth of the Greek fleet from 627 vessels of 0.295m grt in 1950 to 1520 vessels of 1.22m grt in 1960.

Vessels, however, in those days, were mainly small tween deckers dry cargo vessels and increasingly, crude oil tankers. The average size of vessel in the Greek fleet was only 4,700 tons grt in 1950, but rose to 8,026 in 1960, 9,307 in 1970, 25,173 in 2000 (Source: The evolution of the Greek-controlled fleet ( from presentation by Nikolas Tsakos on November 17th 2006 at the 8th Annual Capital Link Forum) From 2001 onwards, Petrofin Research © has been producing data on the Greek fleet and on Graph 8 we show the evolution of the average vessel size in DWT terms.

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Financial Focus Moreover, Greek shipping has by now diversified into all segments of shipping, including container vessels, product carriers, reefers, LPGs, LNGs, Offshore support vessels etc. which is evident of the strength and development of the Greek fleet.

In the 70s and 80s there began the influx of non-traditional owners mostly in Piraeus, often called the “Piraeus Greeks”. They were assisted by the Law/67 tax advantages and the low cost of a Greek operation. Whereas in the 50s the main names were Niarchos, Onassis, Kulukundis, Goulandris, Livanos, Lemos and Chandris, in the 1990s only Livanos remained in the top 10 Greek owners and new names such as Haji-ioannou, Latsis, Martinos, Fragistas, Kallimanopoulos and Papachristidis appeared, many of them from the Athens / Piraeus area, the Peloponnese and Crete.

The Greek controlled fleet continued to grow and in the last years has undergone a qualitative revolution, whereby its average age has fallen from about the mid-30s in the 1950s, to about 30 years in the 1970s, to 20.3 years in 2000 (Naftiliaki – Summer 2011), 19.4 years in 2006 and 12.73 in 2015 (as of 2015 Petrofin Research statistics, covering all types and sizes and excluding Graph 8: Source – Petrofin Research © undelivered newbuildings). In addition, Greeks who were the kings of buying older second-hand vessels, have developed into the champions of newbuildings Table 4: Top 10 Owner Nationalities and their Newbuilding % currently controlling about 412 of the World Orderbook Source: Clakrsons World Fleet Register 2015 newbuilding orders or 15.9% in DWT terms (Table 1 below) of the total world orders and about 57% of the orders placed by European countries, compared to 40% in 2007. This has recently accelerated, as Greek owners wished to build up their eco shipping and to compete with modern vessels. The number of Greek ton millionaires has grown (Table 5) and so has the concentration of the top 50 Greek owners, who now account for 68.42% of the fleet Despite the difficult market conditions in recent years, the Greek fleet has continued to grow and has reached 4909 vessels and 328m tons DWT. Adversely, the number of Greek seamen has declined as they are being replaced by other, more populous and poorer nationalities, i.e. Philippinos, Ukrainians, Pakistanis, SriLankans, et al. However, most of the Greek seamanship and know-how has been kept within the industry and became office staff comprising of ex captains and chief engineers of the fleet.

The quality of management has also undergone transformation as well educated offspring and outside quality managers and staff have been brought in to manage what are new, large, sophisticated, modern Greek shipping concerns spanning and competing on a worldwide basis. This quality management has provided Greek shipping with greater transparency and ability to comply with the ever changing stringent regulations and compliance issues.

By now, the ‘traditional’ versus the ‘non-traditional’ versus the ‘Piraeus Greek’ images have started to fade as Piraeus has developed into the leading centre of Greek shipping far outshining London, New York and other centres in terms Table 5: Source: Petrofin Research © of concentration of owners and vessels.

Moreover, there are new dynamic names in shipping that only emerged in the last decade or so and who view shipping as any other industry where profits can be made by exploiting its cyclicality. Over especially the last 10 years, Greeks (especially the young dynamic names) turned to the public markets and private equity providers to finance their fleet investment plans.

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Financial Focus

The development of Greek shipping finance

Table 6: Number of Banks engaged in Greek Shipfinance – comparative figures

Fifty years ago, Greeks borrowed mainly out of London and using primarily British banks such as Williams and Glynns and the merchant banks, such as Hambros, Rothschild’s etc.

Amounts were small, terms and loan documentation simple and credit decisions were a matter of trust between the banks and owners.

With the exception of the National Bank of Greece (the other Greek banks financed mostly the ferry and passenger Greek shipping segments), there were no foreign banks in Piraeus actively financing Greek shipping.

The 50s and 60s, were dominated by two well-known owners, Onassis and Niarchos. How did they finance their vessels?

We know that, after the war, a lot of vessels were in the market at rock bottom level prices.

Owners with cash liquidity from other activities, bought these vessels, and immediately put them to use in the immediate post-war period.

In order to finance their newbuilding tankers in the late 40s and 50s, Onassis and Niarchos, both, copied the tactics of the Norwegians for the financing of the new projects. With the Norwegians crippled by legislation that forbade the building of ships abroad, both owners ordered vessels having first secured long time charters from the oil companies for the ships that they intended to build. Then, using these charter parties they secured the required finance. They secured lower prices by ordering series of ships as opposed to isolated units, in order to save on building costs.

The situation changed rapidly in the 60s and 70s as Piraeus started its rapid growth. I believe Bank of Nova Scotia was the first bank in Greece engaged in shipping, having opened a branch about 70 years ago. There followed Citibank in 1967, Williams and Glynns (now RBS) in 1972, ABN in 1974, Nedship in 1979 and soon National Westminster, BIAO, Continental Illinois, First Chicago, BNP, Credit Agricole, Manufacturers Hannover, Chase, Bank of America, HSBC, Barclays and others, all opened up in the 70s and 80s.

In Table 6 we present the number of banks engaged in Greek shipfinance for 1979 and up to now (Petrofin Bank Research ©). As a result of bank departures in the 1980s, bank mergers and acquisitions over the period, the overall number of banks has fallen.

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Financial Focus

In Graph 9 we present the evolution of banks in terms of nationality over the last 36 years, depicting banks’ trend of entering and /or leaving the Greek shipfinance sector at historically different shipping conditions. The main departees in the 80s were the North American banks where only Citibank remained active and the British banks, including all the smaller ‘niche’ banks, such as the UK based merchant banks, e.g. Hambros, Guinness Peat, Henry Ausbacher etc., which have since disappeared. In 1979, there were a number of banks which were also engaged in shiplending as a side activity without necessarily having a specialist shipfinance department or a commitment to shipping. These have largely disappeared. Shipfinance today has been left mostly to the larger international and primarily European banks.

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

Graph 9

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Financial Focus

Loan Volumes

Currently, a number of major shipfinance banks, such as RBS, HSH and Commerzbank have severely restricted their lending or are exiting ship finance and this has had an adverse effect on Greek shipfinance. Owners are increasingly looking at alternative financing solutions.

In loan volume terms, however, there has been substantial growth as Greek shipping loans have having risen exponentially from $16.53bn at the end of 2001 to $64bn as of end 2014(Petrofin Bank Research©). This was as a result of massive newbuilding orders and the growth both in quality and size of the Greekowned fleet. In the past years, the effects of the poor shipping markets for most sectors, the decline of traditional banks and the effects of the Greek political, economic and banking crisis are self-evident.

There are no corresponding figures for 1965, but, based on our own investigation it is believed that the corresponding figure for 1979 may have been standing at approximately $9-10 billion spread widely over the numerous banks involved in Greek shipfinance. Readers may remember the 1982-1987 slump during which vessel values plummeted and a great number of vessels were arrested and changed

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hands. In terms of loan volume, therefore, it is believed that total Greek shipfinance fell during the above period before starting to pick up in the late 80s and especially during the 90s.

What distinguishes Greek shipping lenders today is the commitment to the of the remaining banks, their considerably larger loan portfolios and their dedicated and specialized shipfinance organization and know-how. Although loan approvals in non-Greek banks have inexorably drifted away from local centres and towards far away headquarters, bank’s lending strategies are, however, much more clearly defined and focused on their preferred clientele and on transactions that meet the risk/rewards criteria under Basel III. Twenty five years ago banks themselves and their credit approval criteria varied greatly. Consequently, marginal owners could find a bank to finance a substandard older vessel although at a higher cost. Loan losses in the 70s and 80s were colossal, especially for banks which treated Greek shipfinance without due care and attention. Owner size was also less important in the old days and lending to start up owners was much more common than today.

Risk analysis today and the thoroughness of credit investigation as well as credit presenta-

tions are especially better. Consequently, due to better systems, analysis and controls as well as a better performance by the shipping industry, shipfinance is no longer stigmatized or regarded as ‘exotic’ lending. However, the pronounced and long lasting slump in dry bulk and container shipping has adversely affected bank’s loan portfolios and has resulted in a number of loan portfolio sales over the last years to other banks and financial institutions.

Attitudes of banks to owners and vice versa

There has been a remarkable change over the years in the attitude of banks towards Greek owners and vice versa.

Scanning through the news of the past, one sees abundant evidence of mistrust between banks and owners. Foreclosures and vessel arrests by banks raised the concern of both the banks and owning communities and created deeply held suspicions. Despite the difficult market conditions, there have been few Greek owner bankruptcies in the last decade.

In some cases in the past, Greek shipping ministers and other bodies made pleas to banks to be patient and accommodating to Greek owners. Banks in the spotlight with prominent disputes with owners often felt the need to explain their actions or policies in interviews in an effort

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Financial Focus

to limit the damages to their reputation and ability to conduct further business. Although the situation worsened in the 80s as a result of the shipping slump, the late 90s also witnessed numerous Greek owner failures. There were numerous articles in the shipping press where banks were blamed for overlending and for being co-responsible for many failures.

