Private equity (PE) is an asset class consisting of equity
investment in companies that are not publicly traded on a stock
exchange. With the decline in industrial and consumer demand
following the worldwide economic pullback beginning in 2008, the
shipping industry, still working through oversupply six years
later, is an obvious target.
For some ship owners, PE is hailed as the panacea for saving an
otherwise distressed market that has suffered from a lack of bank
finance – more fallout from the credit crunch.
In recent years, shipping indexes tested record lows, US
bankruptcy filings by international shipping companies
proliferated. Meanwhile, the still large newbuilding order book,
which includes orders for 'eco' ships for the future,
remains largely unfinanced. Against this gloomy backdrop, PE
investors are brightening up the landscape. Increasingly, investors
and ship owners are strategically aligning their respective
interests and forming shipping private
