Greece's Paragon Shipping Inc. obtains a $69-million credit facility with China Development Bank to partially finance its two 4,800 TEU containerships currently under construction. The two container ships on order are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2014, and the company has granted an option to its subsidiary, Box Ships Inc., until its initial public offering in 2011, to acquire the vessels at any time prior to their delivery to Paragon Shipping. The CDB Credit Facility, w...

MacGregor offshore winches have been specified for 22 new anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTSVs) under construction at three Chinese shipyards for several international owners. MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured new offshore winch contracts from three Chinese shipyards, Fujian Southeast, Fuzhou Baima and Guangdong Yuexin Ocean Engineering. The winches are destined for 22 anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTSVs) under construction for a number of international owners. "Our offs...

Clarkson’s newbuilding price index is seen to have hit 126.3p as of the end of April, rising month-on-month by 0.7p. Recording 126.3p in late January 2013, the index rose to 126.4p at the end of February and fell to 125.6p in late March however it recovered surging to 126p in a month.  With new orders having recovered year-to-date, newbuilding values of some vessel types like capesize bulker are on the increase from the end of last year while some ship types are seen to have hit the bo...

Three emerging trends -- falling US oil imports, the return of some manufacturing capacity to rich industrialised nations and advances in vessel design -- could significantly change the competitive landscape for global shipping companies and affect their creditworthiness over the next five years, says Moody's Investors Service in a report on the sector published today. "The credit impact arising from each of these trends is likely to vary according to industry segment -- crude oil tankers, con...