Greek owners’ attitude to banks in general was one of caution. Owners were used to banks entering / leaving the industry based on shipping market conditions and prospects. With the exception of some bank names still prominent today, the vast majority of banks (and bankers) have disappeared which gives credit to owners’ caution. On the other hand, many owners were only too keen to over-borrow and paid little attention to their liquidity which gave little room for flexibility by banks hardly helped by owner secrecy.

Today the attitudes have considerably improved to one of healthy respect and mutual understanding of each other’s requirements and expectations. The success of Greek shipping and its impressive performance have transformed the attitude of shipping banks which can be evidenced by the growth in their loan portfolios.

Transparency

If corporate transparency is one of today’s issues, financial transparency (or lack of it) was the main issue 30 to 50 years ago. I saw an article in 1984 by Mr. Dimitris Krontiras, G. M. of Citibank at the City University Conference in Greece in which he raises concerns about the lack of audited financial statements and the attitude of Greek owners towards banks requesting information as an ‘invasion of privacy’.

Today, banks expect to receive in addition to audited financials substantially more detailed financial, organizational and structural information, as well as a clear investment and financial strategy.

Quality of vessels

Banks in the 50s, 70s and up to the 90s were quite concerned with the quality of the vessels they financed. Repair and maintenance standards were more relaxed then and banks often found out about the real condition of their collateral at the time of foreclosure or serious breakdown. Consequently, many banks insisted on vessel inspections before granting a loan and on regular inspections thereafter.

Today, not only has the standard of maintenance greatly improved but the stringent regulatory, insurance and chartering requirements leave less room for owners operating substan-

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dard vessels.

Coupled with the fact that the Greek-owned fleet is now much younger than 25 or 50 years ago and bank-client relationships are closer and stronger, concerns over a vessel’s condition have largely subsided as banks have numerous ways to monitor vessel quality, e.g. PSC record, insurance claim record, etc.

Instead, banks today are worried to limit their own potential liability in the event of vessel’s pollution (especially tankers), as well as if their clients have the organizational ability and knowhow to overcome all the regulatory obstacles continuously being raised in front of them.

Average loan amount and related terms

In the 1950s, a $1m and in the 70s a $5-7m was a fair medium-sized loan. Corresponding figures today would be $20-40m and large deals of $50-100m.

In addition, whereas bank loan portfolios in the past would consist of a few top names with relatively large exposures and the remainder well spread across many clients with a diverse type of fleet and age profile, nowadays, banks have fewer clients with much higher average loan exposures. Furthermore, whereas a 15year old vessel in 1979 was well able to obtain medium term finance, most banks today wish their loans to expire by the time vessels reach about 15 years of age.

As vessel collateral became younger so did to an extent the loan period become longer. As such, from some research into loans being granted in the 70s, the average loan period was shorter than today by about 2 ½ years on average, i.e. 5 years in the 70s and 8 years today.

The average age of the vessels being financed, however, had improved by at least 8-9 years on average in the 2000s. However, the capital restraints imposed on banks today has resulted in reduced loan repayment to about 5-6 years plus balloon with the loan profiles being approximately 12 years for newbuilding finance.

Loan financing percentages have not greatly changed over the period with 65-70% regarded as the industry norm until the last years, where banks have adopted stricter rules, looked for additional securities and, in general, the cashflow did not allow high levels of finance.

Consequently, current financings range from 30-60% on average depending on the merits of each case. In dry bulk, the very tight cashflows has resulted in many vessels being acquired for cash.

What has also changed is the Greek loans spreads structure. In the 50s, spreads and fees were individually set and secret. In the 70s, an average loan spread of 2% was quite normal, whereas in the 1990s, and despite pressures from Basel II, average loan spreads were undeniably lower and closer to 1%. Following the 2008 financial crisis and the restrictions on the availability of bank loans, margins have risen (see Graph 5). Currently, they stand at between 2.5-4.5% over LIBOR, depending on the risk profile of each loan. Client quality has, however, much improved and it may be argued that shipfinance today net of loan default provisions provides higher net returns to banks. The deviation from the spread average has, however, reduced with fewer banks having very high or low spread margins. Giveaway extremely low spreads that were a feature of the 90s have however, virtually disappeared since all banks have inflexible minimum spreads and are also unlikely to be swayed by large spreads to accept sub-standard business. Greater use of financial covenants and ratios as well as better loan monitoring is being made today and the whole complexity of documentation has grown enormously.

First Mortgage lending is still the norm for Greek shipfinance. Nevertheless, financial complexity has increased and Greek owners were among the first to make use of junk bonds in shipping with undeniable success (to themselves) as well as increasing use of public markets. Banks too have started to become more seriously involved in supporting their Greek clients’ efforts to tap the public markets as well as to promote their non-risk products and services (including hedging) in shipping and in other areas such as private banking, investment banking, etc.

Consequently, income from non credit related services is now a significant portion of shipping banks’ overall income by their shipping departments.

Syndication lending was not existent 50 years ago, but more prevalent for large owners twenty five years ago. It was relatively easy to find participating banks whilst the lead banks were only a handful.

Difficulties with syndications especially during the 80s’ shipping slump lead to their increasing unpopularity. In any case, Greek owners used but were never the ‘protagonists’ in this form of finance. What has become increasingly more popular for Greek owners is the club loan consisting of 2-3 banks sharing similar views to shipfinance and financing owners they know and with whom they feel comfortable.

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Financial Focus

Over the last 10 year, new forms of finance, ranging from mezzanine to leasing and / or combinations of equity and finance have developed with many financial institutions providing higher and more flexible forms of finance. The cost of such structures is, however, significantly higher than for bank loans.

Risk attitude by banks

Banks over the last decade have developed separate risk departments, whose approval is required for each new loan. This development sets the minimum loan yield in line with the risk profile of each loan and the bank’s pricing/risk model approved by regulatory authorities.

In addition, banks have over the last 5 years set up separate ‘restructure’ departments, where all non-performing loans are handled.

In general, banks have become much more risk aware and have sophisticated models for risk evaluation and loan margin setting.

The above developments are a far cry from the practices of the past, where loans were either approved within the credit limit of the bank official or by a local credit committee. Later in the 90s such credit approvals shifted to a bank’s head office. In case of loan defaults, the same credit officer that was responsible for the loan would handle the recovery of the loan. As risk appetite was reduced, especially since the 2008 financial crisis and the more stringent capital constraints imposed by regulatory authorities, banks would become increasingly more selective as to the size of client, financial strength and the type of vessel involved.

This opened a financial gap, whereby man small to medium owners were rejected on risk criteria. Such owners often looked for financial institutions that would provide higher loans at an increased cost or looked for a JV with private equity funds with the latter providing the majority of the equity. Vessels would often be acquired by such JVs for cash or with modest loans.

As a result of the bank’s recent reduced risk appetite, resulting in loans to primarily the top names or public companies, as well as due to the economies of scale, vessel ownership

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has become more concentrated among fewer names (see earlier).

Overall, banks have benefited over the past 50 years from three factors: a) their own better strategy, organisation, systems, analysis and monitoring; b) the quality improvements in Greek owners and their fleets, and c) higher transparency of Greek owners.

Additional factors influencing Greek shipping and shipfinance In addition to the factors already outlined, there has been a qualitative shift in the modus operandi of Greek management companies, which has increased their efficiency and attractiveness as potential clients to banks.

Assisted further by a world-wide improvement in telecommunications, greater and swifter information flow and improved training and education, the Greek shipping industry has evolved into a modern and serious competitor for efficient management of vessels whilst keeping its well known commitment, flexibility and commercial flair.

Most shipping companies have remained family owned over the decades. An increasing number of Greek companies have developed corporate holding structures, which is a key requirement by most banks. Numerous companies have also set up offices in other countries in order to develop a presence in areas that offer better opportunities for chartering and / or finance.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and London are the most popular places. In addition, with the Greek political and economic crisis over the last 5 years and the increased and threatened taxation for Greek shipping, many companies have developed alternative plans for transferring part or all of their offices to Cyprus, London, Dubai, Monaco and elsewhere.

Latest Clarkson’s valuations of the Greek fleet stand at $86.7bn. This needs to be compared with the $64bn in Greek shipping loans. It is self-evident that Greek shipping, despite the

poor shipping conditions, in most sectors, has maintained an overall good asset cover position. Of course, care should be showed as individual owners’ asset covers do differ and so does each owner’s liquidity.

The ability of Greek banks to recommence lending is of vital importance to Greek companies, especially the smaller owners. Greek owners have become very sophisticated financially and have been active in exploiting opportunities to increase their fleets and acquire new eco vessels. The development of Greek shipping has outpaced the development of Greek finance.

This is understandable due to the current shiplending restrictions and as many vessels are being acquired with cash and / or higher equity contributions by owners.

Turning to the future of Greek shipfinance, it is anticipated that over time more banks shall be willing to lend to Greek owners. There could be new banks attracted by the generous loan yields, e.g. US, Canadian, Middle Eastern banks or via higher levels of finance by Far Eastern banks and / or shipleasing companies in support of local orders. The prolific capacity of the German banks shall be missed although it is possible that after a recovery of the container and dry bulk sectors, some German banks may start relending again.

A vital role shall continue to be played by the US capital markets for existing and new publicly quoted companies.

