Basil M Karatzas Has Been Appointed Liquidation Trustee for the Sale of Two Pelagic Tuna Purse Seiner Vessels

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

Basil M. Karatzas FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE One World Financial Center, 30th Floor 200 Liberty Street New York, NY 10281 USA Liquidation Trustee

Basil M Karatzas Has Been Appointed Liquidation Trustee for the Sale of Two Pelagic Tuna Purse Seiner Vessels

Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands, April 28th, 2018: Basil M Karatzas has been appointed Liquidation Trustee by the High Court of the Republic of Marshall Islands for the sale of two pelagic tuna purse seiner vessels F/V ‘Fong Seong 668’ and F/V “Fong Seong 696’ (the “Vessels”). The Vessels have been under arrest since November 2017 in the Majuro Lagoon. Under the High Court’s order, the Vessels are to be sold in the immediate future under the direction of the Liquidation Trustee.

On the announcement of the court appointment, Basil M Karatzas stated: “We are delighted to be designated the Liquidation Trustee for the sale of these two well-regarded and good performers of pelagic purse seiner tuna fishing vessels. We are looking forward to exercising diligently our duties as Liquidation Trustee and maximizing value for all parties involved. We are honored that our known expertise as shipbrokers with exceptional track-record of maximizing value and having consummated impeccably difficult transactions in several segments of the maritime industry have been acknowledged via this appointment by the honorable High Court of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.”

About the Liquidation Trustee: Basil M Karatzas is the Founder and CEO of Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co, a NY-based shipping finance and shipbrokerage firm. Mr Karatzas has worked extensively with financial institutions and shipowners in the fields of shipping and shipping finance, and has executed complicated transactions including vessel sales under duress, vessel auctions, sales via insolvency administrator, etc, and also arranging for debtor-in-possession financing, etc Mr Karatzas is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, a member of the Baltic Exchange in the UK, a Senior Accredited Appraiser (ASA) with the American Society of Appraisers, Chapter of New York, and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in the UK.

About the Liquidation Process: The fishing vessels will be prepared and offered for sale under the direction of the Liquidation Trustee. To learn more about the Vessels and the terms of the sale, one may contact the Liquidation Trustee via email at < info@bmkaratzas.com >. Additional information on the vessels and the liquidation process are provided at www.karatzas.auction

About the Vessels: Fishing vessels F/V “Fong Seong 668” and F/V “Fong Seong 696” are pelagic purse seiner fishing vessels of appr. 90 m in length, registered in Vanuatu, and engaged in the purse seiner method of fishing of tuna, and registered under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

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Press release was originally posted on the judicial sale website.

To download the press release, please click here!

Image of pelagic tuna purse seiner fishing vessel FV ‘Fong Seong 696’ in the Majuro Lagoon, the Republic of Marshall Islands. Image credit: Karatzas Auctions

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PR – Basil M Karatzas Appointed Liquidation Trustee

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending July 16th, 2017

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

‘Shipshape 10 List’, a list of news and articles published in the current week that a senior executive in shipping, shipping finance, commodities, energy, supply chain and infrastructure should had noticed; news and articles that are shaping the agenda and the course of the maritime industry.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, periodically humorous, occasionally sarcastic, sporadically artistic, inferentially erotic, but always insightful and topical.

We apologize for the absence of an update for almost a month to those who have found this blog worthwhile to subscribe to and follow it regularly.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

On the Cosco and OOCL transaction:
1a. China underlines shipping ambitions with $6.3bn takeover of HK group (from the Financial Times) – article quoting Basil M Karatzas

1b. China’s Cosco to Buy Shipping Rival Orient Overseas for $6.3 Billion (from The Wall Street Journal) – article quoting Basil M Karatzas

1c. Cosco Takes OOCL, Eyes CMA CGM (from Splash 24/7)

1d. As Trade Revives, Big China Shippers Merge (from Barron’s)

1e. Karma and Comfort for Orient Overseas (from Bloomberg)

1f. Not Keeping It in the Family (from Week in China)

Dryships once again on front page news:
2. A Shipping Company’s Bizarre Stock Maneuvers Create High Seas Intrigue (from the Wall Street Journal)

Brazilian shipbuilding:
3. In Lula’s Shadow, Brazil’s Shipbuilders Struggle to Right Themselves (from The New York Times)

A UK shipyard is looking far away from traditional lines of business:
4. Mersey shipyard Cammell Laird set to build UK polar research ship (from the Financial Times)

New trading patterns due to expanded Panama Canal become more apparent with time:
5. Panama Canal Does Some Good While Upending Historic Trade Routes (from Bloomberg)

