Nord/LB is poised to hive off a loan portfolio linked to a fleet of 40 multipurpose (MPP) vessels.
The German bank is in the last stages of refinancing the portfolio, believed to be worth around €200m ($235m), of small to medium-size MPP ships, according to European shipbroking sources.
Offers were submitted this week that, if successful, will be taken as a sign that the financial problems in the market for smaller MPP vessels may be nearing an end.
That is reflected in an improvement in rates for smaller MPP ships with onboard lifting capacity up to 250 tonnes.
Six to 12-month charters for 12,500-dwt MPP ships rose to $7,385 this week, the highest since the introduction of the Toepfer Multipurpose Index.
Consolidation talk
The improvement in earnings is less dramatic for super heavylift vessels, where talk of company consolidation continues to be discussed as a solution.
Reports in Germany this week point to a tie-up between Hamburg's Hansa Heavy Lift (HHL) and Bremen's Zeaborn, but neither company would comment.
Such a partnership might be beneficial to Oaktree Capital Management-owned HHL, which has sold some of its smaller MPP vessels to focus on the upper end of the heavylift spectrum.
Built in China
Ten of HHL’s vessels are Chinese-built P1/P2-type project-cargo vessels of 20,000 dwt, fitted with cranes with onboard lifting capacity of 800 to 1,400 tonnes.
But the value of the P-type vessels, which were delivered between 2009 and 2012, has fallen to $9m — one-quarter of their original price, according to VesselsValue.
Brokers attribute the fall partly due to the drop in demand for P-type vessels. They consume more fuel and are less flexible than smaller MPP ships, which are more likely to carry cargo on the backhaul trades.
That scenario has led to consolidation in the top end of the heavylift market, with Harren & Partner snapping up SAL Heavy Lift from K Line in July 2017
Most of the consolidation has been driven by Zeaborn, which merged with New Orleans' Intermarine in May to form the commercial management operation Zeamarine, with more than 85 vessels. It is expected to have 100 by year's end.