The biggest questions overhanging the market concerns the fate of the numerous JVs with private equity funds and how these shall unfold and whether the Greek companies involved shall be able to find the resources, bank finance or alternative finance to keep the JV fleets to themselves.

The continuous further growth of the Greek fleet shall require both additional capital resources, as well as increased bank and other forms of finance. Current global weak economic prospects, as well as the poor state of most shipping sectors, may result in the slowdown in the growth of the Greek fleet in the next years.

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12 nafs POSIDONIA 2014 FINANCIAL FOCUS Financial Focus

2015 – Research and Analyis:behind the Shipping finance lagging Greek Shipping Companies 1st Part of 2015 recovery of Shipping PETROFIN RESEARCH©

By Ted Petropoulos, Head Petrofin Research

Banks witnessed, after a long and arduous road since 2009, a useful shipping recovery in 2013 in both vessel values and cash flows via higher freights. Although the recovery was erratic and not evenly spread among the various shipping sectors, it had a pronounced beneficial effect on the quality of the banks’ loan portfolios and in bank’s borrowers’ ability to meet their (often restructured) loan obligations.

Confidence grew among By banks that shipping was on the way to recovery and this was felt even Ted Petropoulos more by borrowers and private equity funds.

Head, Petrofin Research

However, there were other more significant reasons for the banks’ lack of ship lending appetite. It relates to the fundamental weakness in the liquidity and capital ratios of European banks in the light of Basel III and the new ECB regulatory overview of all E.U. banks. Banks simply lacked the financial resources and the risk appetite to step on the gas pedal.

European banks especially found themselves bracing for the ECB loan review and proving their financial robustness. In a world of doubt, to banks, profitability came second to financial strength. As the majority of shipping banks were European (72% of global ship finance in December 2013), Petrofin Bank Research (c) the difficulty of European banks had a pronounced and adverse effect on Greek ship lending.

To add insult to injury, three of shipping champions of previous years i.e.

RBS, HSH and Commerzbank were under immense pressure to downsize their shipping portfolios and/or leave ship lending altogether.

During this time, some banks stood out for either lending counter-cyclically or standing their ground as ship finance providers. These were mainly DVB, ABN AMRO, Credit Suisse and ING among European banks and China Exim, CDB, and Korean Exim, from the Far Eastern banks.

A classic West-East divide took place with shipping credit being more readily available in the Far East, where a large number of small to meDry bulkResearch© lead the wayare with a 12-month (March 2013 to March 2014) dium left banks supported local merged, clients. The same648 wascompanies not true in the West to Another 20 companies have shipping or have leaving compared Petrofin pleased to announce 668 last (GRAPH 1). recovery of of 41.4% in vessel and 52.3% (fromyear.

Shipping for any but the biggest and often publicly quoted companies. the release the first part ofvalues their 2015 Greekin freights Intelligence Inc. – 1st April 2014, below).

With overall6.shipping Shipping research.

This year marks the 18th Overageconfidence fleets of 20 years+ are down again biggest worldwide. That commitment has been Greek ship it had been most hit as the rising to record heights (Moore Stephens) and with the sector’s progressof 35 For year of Petrofin Research into Greek shipping. to 231, a reduction fleets in the lastfinance, year. in particular, assisted by many joint ventures withbiggest private lenders exited the market at precisely the time when Greek newbuilding picking up, one would have expected banks to be rushing headlong into Since 2011, the overage fleets of 20+ years equity funds or between companies.

A. RESULTS A GLANCE orders and44%. second-hand purchases accelerated. the Greektobanks new shipping AT loans and for competition to among banks havegrow. fallen from 411 to 231, or by 13. The above trends With are expected continue 1. This year’s results reconfirm that Greek unable to provide new shipover finance by the of smaller Euro7. Interestingly, 15-19 year old vessel fleets the and nextcaught year, with thedifficulties number of shipping going through a period propean banks owners declining turned to the remaining few active With rareisexceptions though ,this isof not, however, what theof 13.95% are happened up by 12, and a rise since as lasta whole, Greek companies sharply. nounced lenders,atodecline Far Eastern lenders (linked only to shipbuilding orders) and, question growth is: why?in its fleet and consolidation year. In 2014 they had showed of in the number of Greek owners. increasingly, to US private equity fundsSHIPPING (PEFs). COMPANIES AND 10.41%.

B. GREEK 2.The Fewer companies down to 648 from 8. The with verytheir young fleets (0-9 years of age) THEIR NUMBERS answer lies with by the20, banks themselves.

Commencing 668, a 2.99% annualmany decline. continue Their increase of 6.78% (189 In PEFs this part of for ourmany research, the compoAs the finance gap widened, were Greekwhere owners often shipping exposures, banks had nurtured weaker clientsto in rise. the hope 3.of25+ fleets constitute now well over though, fleets) than last year’s 9.94% sitionofofwhat the Greek shipping is anathe only way increase. to take advantage promised to be acompany healthy shipping suchvessel a recovery.

The process of recovery, could is notless work mirahalf the GreekIt total in takes DWT time termsto(58.38%), 9. Smaller companies 1-2 vessel fleets) lysed, we but noteoften that scoured there has been for an opporoverall clesofovernight. simply work out difficult loans and improve (with recovery.

PEFs were not only active Greece and the number of the companies that run continue reduce. Sincetunities 2011, to theco-invest total numdecline in the total believing number ofthat Greek shipping the health of a bank’s loan portfolio. The recovery needs to betosustained and lend to Greek owners the anticithem has grown to 41 compared to 40 in 2014 companies 2009. hasvolatile fallen from 350 topated 262 (down 25%). and the recent fall in dry bulk freights demonstrated ber the still nature shipping recovery would provide since them with the high returns they and 35 in 2013.

Of course, the advantages of Ventures economies of 10.

Over the last 18 years of Petrofin Reof the recovery. In addition, from a common shipping approach by the have been seeking. The result was an explosion of Joint most 4. The big are getting bigger and younger. scale have been instrumental in setting a will search, athe overall number of Greek compaboards of major banks to be cautious to achange, involving willingness of which investing in eco-friendly vessels of new designs that is hoped The top category of 25+ vessel fleets aged nies has declined by 30%. to expand, one needs time. be the vessels of the future.long-term trend of consolidation in the number 0-9 years keeps expanding significantly of companies whilst strongly supporting the 11. Whilst fleet consolidation in terms of the from 124,048,654 tons DWT in 2014 to bigger owners. The last 7 years, however, total Greek owners is still taking place, the A second factor that many shipping banks had what they believed to Characteristically, according to Tufton Oceanic data, on a global basis 154,332,959 tonsis DWT in 2015 (up over 30m have been immersed in a most enduring shipoverall fleet DWT size is growing fast and be aDWT higherorthan desired overall shippingthat exposure needed time to between January 2002 and January 2014, the share of global mortgage tons 24.41%).

The companies run and its average age is still falling (this year, from ping recession and continuing drying up of reduce to acceptable via client lending of the world fleet and orderbook fell from 43% to 36%. The above them areit up to 24 from levels 22 in 2014 andloan to 14repayments.

13.25 to 12.73 years). bank ship finance, except towards big clients. third factor is that banks had set up very strict criteria for lending resultwas even more pronounced in Greece. There are no hard data for the inA 2013.

12. Despite the last 7 years of difficult market These pressures contribute to the reduction of in too transactions requirements Greek shipping exposure by PEF, but we believe that there are over 40 5.ing Over 1mfew tonpotential owners loan constitute 76.7%meeting of the such conditions, limited bank finance and bleak the number of Greek shipping firms, especially Joint in place With the interests primarily in drybulk and then total fleet, up from 74% in 2014 and 71.33% in prospects for most sectors, theVentures Greek fleet has today. among smaller owners.

2013. Their number is now 68 from 63 in 2014 expanded and it now stands at just over 16% However, although at first glance this looks and 61 and 2013. of the world fleet (UNCTAD), making it the like a decline in Greek shipping, the fleet itself

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

Financial Focus is expanding fast, is getting younger and the larger owners are growing even bigger. These developments will be mostly discussed in our second part of our Petrofin Research Š, which analyses in depth the Greek fleet.

C. GREEK SHIPPING COMPANIES AND THEIR FLEET SIZE To facilitate the analysis, please note that Greek companies are divided into the following fleet SIZE groups: Group A (25+ vessels fleets), Group B (16-24 vessels fleets), Group C (9-15 vessels fleets), Group D (5-8 vessels fleets), Group E (3-4 vessels fleets), Group F (1-2 vessels fleets) Therefore, between 1998 and 2015, the breakdown of the actual numbers per Fleet Size Group has been as shown in TABLE 1.

The overall number of Greek shipping companies is down by 20; at their lowest point since our records began. This further fall is translated into -3% on a yoy basis. (TABLE 1)

OBSERVATIONS (GRAPH 2) a. 1-2 vessel companies are down by 12 and so are the 3-4 vessel companies. Very few moved to the 5-8 category, but it is obvious that the pressures of a bad market, ageing of vessels and total lack of shipfinance for their size, is taking its toll. b. On the other end of the spectrum, 16-24 vessel segment has risen and the 25+ vessel fleets not only held but even slightly increased. This is mainly due to a number of these owners growing larger via newbuildings and second-hand purchases, taking advantage of the plunging vessel prices, as well as forming partnerships with private equity funds. They are also the only remaining customers of traditional shipfinancing banks.

COMPANY FLEETS IN TERMS OF TONNAGE The total DWT of the entire Greek fleet in 2015 is 328,254,495 tons DWT, compared to 303,579,176 in 2014 and 281,467,983 in 2013. This increase by just over 8% is distributed in a totally different way to that of company numbers, as shown in Table 3.