US crude oil exports:
6. US crude exports forecast to exceed most Opec members by 2020 (from the Financial Times)

Wheat trade and possible impact on the dry bulk market:
7. Traders Gobble Up Wheat Amid Great Plains Drought (from The Wall Street Journal)

Opinion article in Splash 24/7 by yours truly on whether there is still time for the famous ‘asset play game’ in shipping
8. The Asset Appreciation Play Has Yet to Leave Port (Basil M Karatzas, from Splash 24/7)

Opinion article by yours truly in Splash 24/7 on shipping finance:
9. Credit is Due to Shipping (Basil M Karatzas, from Splash 24/7)

Summer is the perfect time to to take to the water, this time for pleasure:
10. 5 Summer Water Sports You Can Master the Easy Way (from The Wall Street Journal)

Panamax Containership MV ‘OOCL Montreal’ sailing upstream in Norderelbe, Hamburg. Image credit: Karatzas Images.

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending May 21st, 2017

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, periodically humorous, occasionally sarcastic, sporadically artistic, inferentially erotic, but always insightful and topical.

And, we take a minute to thank our readers who took time to contact us and let us us know that they missed reading our reports in the past couple of weeks. Delighted hearing that ’Shipshape 10’ indeed has become a quick way of following up the shipping and related industries.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:
On the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, and the recently hosted high-profile ‘Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation’ in Beijing:
1a. Lessons for China in failed US Silk Road initiative (South China Morning Post)

1b. China’s Silk Road Initiative Sows European Discomfort (The Wall Street Journal)

1c. Next Silk Road summit set for 2019 as Beijing ramps up global drive (South China Morning Post)

1d. China takes ‘project of the century’ to Pakistan (Financial Times)

Trade agreements can be hard to re-negotiate when economic factors can interfere with politics:
2a. Trump launches NAFTA renegotiation (Politico)

2b. Prospect of NAFTA rewrite gives US farmers a case of jitters (Associated Press)

Not the biggest port in the world, but events in Buenaventura can underline how delicate the supply chain sometimes can be:
3a. Colombia’s biggest Pacific port placed under curfew (Financial Times)

3b. U.S. Ports Need $66 Billion for Infrastructure (The Maritime Executive)

OPEC for sure is winning the shale war…
4. Full tanks and tankers: a stubborn oil glut despite OPEC cuts (Reuters)

What do to with junk…
5. Old Containers Find Out-of-the-Box Second Lives (The Wall Street Journal)

Hopes that there is a recovery and economies will be growing solidly:
6a. Household Debt Makes a Comeback in the U.S. (The New York Times)

6b. The silent sell-off in US Treasuries (Financial Times)

The offshore and ‘brown water’ industries in the US still under pressure:
7a. Tidewater Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (gCaptain)

7b. GulfMark Offshore Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection (The Wall Street Journal)

An old generation Greek shipowner dies
8a. Aristides Alafouzos, owner of Kathimerini, dies (Kathimerini)

8b. Aristides Alafouzos, the founder of Kyklades Maritime, dies aged 93 (Splash 24/7)

There is a price for everything
9. From Deep in Atlantic, Titanic Relics Sail Toward Auction Block (Bloomberg)

Tall tales of drunken sailors no more
10. Terrifying 20m-tall ‘rogue waves’ are actually real (BBC)

A pretty picture of another products tanker in ballast condition. Image credit: Karatzas Images

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending April 22nd, 2017

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, periodically humorous, occasionally sarcastic, sporadically artistic, inferentially erotic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

The dry bulk and commodities market had a difficult week overall; high inventories and weakening demand are the short-term drivers to blame :

1a.Baltic Dry Index Falls Almost 4%, Biggest Loss Since Mid-December (Reuters via gCaptain)

1b. Dry Bulk Freight Market: The Best Is Yet To Come (Seatrade Maritime)

1c. Iron Ore Price Tumbles To A Near Six-Month Low (Financial Times)

In the tanker market, a legal twist to the market consolidating forces; the article in Lloyd’s List quoting Basil Karatzas:

2a. Tanker Wars — The Empire Strikes Back (Lloyds’s List)

2b. Frontline Sues DHT (Splash 24/7)

3c. U.S. Court Rejects Frontline’s Last-Minute Bid To Stop BW-DHT Deal (gCaptain)

An iconic name in the German shipping world is in restructuring while one of their sponsored companies has been on the block; lots of head-scratching for the logic supporting the acquisition and the price paid for it; but shipping is a gutsy industry:

4a. Rickmers Group Reaches Restructuring Agreement (Maritime Executive)