The biggest fleets (25+ vessels) increased their market share to 58.38% of the entire Greek fleet.

16-24 vessel fleets now hold 12.62% of the Greek fleet. Greek fleet expansion is primarily and almost entirely a top fleet matter as shown in TABLE 3.

In the pie charts in Graph 3 Wwe observe how the above top 2 tiers have grown in terms of millions of tons. 25+vessel fleets leapt up by 14.58%, from 167,242,388 tons DWT to 191,621,179, and 16-24 vessel fleets went up by 16.48% from 35,578,298 to 41,441,992 tons DWT.

Financial Focus

Comments: In the smallest 1-2 vessel fleets, the oldest vessels of over 20 years of age show a decline of 31.67%. The youngest vessel section, however, show a remarkable increase to 2,952,106 tons DWT, i.e. an increase of 59.19%.

The focus of fleet renewal by the 3-4 vessel owners has been on increasing the 0-9 year old tonnage.

The 5-8 vessel strong owners of 15-19 year old fleets have increased by an impressive 285.77%, reducing mainly the 20+ year old fleets by 26.77%. The dramatic reductions in the prices of these vessels have encouraged primarily cash purchases of this age range.

The interesting events in the 9-15 vessel ) fleets occur in the 20+, 1519 and 10-14 year old fleets.

These have slashed practically by half. The 0-9 year old ones show an increase of 11%. The whole group is down 6.2m tons DWT. Nearly 6m tons DWT have been added to the 16-24 vessel fleet group. The over 20 year olds have almost totally disappeared, and the 0-9 year olds have increased by 24.5%.

24m tons have been added to the biggest Greek fleet.

In the biggest 25+ vessel fleets, the remarkable event is the increase by 1.8tons DWT in the 20+ age range.

The youngest fleets also have increased by 24.41% and the rest show a decrease between 20-28%.

In Table 2 below, we note the percentage of the Greek fleet held by shipping companies in terms of the number of vessels they own. More big fleets of 16+ vessels than ever before.

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

Financial Focus

Comments: Compared to the Pie Charts above (Graph 3) we note that in the 25+ vessel fleets the 3 existing ones with the 20+ year old fleets are the ones that increased their tonnage by 1.8m tons DWT. The trend towards younger fleets is obvious.

6.32% of the Greek companies are those with 25+ vessels and they hold 58.38% of the whole Greek tonnage.

The smaller companies (1-4 vessels) are reducing, albeit at a slow rate. It is expected that they will start reducing at a faster rate as finance for fleet renewal is unavailable and with the introduction of new regulations.

1M TON DWT COMPANIES

This year, the owners with over 1m DWT are 68, whose characteristics are shown in the following Table:

OBSERVATIONS a. The most eye catching development is the increase in the number of vessels and tonnage added. b. Again, the average vessel DWT is slightly reduced, which shows that even smaller vessels were purchased in the spree of this year. c. The age has gone down. d. Ton millionaires are strengthening their share of the Greek fleet.

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

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Financial Focus E. GREEK SHIPPING COMPANIES AND THEIR FLEET AGE The overall age of the fleet is down by half a year, to 12.72 from 13.25 in 2014 and from 14.05 in 2013. The downward trend has been as follows: 12.72 in 2015, 13.25 in 2014, 14.05 in 2013, 14.7 years in 2012, 15.9 years in 2011, 16.64 years in 2010, 17.6 in 2009, 18.4 in 2008, 18.71 in 2007, 19.14 in 2006 and 23 years in 2005.

THE OVERAGE FLEET The percentage of vessels of 30 years and above has reduced to 9.55% (in terms of units) this year from 24.54% in 2011 to 12.54% in 2012 to 11.68% in 2013 to 10.88% in 2014.

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

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Financial Focus

F. TRENDS AND PROSPECTS This year’s Petrofin Research © reaffirms the trend by Greek shipping for fewer companies but owning on average larger fleets and involving younger and larger sized vessels.

Finance and capital opportunities are only available to large companies, which have invested heavily in modern eco vessels. Consequently, the big owners are pulling away from small owners, who are finding the going tough, unaided by the poor shipping markets and the dearth of finance and capital. Middle sized companies have had a mixed performance.

An additional trend has been the emphasis on young vessels. This has been observed in all size segments, even in those involving small owners.

This year, a third of very small owners (1 – 2 vessel fleets) and nearly half of small owners (3 – 4 vessel fleets) based on DWT, demonstrate a clear commitment towards younger fleets (0 – 9 years old). A continuing development has been the relatively large number of new companies formed by the offshoots of large family companies providing younger family

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members with an opportunity to follow their own way. These companies may start in a small way but possess all the quality characteristics and commitment to grow over time.

There is increasing evidence that economies of scale have weighed heavily in the progress of Greek shipping companies. This has become readily apparent, especially over the last six years, as the markets have been largely poor and the consolidation trend has reaffirmed its course.

It is interesting to observe that this consolidation process slows down or reverses during very strong markets, only to resume its trend, when markets subside.

US equity funds continue to shape Greek shipping. By co-investing in young vessels and newbuildings, these funds are propelling Greek shipping upwards. Their effect can also be seen in the size of Greek companies, as they assist them to grow and break out of their original size limits. A case in point is Star Bulk, which had been propelled to a colossus of over 100 vessels, by the actions of its main shareholder, Oaktree, as a result of its consolidation of its investments in shipping e.g. Excel fleet.

nafs March 2014

51

Financial Focus G. METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES – RESEARCH CRITERIA METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES Petrofin Research © has been publishing for 18 consecutive years the detailed profile of the entire Greek-owned/ Greek-based Shipping Companies and Fleets. Thus, a trend line since 1998 has been established regarding the overall number of Greek Shipping Companies as well as their fluctuation and profile in terms of size of company and the respective age of their fleets.

The basic sources used for this study is the 2015 Greek Shipping Directory, the weekly Newsfront Greek Shipping Intelligence right up to beginning October 2015, crossreferenced with the on-line updates of the Greek Shipping Directory and with Clarkson’s World Fleet Register, as well as market sources. As we do every year, market reports and data on Greek fleets are extensively used to double-check fleet and company data, as well as numerous additional industry sources that we use every year.

Our total industry data covers all vessels and all vessel types included in the total statistics for Greekbased shipping and shipping companies. However, in the second part, specific research is conducted separately into tankers, bulkers and container vessels, LNGs and LPGs. RESEARCH CRITERIA 1. Only the Greek-owned/Greek-based fleets are taken into consideration. This also includes the Groups that operate abroad, provided they have an office in Greece.

2. Regarding US and UK listed companies initiated/promoted/managed by Greek interests, which also hold a Greek presence, these are included in our research.

3. We have taken into account newbuildings that have a date of delivery up to and including 2016 only, as it is not certain that all Greek newbuilding orders beyond 2016 shall materialise, due to cancellations, sales and delays.

Due to the difficult dry bulk and container markets, the outlook for such private equity fleets is uncertain.

There is a large part of Greek shipping that still relies on the support of the banks to survive. The cash flow generated from ship ownership has often been short of the bank’s requirements and, consequently, loan restructures continue to take place. Here, we must give due credit to the banks, which have shown patience, realism, as well as trust towards their clients. Nevertheless, some banks have started to apply strong pressure on their non performing clients to sell and such pressure is expected to increase.

The long awaited shipping portfolios sale has not materialised with a bang but piece by piece. Via a policy of restructuring new loans, loan repayments and some loan portfolio sales, the ship finance industry is fundamentally changing, whereby European banks (with the exception of Dutch and Swiss banks) are largely contracting and Far Eastern and other banks are, generally, expanding. (Please see the latest Petrofin Bank Research © at www.petrofin.gr).

The current order book consists of approximately 476 vessels (Clarkson’s World Fleet Register, October 2015), and 30 out of 103 owners have ordered 60% of these vessels. Those owners are considered the strongest in financial terms. Although newbuilding finance is becoming less scarce,. the cost of securing a bank’s loan commitment is high. It is estimated that above half of all Greek orders with delivery from 2016 onwards, remain unfinanced.

The continuing fall in dry bulk values on the one hand and the enhanced prospects in the tanker markets on the other, may signal a shift by Greek owners towards the tanker and container markets. Although, shipping equity funds slowed down their involvement in the last 2 quarters, their

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underlying interest in Greek shipping remains unaffected and they are simply looking for better investment opportunities. At this time, a dichotomy in owners’ sentiment has developed. Although, privately most owners are concerned over the outlook of the shipping markets, due to the effects of the order book, the oversupply of vessels, as well as the effects of international conflict and trade restrictions, their appetite for newbuilding orders and vessel purchases continues. The only explanation seems to be that large owners believe that such investments represent long term good value for money and that a shipping recovery may not be that far away. It appears that the Greek economic crisis and threat of higher taxes has so far not adversely affected Greek owners’ expansion plans which may materialize from within Greece or outside it.

We wish to point out that unlike in previous cases, where wars, earthquakes etc. brought about a rebuilding boom, the recent conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Ukraine etc., have not subsided and these areas represent trade-poor countries with little activity. International trade, heavily hampered by China’s financial growth showdown, is affected by the current world wide sentiment of insecurity and it is, therefore, very difficult to predict whether we will return any time soon to the older patterns of cyclicality with strong international trade growth opportunities.

A greater focus on solving these problem areas, as well as reducing trade restrictions and embargos is required for international trade to grow, which is a prerequisite for a sustained shipping recovery.

Lastly, we envisage that the Greek fleet will continue to grow but at a reduced pace, on account of the slowdown of new orders and the postponement and delayed deliveries of existing orders. Due to the adverse economic, financial and political condition, it is expected that the consolidation of Greek shipping shall continue at an accelerated pace.

nafs March 2014

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Market News

DNV GL’s Green Coastal Shipping The future of Programme wins Lloyd’s List classification – DNV GL publishes Environment Award new rule set The new DNV GL rules for classification of ships will be publicly available online for the first time today. After an unprecedented development and review process, involving 250 internal experts and more than 800 customers and maritime stakeholders, the rules set a new benchmark. The result of the combined experience and expertise of two leading classification societies, the new rules are modern, easy to work with, industrydriven, efficient, and ready for the future. “This is an historic moment,” says Remi Eriksen, DNV GL Group President and CEO. “After such a thorough process it is very exciting to launch the new DNV GL classification rules. The engagement of our customers and industry stakeholders has been overwhelming. From our initial discussions, through the review and external hearing process we have received invaluable input and we are deeply grateful for the consideration and enthusiasm of all involved. I look forward to following the many joint development projects using the new classification rules already underway,” Eriksen says.

“I’m proud we took advantage of the unique opportunity to have a fresh look at our rules and have created a new industry benchmark,” says Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO DNV GL – Maritime. “The dedication of our customers has been outstanding. Together with them we have truly taken up the challenge of taking classification into the future. I believe this new rule set gives us an even better basis to deliver the safety, efficiency and quality our customers expect.”

Through the process of developing the new DNV GL rules over 7,000 pages were reviewed, both internally and externally. In all, more than 2,000 detailed comments by yards, manufacturers, owners, academics, flag states and other maritime stakeholders were submitted.

This extensive consultation process resulted in more than 700 rule modifications – adjustments triggered directly by the industry’s expertise.

One of the most significant advances in the new rules is the introduction of Equivalent Design Waves (EDW) to calculate environmental loads. EDW enables a more accurate representation of these loads and consequently a more precise stress description of a vessel’s structure.

The reworking of the rules has allowed DNV GL to incorporate and integrate more modern tools and software, making them responsive to future developments. The rules also support the application of the latest technologies including battery installations and hybrid propulsion concepts, gas-fuelled readiness and LNG bunkering vessels through additional class notations.

The new DNV GL rules will enter into force on 1 January 2016.

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DNV GL received the HPH Environment Award for its leadership of the Green Coastal Shipping Programme at the Lloyd’s List Global Awards 2015 ceremony in London last night. The programme aims to encourage the development and implementation of green technology concepts in Norway’s coastal and short-sea shipping sector.

“The Green Coastal Shipping Programme has been designed as a world showcase for green coastal shipping, illustrating how we can take new technologies and, by building solid green business cases, implement them more broadly. The award shows that we are on the right track and that our initiative has gained international attention,” Narve Mjøs says, adding that he has been invited to speak to the Swedish Parliament later this month about the possibility of launching a similar programme in Sweden.

Five pilot projects DNV GL and 31 partners from the Norwegian maritime industry and the Norwegian authorities recently presented five pilot projects that are now pursued as part of the programme. The pilot projects include several different ship types and infrastructure with an emphasis on alternative fuel concepts: - CargoFerry plug-in hybrid, led by the shipping company Nor Lines - Next-generation green shuttle tanker, led by the shipping company Teekay - Hybrid ocean farming vessel, led by ABB & Cargo Freighters’ Association - Conversion of cargo carrier into battery-hybrid LNG carrier, led by NGA & Øytank Bunkerservice - Pioneering green port project, led by Risavika Harbour Green Coastal Shipping Programme partners: Norwegian Ship Owners’ Association Cargo Freighters’ Association Nor Lines ABB Energy Norway The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise GasNor Statoil Federation of Norwegian Industries DNV GL Teekay Shipping Norway Norwegian Gas Association Norwegian Electric Systems Inpower The NOx fund RollsRoyce Norway Post Norled Kongsberg Maritime KS Bedrift Risavika Harbour Damen Shipyards Norway GMC Maritime Battery Forum ZEM Ministry of Climate and Environment Ministry of Trade and Industry and Fisheries Innovation Norway Norwegian Public Roads Administration National Transport Plan Norwegian Coastal Administration Norwegian Maritime Authority Image: Tjerk de Vries, DNV GL Region Manager West Europe & Africa (middle), receives the Environment award from Simon Mullett, Chief Financial Officer, HPH Europe (left) with awards host Huw Edwards (right).

Market News

BUREAU VERITAS Marine Division celebrated Grand Opening in Limassol Bureau Veritas (Cyprus) Ltd welcomed a large number of guests at its inauguration party at its premises in Limassol. Prominent Cypriot ship owners as well as big names of the Greek Shipping Community were present to welcome Bureau Veritas to the neighborhood.

Although the operation of the new Marine Office will commence in January 2016, the opening reception took place on Monday, September 14th, in parallel to the Cyprus Maritime Conference.

Inspectorate, the flagship of the Bureau Veritas Commodities Division will also commence next January the operation of their petrochemical laboratory in the industrial area close to Vasilikos. The lab is equipped with the latest and greatest line of equipment. The initial staff of ten, which is expected to grow to thirty in the near future, will specialize in performing oil analyses & testing.

“Cyprus is a great place for doing shipping business.

Bureau Veritas could not be absent from the home of the 3rd largest fleet in Europe comprising 2200 vessels. We could not be away from the home of the 2nd largest ship management center in the world” commented Lambros A. Chahalis, RCE of Bureau Veritas, who emphasized the productive co-operation with

the flag State administration of Cyprus, as regards both the shipping companies statutory certification, as well as a wide spectrum of ISO certification services rendered to domestic industries on a voluntary basis.

From left to right: Scott Bergeron, CEO of Liberia Registry, Michalis Pantazopoulos, Lambros A. Chahalis, Paillette Palaiologou

Η Celestyal Cruises συνεχίζει τη δυναμική της πορεία Η Celestyal Cruises συνεχίζει τη δυναμική της πορεία για τη νέα περίοδο επεκτείνοντας για ακόμη δύο χρόνια τα προγράμματά της σε προορισμούς στο Αιγαίο και τα παράλια της Τουρκίας. Ένα νέο πλοίο με το όνομα Celestyal Nefeli (πρώην Gemini), θα αντικαταστήσει το Celestyal Odyssey, του οποίου η σύμβαση ναύλωσης θα ολοκληρωθεί τέλος Οκτωβρίου. Το όνομα «Νεφέλη» προέρχεται από την ελληνική μυθολογία και συνάδει απόλυτα με τη στρατηγική τοποθέτηση της εταιρείας. Σύμφωνα με την αρχαία παράδοση η Νεφέλη ήταν θεά της φιλοξενίας και Νύμφη των νεφών. Το Celestyal Nefeli θα πραγματοποιεί για τα επόμενα δύο χρόνια τις δημοφιλείς τριήμερες και τετραήμερες κρουαζιέρες της Celestyal Cruises με την ονομασία «Εικονικό Αιγαίο», στοχεύοντας στην αύξηση της ροής επισκεπτών από την Τουρκία προς τα ελληνικά νησιά. Το πλοίο έχει το ιδανικό μέγεθος, όπως και τα Celestyal Crystal και το Celestyal Olympia, για να προσεγγίζει στα μικρότερα, αλλά μοναδικά λιμάνια,

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που βρίσκονται κατά μήκος της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου. Αυτοί οι μοναδικοί προορισμοί αποτελούν μέρος της στρατηγικής της Celestyal Cruises με στόχο να δημιουργήσει νέες προοπτικές για την κρουαζιέρα στη Μεσόγειο, κάτι το οποίο η εταιρεία θα συνεχίσει και το 2016. Ο κος Κυριάκος Αναστασιάδης, Διευθύνων Σύμβουλος της Celestyal Cruises, δήλωσε σχετικά: «Καλωσορίζουμε το Celestyal Nefeli στο στόλο της εταιρείας μας. Είμαστε χαρούμενοι που η σκληρή δουλειά των τελευταίων χρόνων έχει θετικό αντίκτυπο και αποτέλεσμα σε όλες τις αγορές που δραστηριοποιούμαστε. Είμαστε σίγουροι ότι και αυτό το πλοίο θα ανταποκριθεί απόλυτα στη φιλοσοφία μας που είναι η έμφαση στην αυθεντική ελληνική φιλοξενία και κουλτούρα, προσωπική, ζεστή εξυπηρέτηση καθώς και επίσκεψη σε ξεχωριστούς προορισμούς». Το Celestyal Nefeli (πρώην Gemini), με χωρητικότητα 1.074 επιβατών, κατασκευάστηκε το 1992 από την Union Naval de Levante SA

στη Βαλένθια, στην Ισπανία. Θα παραδοθεί πλήρως ανακαινισμένο στη Celestyal Cruises το Φεβρουάριο του 2016 πριν από την έναρξη της νέας τουριστικής περιόδου. Από τις 400 καμπίνες του πλοίου (277 εξωτερικές και 123 εσωτερικές), οι 43 είναι ευρύχωρες σουίτες : οι περισσότερες από τις οποίες έχουν ιδιωτικά μπαλκόνια, ενώ κάποιες διαθέτουν και επιπλέον αποθηκευτικό χώρο. Τα προγράμματα της Celestyal Cruises για το 2016 έχουν ανακοινωθεί και είναι διαθέσιμα στο www.celestyalcruises.com.