4b. Navios Partners Buys Bankrupt Rickmers Maritime Boxship Fleet For $113m (Seatrade Maritime)

And, speaking of consolidation, a Korean shipbuilder got a new lease on life:

5a. Korea Avoids Daewoo Shipwreck (Bloomberg)

5b. Keeping DSME Afloat Bondholders Enforced To Agree On Reviving Daewoo Shipbuilding (Business Korea)

An interesting in-depth article in the Wall Street Journal on the Port of Lazaro Cardenas on the west coast of Mexico; APM’s ambitious terminal to build a strong base just outside the US to by-pass any Jones Act requirements have been cut short by a possible border import tax:

6. Trump’s Trade Plans Spell Uncertainty For Mexican Port (The Wall Street Journal)

Keeping an eye on a crucial commodity for shipping, grains, still at the intersection of government policy:

7a. U.S. Farmers, Who Once Fed The World, Are Overtaken By New Powers (The Wall Street Journal)

7b. Russian Agriculture Sector Flourishes Amid Sanctions (Financial Times)

7c. American Farm Belt Anxious About Trump Trade Threats (Financial Times)

Keeping an eye on another crucial-to-shipping commodity, oil, where it seems there are diverse opinions on the state of the market; good luck to the tanker owners deciphering the market, while the Eni-Libya article should emanate good news for the aframax tanker market:

8a. Oil’s Slide Towards $50 A Barrel Slows (Financial Times)

8b. Oil Dives Below $50 As Confidence In Opec Wavers (Financial Times)

8c. OPEC Sees A World That Still Has Too Much Oil (Bloomberg)

8d. Eni-Operated Libya Oil Field To Re-Open After Two-Year Halt (Bloomberg)

8e. Saudi Aramco Chief Warns Of Looming Oil Shortage (Financial Times)

And, shipping, besides financial, market and regulatory risks, definitely have to deal with operational risk too; two million barrels of crude oil in a supertanker grounded can easily turn into a nightmare:

9. Salvors Working To Refloat Grounded VLCC In Java Sea (gCaptain)

Taking a looking on the US domestic commodities, energy and shipping markets, some strong headlines point to very diverse directions:

10a. Blackstone To Buy Permian Basin Pipelines For $2 Billion (Bloomberg)

10b. Coal Shipments Lift CSX Earnings In First Report With New CEO (The Wall Street Journal)

10c. Princess Cruises Sentenced To Pay $40 Million Fine For Pollution Scheme (Miami Herald)

And, for those with a literary bone to nourish:
Literature’s Arctic Obsession The Greatest Writers Of The Nineteenth Century Were Drawn To The North Pole. What Did They Hope To Find There? (The New Yorker)

And, for those with travel flexibility, please join us next week at George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, for the 2nd Cayman Maritime Week; Basil Karatzas will present at the 5th Mare Forum Cayman Shipping and Yachting Summit on the implications of the Trump Administration to the shipping industry.

A pretty face of the cruising industry. Image credit: Karatzas Images

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending March 19th, 2017

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

‘Shipshape 10 List’, a list of news and articles published in the current week that a senior executive in shipping, shipping finance, commodities, energy, supply chain and infrastructure should had noticed; news and articles that are shaping the agenda and the course of the maritime industry.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, periodically humorous, occasionally sarcastic, sporadically artistic, inferentially erotic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

1a. A Blind Spot Masks the Danger Signs in Finance (Financial Times)

1b. Shadow Lending Threatens China’s Economy, Officials Warn (The New York Times)

2. The Man Who Made Us See That Trade Isn’t Always Free (Bloomberg)

3. The World Economy is Picking up (The Economist)

4. Imagine a Silicon Valley of the Sea (Bloomberg)

5a. Missing from Trump’s Grand Navy Plan: Skilled Workers to Build the Fleet (Reuters)

5b. Critics warn Trump that gutting foreign aid will endanger U.S. (Politico) (probably a very bad development for the American Flag fleet and shipowners in the USA – please note, American flagged vessels are not ‘Jones Act’ vessels with same cabotage privileges; see Cargo Preference Act).

6. Port of Amsterdam to Phase Out Coal Terminal (The Maritime Executive)

7a. Blockchain: A Transitional and Transformational Technology for Shipping (Splash 24/7)

7b. Ocean Shipping Transaction Firm INTTRA Buys Container Tracking Company Avantida (The Wall Street Journal, Logistics Report)

8. The Great Barrier Reef had a Pretty Terrible Year (Popular Science)

9. Subsea Salmon Farming Project Hits Snag (The Maritime Executive)

10. Whose Sea is It Anyway? Photo Essay: Coast of Vietnam (1843 Magazine)