Market News

Άνοιγμα στις ναυτιλιακές αγορές Ινδίας και Ρωσίας από ΕPE και ERMA FIRST

Άνοιγμα στη ναυτιλιακή αγορά της Ινδίας αλλά και της Ρωσίας πραγματοποιούν οι εταιρείες Τεχνική Προστασίας Περιβάλλοντος Α.Ε. (EPE) και Erma First. Οι ταχέως αναπτυσσόμενες ελληνικές εταιρείες που εξειδικεύονται στη κατασκευή ναυτιλιακού εξοπλισμού και στη προστασία του θαλάσσιου περιβάλλοντος, αναπτύσσουν περαιτέρω τους επιχειρηματικούς τους δεσμούς με τις δύο αναδυόμενες οικονομίες. Στο πλαίσιο της εξωστρέφειας που τις χαρακτηρίζει οι δύο εταιρείες συμμετείχαν, ως οι μοναδικές αμιγώς ελληνικές εταιρείες, στην διεθνή έκθεση NEVA 2015 που πραγματοποιήθηκε από τις 22 μέχρι τις 25 Σεπτεμβρίου 2015 στην Αγία Πετρούπολη στη Ρωσία, ενώ στην μεγαλύτερη ναυτιλιακή έκθεση της Ινδίας, στην INMEX INDIA που έγινε στις 24-25 Σεπτεμβρίου 2015 παρουσίασε τις υπηρεσίες της η Τεχνική Προστασίας Περιβάλλοντος Α.Ε. Στις δύο εκθέσεις τα περίπτερα του ομίλου επισκέφτηκαν στελέχη ναυπηγείων, ναυτιλιακών εταιρειών, αλλά και συναφών επιχειρήσεων προκειμένου να γνωρίσουν από κοντά τις υπηρεσίες και τα προϊόντα που προσφέρουν οι δύο εταιρείες. Πραγματοποιήθηκαν σειρά συναντήσεων B2B, κατά τη διάρκεια των οποίων παρουσιάστηκαν οι καινοτόμες τεχνολογίες τόσο της EPE όσο και της Erma First.

Οι δύο εταιρείες

Η EPE ιδρύθηκε το 1977 και σήμερα αποτελεί μια από τις κορυφαίες εταιρείες αντιμετώπισης θαλάσσιας και βιομηχανικής ρύπανσης. Από την ίδρυσή της έως σήμερα η EPE έχει αντιμετωπίσει επιτυχώς περισσότερα από 2000 περιστατικά ρύπανσης και έχει υπογράψει 45 Συμβάσεις Προστασίας Θαλάσσιου Περιβάλλοντος με τις μεγαλύτερες βιομηχανίες της Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης. Δεν είναι τυχαίο που μέσα σε λίγα χρόνια η EPE κέρδισε την εμπιστοσύνη των αρχών, του βιομηχανικού και του ναυτιλιακού κόσμου. Η EPE είναι η μόνη εταιρεία στην Ελλάδα η οποία έπειτα από διεθνή διαγωνισμό το 2008 σύναψε συμβόλαιο με τον Ευρωπαϊκό Οργανισμό Ναυτικής Ασφάλειας (EMSA) και για τον σκοπό αυτό διαθέτει αντιρρυπαντικό

δεξαμενόπλοιο, το M/T- OIL SPILL RECOVERY VESSEL (Δ/Ξ Πλοίο Περισυλλογής Πετρελαίου) AKTEA OSRV, το οποίο είναι σε θέση να αντιμετωπίσει ρυπάνσεις πετρελαιοειδών μεγάλης κλίμακας στην περιοχή της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου. Το Δ/Ξ AKTEA OSRV με τον πρωτοποριακό σχεδιασμό και τις αυξημένες δυνατότητες βραβεύτηκε ως «Πλοίο της Χρονιάς» στον εγνωσμένου κύρους διαγωνισμό «Greek Shipping Awards» που διοργανώνει το Lloyds List. H EPE διαθέτει στόλο πλοίων skimmer, τα οποία είναι αναγνωρισμένα από έγκριτους οργανισμούς ως το καλύτερο μέσο αντιμετώπισης πετρελαιοκηλίδων. Η ERMA FIRST είναι μια εταιρεία με έδρα την Ελλάδα, η οποία ιδρύθηκε το 2009 και παρέχει ολοκληρωμένες λύσεις στην παγκόσμια ναυτική, ναυτιλιακή και ναυπηγική βιομηχανία, προσφέροντας το πρωτοποριακό Σύστημα Επεξεργασίας Θαλάσσιου Έρματος ERMA FIRST. Το σύστημα της ERMA FIRST είναι βασισμένο στην ηλεκτρόλυση πλήρους ροής, δίνοντας τρεις επιλογές φίλτρανσης: 1. Χρήση Υδροκυκλώνων για υψηλή απόδοση απομάκρυνσης στερεών 2. Με φίλτρο αυτόματης έκπλυσης με δυνατότητα φίλτρανσης μέχρι 40μm (σύστημα νέας γενιάς) 3. Με εξαιρετικά μικρού όγκου φίλτρο αυτόματης έκπλυσης με δυνατότητα φίλτρανσης μέχρι 40μm (σύστημα νέας γενιάς) Το σύστημα νέας γενιάς για πλοία μετασκευής, εγγυάται μέγιστη απόδοση, ελάχιστο καταλαμβανόμενο χώρο, εντυπωσιακή δυνατότητα προσαρμογής ακόμα και στους πιο δύσκολους και στενούς χώρους του πλοίου.Συστήματα ERMA FIRST έχουν αναλάβει να εγκαταστήσουν σε πλοία που κατασκευάζουν τα μεγαλύτερα ναυπηγεία του κόσμου. Στην Ιαπωνία τα Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Kitanihon Shipbuilding, στην Ν. Κορέα τα HMD, Samsung, Hanjin, στην Κίνα τα Jiangsu New Yangzijiang, Ouhua, στη Ρουμανία το DMHI και στη Τουρκία στο Yachtley Shipyard.

DESMI’s New Step into Poland o strengthen its local presence in Poland DESMI established a company in Warsaw on 1 September 2015. Poland is a very important growth market to DESMI in all business segments, i.e. marine & offshore, industry, oil spill response, defence & fuel, and utility. “We have done business in Poland for many years, and by setting up a DESMI entity in Poland we are able to offer direct local service to our customers and in this way ensure growth in activity and market presence, focusing on liquid-handling solutions and proven technology,” says Henrik Sørensen. Local Presence Supports the Global Strategy “DESMI

has offices in 16 countries around the world, and our equipment is sold to more than 100 countries via a network of subsidiaries and distributors on six continents - and more are to come. We consider it important to be close to our customers, understanding their needs and providing the right solutions locally,” Henrik Sørensen continues. For the new company in Poland, DESMI has employed Mr. Dariusz Kozieł as General Sales Manager. Dariusz Kozieł is an experienced person in the pump industry and has more than 16 years of experience in Poland - a strategic market for DESMI.

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Market News

DNV GL classed world’s first fully electrical ferry Ampere wins Ship Efficiency Award

The first purely battery-driven car and passenger ferry Ampere has won the Ship Efficiency Award in the category Environmental Technology. The award recognizes innovative solu-

tions which have contributed to reducing the environmental impact of shipping operations.

The 80 metre long DNV GL classed vessel is one of three ferries operated by the Norwegian shipping company Norled between Lavik and Oppedal and is able to carry 120 cars and 360 passengers. “Ampere is trading in Sognefjord with 100 per cent regularity and consumes 50 per cent less energy compared with a traditional diesel ferry on the same route. It has proven to be a huge success for Norled,” said Claes Skat-Rørdam of award sponsor Hempel on behalf of the judges.

Tord Helland, Finance Director at Norled, accepted the award in London yesterday. “The Ship Efficiency Award is not only recognition for the hard work we have done with our project partners, but it also confirms our efforts and contribution to the global climate goals by reducing air pollution,” Helland said. “An electrical ferry that can save up to one million litres of fuel annually, thereby preventing 2,640 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, can make a strong statement in this regard.” Ampere runs 34 times a day with a crossing time of 20 minutes. Between the trips the 1MWh lithium-polymer battery pack on board can be charged in only ten minutes.

“We are honoured that Ampere has received this internationally coveted award,” said Stephen Bligh, Head of Shipping Advisory

UK at DNV GL. “As a classification society, together with the shipyard Fjellstrand and the various technology providers, we have helped to make the vision of operator Norled happen and demonstrated that new clean technologies don’t compromise market competitiveness.”

Ampere has been awarded the DNV GL class notation 1A1 LC R4 (nor) Car Ferry C Battery Power. The notation is mandatory for vessels that use batteries as one of their main sources – or the sole source – of energy for propulsion. DNV GL has also developed several services to promote battery and hybrid technology in shipping, such as a guideline for large maritime battery systems, a new tool for qualifying battery-related systems, a battery ready service (technical, economic and environmental performance analyses), battery sizing and optimization tools and an introduction course to maritime battery systems.

Caption: Tord Helland, Finance Director at Norled (right), together with Stephen Bligh (left), Head of Shipping Advisory UK at DNV GL, received the Ship Efficiency Award for the world’s first purely batterydriven passenger and car ferry Ampere in the category Environmental Technology at London International Shipping Week.

(Credit: DNV GL)

Five pilot projects for Green Coastal Shipping programme chosen DNV GL and 25 partners from the Norwegian maritime industry and the Norwegian authorities have presented the five pilot projects that will be pursued as part of Norway’s Green Coastal Shipping Programme. The programme aims to encourage the research and implementation of green technology concepts in the country’s shipping sector.

The pilot projects include several different ship types, and infrastructure with an emphasis on alternative fuel concepts. “When we launched the Green Coastal Shipping Programme, we said we wanted to make Norway a world showcase for green coastal shipping. With these five pioneering pilot projects we are well on our way,” says Programme Director Narve Mjøs.

You can find al the details of the programme in the following link: https://www.dnvgl.com/ news/five-pilot-projects-for-green-coastalshipping-programme-chosen-39258

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Caption: The first pilot project, CargoFerry Plug-in Hybrid, aims to develop a cost-effective and profitable short-sea container ship that is powered by a plug-in hybrid LNG/battery propulsion system.

Market News

Greek shipping company committing to early compliance with ship recycling regulations Minerva Marine Inc. has chosen Hellenic Lloyd’s S.A. to work together in the IHM certification project for a fleet of 37 ships.

Operating a young fleet ranging from MRs to VLCCs in the tanker segment and Cape size in the bulker segment, Minerva Marine Inc. is committed in achieving the best possible operational result, whilst steadily maintaining the position of an ‘early adopter’ of forthcoming legislation.

Within this cadre of operational excellence, the decision to embark on an IHM certification programme for a number of 37 ships has been a strategic one.

that facilitates easy reference, update and maintenance. The IHM project will remain active through onboard audits that will verify that the situation with installed hazardous materials has not changed or been compromised since the initial review, survey and the assignment of the relevant Descriptive Notation.

The Martinos family-owned shipping company has foreseen the impact of the ship recycling regulations on the existing tonnage and made the leading step in being among the first shipping companies in the Greek market to pursue certification of the Inventories of Hazardous Materials (IHM) onboard a wide range of capacity of tankers and bulk carriers.

Mr Stavros Daniolos/Technical Manager and Ms Maria Sotiriou/Senior Environmental Engineer commented ‘Our decision to choose a profound Organisation like Lloyd’s Register, with proven expertise in ship recycling standards, is fully aligned with the company’s objective to consistently achieving high levels of environmental excellence.

This way we are always at the forefront and ready to meet the needs of our customers, dictating continuous improvement and adoption of new sound practices’.

The contract relates to the office based review and approval of the IHMs to verify they meet the requirements of the ‘Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, Regulation 5.2 for Existing Ships’. A Statement of Compliance shall be issued for each ship participating in the IHM approval scheme and shall remain onboard at all times along with the Inventory, which will be available in the unique Lloyd’s Register electronic template; in a dynamic pdf format

Anastasia Kouvertari/Senior Environmental Business Development Specialist highlighted the importance of this cooperation by saying ‘Hellenic Lloyd’s is proud to work with Minerva Marine as partners in this project. Applying the principles of review and IHM certification in such a large scale fleet will significantly facilitate the company in gaining insight in the identification and management of hazardous materials; progressing their vision of greening the life cycle of their assets’.

Νέες παραγγελίες από τον Όμιλο Αγγελικούση “Δυναμικό παρόν” στις ναυπηγικές παραγγελίες στην Άπω Ανατολή δηλώνουν οι εταιρείες της HEMEXPO οι οποίες παρά την κρίση που περνάει η χώρα και τους περιορισμούς των capital controls κατάφεραν να αποσπάσουν παραγγελίες αξίας αρκετών εκατ. Δολλαρίων. Ειδικότερα σχεδόν ένα χρόνο μετά από την ίδρυση της HEMEXPO, τέσσερις εταιρείες μέλη της, οι ALUMINOX, FARAD, KLEEMANN και D. KORONAKIS κατάφεραν και επικράτησαν του παγκόσμιου ανταγωνισμού υπογράφοντας σειρά συμβολαίων για την προμήθεια ναυτιλιακού εξοπλισμού σε υπό ναυπήγηση πλοία της MARAN GAS του Ομίλου Αγγελικούση, που υλοποιείται στα ναυπηγεία της Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries και της Daewoo SME στην Κορέα. H KLEEMANN με την υπογραφή του συγκεκριμένου έργου έκανε δυναμική είσοδο στο τομέα των ναυτιλιακών εξαρτημάτων ενώ χαρακτηριστική ήταν η δήλωση του Γενικού Διευθυντή της KLEEMANN, κ. Νικολάου Ν. Κουκούντζου, ο οποίος εξέφρασε την πεποίθησή του ότι οι Έλληνες κατασκευαστές θα καταφέρουν να κερδίσουν την εμπιστοσύνη και των ναυτιλιακών

εταιρειών και των μεγάλων ναυπηγείων της Ασίας. Αναφερόμενος στη συμφωνία με την MARAN GAS ευχαρίστησε τον όμιλο Αγγελικούση αλλά και τον Γενικό Διευθυντή της MARAN GAS, κ. Σταύρο Χατζηγρηγόρη, διότι εκτός από την ελληνική σημαία και ελληνικά πληρώματα ο όμιλος στέκεται αρωγός και στις ελληνικές βιομηχανίες. Οι παραγγελίες: Ειδικότερα ο Όμιλος Αγγελικούση προχώρησε σε

παραγγελίες για προμήθεια που αφορούν: • Εξοπλισμό 7 πλοίων με κάβους, από την εταιρεία D. KORONAKIS • Εξοπλισμό 12 πλοίων με προϊόντα “Galley and Laundry”, από την εταιρεία ALUMINOX • Εξοπλισμό 6 πλοίων με ανελκυστήρες προσώπων, από την εταιρεία KLEEMANN • ξοπλισμό 10 πλοίων με αυλωτούς εναλλάκτες θερμότητας, από την εταιρεία FARAD.

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Market News

Record Growth of Marshall Islands Registry Unprecedented The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry has exceeded the 125

with respect to ship and crew management,” she continued. With the additional

million gross ton mark. As of 30 September the Registry stood at 125.5 million

personnel in Manila, IRI’s worldwide staff is now over 350 employees.

gross tons and over 3,640 vessels. This growth marks a 25% increase in ton-

The most recent high level appointment is John Gallagher, formerly Vice Presi-

nage since the Registry’s 100 million gross ton celebration in January of 2014.

dent, Corporate Business Development for the American Bureau of Shipping

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry has exceeded the 125

(ABS). John retired from ABS in September 2015 after a 34 year career with

million gross ton mark. As of 30 September the Registry stood at 125.5 million

them which he began in 1981 as a surveyor assigned to Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

gross tons and over 3,640 vessels. This growth marks a 25% increase in ton-

Since then, he has spent time in each of the ABS divisions in Asia, Europe and

nage since the Registry’s 100 million gross ton celebration in January of 2014.

the Americas and has been responsible for business development, and over-

International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), who provide administrative

sight of survey offices and stations. “John is a welcome addition to the IRI team

and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry,

and will be instrumental in working with our owners, operators and other indus-

has been increasing the technical experts available to owners and operators

try stakeholders as Senior Vice President, Client Relations,” said Bill Gallagher.

worldwide and is also opening its 27th worldwide office in Manila, the Philippines

“I first met John at CMA’s Shipping 2001 and throughout the years developed a

to support this unprecedented growth amongst flag States.

tremendous level of respect for his insight into the operational aspects that are

“The fleet has been growing rapidly largely in part to our ability to provide timely

confronting our owners and operators and his unique ability to problem solve,”

services through our decentralized model,” said Bill Gallagher, President of IRI.

continued Mr. Gallagher.

“Opening an office in Manila is a natural fit for the Registry as more than 35%

Other recent high level hires include John Taverner, formerly of Lloyd’s Register

of seafarers serving on RMI flagged vessels hail from the Philippines,” he said.

for 34 years, Rob Lorigan formerly with Overseas Ship Management, Inc. after a

“It is our expectation that this office will be able to service crew documenta-

distinguished 30 year career with the United States Coast Guard, Dave Wams-

tion needs of our owners and operators in that area in coordination with our

ley, formerly with ABS for 20 years and Rob Lomas, former Secretary General

Hong Kong and Mumbai offices thus improving the speed with which seafar-

of Intercargo. “In the past year we have increased our worldwide personnel by

ers’ documents are issued,” said Annie Ng, Head of Asia for IRI. “The office is

more than 25 individuals overall,” said Mr. Gallagher. “Our number one goal is to

already staffed by four personnel and will be headed by Leo Bolivar who has a

provide outstanding service to our owners, operators and industry stakeholders;

background working for companies like Stolt-Nielsen Philippines, Inc., Uljanik

our investment in human capital is aligned with this goal and will help sustain

Shipmanagement, Ulstein Marine Services and Navis Maritime Services, all

the RMI Registry’s future growth and success,” concluded Bill Gallagher.

Dorothea Ioannou is promoted to Global Business Development Director The Managers of the American P&I

her new role as she has handled, advised on and directed the management of all

Club, SCB Inc., have now announced

types of maritime claims relating to P&I/FD&D, Strike, LOH and H&M insurance

that Dorothea Ioannou, Managing Direc-

policies during her extensive career in marine insurance.

tor of the Piraeus office, Regional Business Development Director and Vice

Dorothea is a lawyer, admitted to practice in the state of New York and began her

President of WISTA Hellas, has now

employment with the Managers of the Club with SCB (Hellas) Inc., the Piraeus

been elevated through promotion to

Claims Liaison Office, as a Claims Executive when the office was founded in

the senior executive position of Global

2005. She became the Deputy Claims Manager in 2008 and in December 2009,

Business Development Director of the

she was promoted to the position of Managing Director, and later took on the role

American P&I Club.

of Business Development Director for the Europe/Middle East/ Africa region, a role that she will continue to maintain.

The chief focus in Dorothea’s new role is to coordinate business development efforts across all regions of the world, fostering current relationships and generat-

The President and COO of SCB Inc., Vincent J. Solarino, said that “Dorothea’s

ing new initiatives for the American Club and its Eagle Ocean Marine (EOM) fixed

proven professional skills, business acumen, personality and market pres-

premium facility.

ence will consolidate the business development efforts globally, foster existing

Notably, this promotion makes Dorothea the first woman in the history of the

business relationships and establish new business for the American Club and

American Club and its Managers, Shipowners Claims Bureau Inc., to occupy

Eagle Ocean Marine across all regions. We fully expect the same success that

such a top level global executive role and she will continue to fulfill her new du-

Dorothea has demonstrated in her past and present positions.”

ties from the Piraeus Office. Dorothea also stands on the Executive Committee of

Dorothea Ioannou said that “it has been an amazing journey with the Managers

the NY Management Company, SCB Inc., making her the first woman member of

of the American P&I Club working with the European market and leading such an

the committee.

excellent claims team for the region and this now new role on a global level could

Exhaustingly passionate about her job, Dorothea brings a wealth of experience to

not be more exciting. The best is yet to come!”

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015

Market News

Q3 Tsavliris Activities Bulk Carrier “Navios Kypros” On 12 June the Handymax Bulk Carrier “Navios Kypros” (31,169 GT - 55,000 DWT), fully laden with general cargo, immobilized due to main engine problems about 600 nautical miles south of Dutch Harbor - Aleutian Islands,Pacific ocean. On 12 June Tsavliris Salvage dispatched the salvage tug “De Zhou” (16,500 BHP – 205 BP) from Shanghai to the assistance of casualty.

The S/T “De Zhou” arrived at the casualty scene on 22 June and towage commenced to Pusan, South Korea the next day. After 20 days and a distance of 3,200 nautical miles with average speed of 7 knots, the convoy arrived safely at Pusan on 11 July. Following Port Authorities’ instructions, the “Navios Cyprus” anchored at anchorage No.5 with the assistance of the S/T “De Zhou”, the port tug “Haeryong Soz” and a pilot. The “De Zhou” anchored close to the casualty providing standby services.

The scheduled berthing of the “Navios Kypros” on 12, 13 and 14 July was postponed due to adverse weather conditions caused by the passing typhoon “Chan Hom”. On 15 July the weather improved appreciably and the vessel berthed at “Orient Repair Yard” with the assistance of four port tugs and a pilot. The “De Zhou” remained on standby at anchorage No. 4 ready in all respects should any assistance be required due to the typhoon “Nangka” which was passing by Pusan, at a distance of 200 miles.

Salvage services terminated on 17 July when the “Nangka” typhoon subsided and S/T “De Zhou” demobilized to Shanghai arriving on 19 July after a six-week round voyage.

Geared Bulk Carrier “AMBER L” On 18 July 2015 our S/T “TSAVLIRIS UNITY” (7,000 BHP - 83 TBP) was dispatched from her permanent salvage station at Galle, Sri Lanka, to the assistance of Geared Bulk Carrier “AMBER L” (25,955 GRT – 47,282 DWT) fully laden with 46,000 tons of manganese ore, immobilized due to engine problems about 600 miles south-east of Sri Lanka. On 21 July the “TSAVLIRIS UNITY” arrived at the casualty’s position and towage commenced towards Colombo. During the towage the tug master was instructed by the “AMBER L” Owners to proceed to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, instead of Colombo. On 28 July, the convoy arrived safely at Tricomalee where the “TSAVLIRIS UNITY” assisted the casualty to anchor at the indicated position (inner anchorage) providing subsequently stand-by services. The “TSAVLIRIS UNTIY” demobilized to her permanent station on 30 July.

PCT “FAIR AFRODITI” On 14 August 2015, the Product Chemical Tanker “FAIR AFRODITI” (12,756 GT - 8,513 DWT) suffered significant damage following an explosion during tank cleaning while she was off Lome, Tongo. Severe structural damage was sustained, flooding of the engine room and cargo tanks occurred and the casualty listed about 18 degrees to port. The entire crew abandoned the casualty. Prior the incident the vessel was proceeding to Lome anchorage for STS loading. On 15 August 2015, Tsavliris Salvage deployed the T/B “RATCEL J’’ and the AHTS “THE GUARDIAN” to provide assistance. On 16 August a Tsavliris Salvage team (comprising of a salvage master, salvage engineers and riggers) was mobilised from Greece to Lome as well as suitable salvage equipment. Messrs. OMA GROUP were appointed as agents for Tsavliris, whilst the SRN GROUP were appointed to provide diving services.

The Tsavliris Salvage team boarded the vessel on 17 August and remained until 8 September.

During this time the team managed to stabilise the vessel by undertaking the following: -Correcting the vessel’s list and trim by transferring ballast and removing oily water and bunkers.

-Making the hull, pump room and engine room watertight by sealing the sea chests and overboards, closing sea valves internally and sealing the cargo pumps.

-Removing all bunkers, oily water, lubricating oil (about 215 m3) and paints from the vessel.

-Stripping the engine room tanks, pump room bilges and slop tanks.

-Removing provisions and sealing the fridges.

The salvage operation was completed on 8 September. The Tsavliris Salvage team continues providing services under a Care Taking Arrangement signed on 9 September. A skeleton salvage team remains in attendance and the tug “THE GUARDIAN” is standing by providing basic essential services until the vessel’s final disposal.

NOVEMBER 2015 NAFS

65

Market News

AMCL Signs Turbcharger Premium Maintenance Contract

Maritime Cyprus – Tsavliris Reception

The Turbocharger unit of MAN PrimeServ, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s service division, recently signed a Premium Turbocharger Maintenance Contract with AMCL - Associated Maritime Company (HKG) Ltd. The contract initially covers approximately 36 turbochargers, installed aboard various vessels from the AMCL fleet operating worldwide. The turbocharger types covered by the contract are essentially TCA axial types for main engines, and NR radial types for auxiliary engines.

MAN PrimeServ reports that its global network of service centres is wellplaced to serve AMCL’s trading routes. Under the terms of the agreement, PrimeServ will provide all relevant services as part of a complete maintenance package. Accordingly, MAN PrimeServ Turbocharger – in coordination with the MAN PrimeServ network – will coordinate and plan all upcoming scheduled maintenance intervals for AMCL’s turbochargers, including the timely delivery of necessary spare parts.

Premium Maintenance Contracts

With a Premium Maintenance Contract, MAN Diesel & Turbo handles all scheduled maintenance planning for the customer six to seven months prior to an upcoming turbocharger service. The customer simply confirms the upcoming service by email. Such contracts entail several, other benefits: • Timely spare-parts planning that enables higher price flexibility • MAN PrimeServ Turbocharger monitors and administrates upcoming maintenance intervals • Fixed prices for turbocharger services and spare parts • Turbocharger operational data constantly updated including the complete maintenance history • Open access to maintenance documentation, electronic spare- parts catalogues and service reports through PrimeServ’s customer intranet.

AMCL is a ship management company historically linked with the Tung Group.

During its long history, the Group was among the first in pioneering Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and has made numerous significant and innovative contributions to the development of Chinese shipping industries around the world. Today, AMCL is one of the leading ship management companies in Hong Kong, operating the largest tanker fleet for the China Merchants Group in all aspects covering ship management, commercial operations, corporate and accounting services as well as new building supervision, while retaining a high degree of cost efficiency.

Tsavliris Salvage hosted a successful event during Maritime Cyprus 2015 on the evening of Friday 11 September. The event was held at the impressive Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol and attracted over 200 people from all sectors of the shipping industry. Guests included the Cypriot Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, representatives from the Department of Merchant Shipping of Cyprus, the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, the Cyprus Marine Environment Protection Association (CYMEPA) as well as representatives from shipping and management companies, P&I Clubs and underwriters.

George Tsavliris, principal of Tsavliris Salvage and president of CYMEPA welcomed everyone noting that the Tsavliris group is no stranger to Cyprus. The group’s founder, Alexander G. Tsavliris, had a presence in Cyprus from the early 1960s, when he first registered ships with the Cyprus Registry. By 1967 he had a dozen cargo vessels registered under the Cyprus flag. Since then the group has had a continued presence in Cyprus in the fields of salvage & towage and environmental protection. He announced that Tsavliris is actively focusing on offshore oil & gas within the Cypriot continental shelf.

The Group is very much a part of the Cyprus shipping community as it is also a part of Tsavliris. Today, four of the entities within the Tsavliris group are registered in Cyprus, maintaining a strong presence on the island. In addition, the Tsavliris Cultural Foundation has been formed in Cyprus, supporting cultural activities.

Testament to the importance of Cyprus to Tsavliris Salvage was the fact that all three principals and their families were at the event –Nicolas, George and Andreas Tsavliris; as well as some from the new generation Claire and Alexandros Tsavliris. Many of the Tsavliris senior personnel also attended, including the Operations Manager, Captain George Polychroniou; CFO Stavros Perdikaris; in-house lawyer Maria Adamopoulos; head of marketing and public relations Lia Panagopoulos, and many more. (photo caption: Andreas, George and Nicolas Tsavliris)

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NAFS NOVEMBER 2015