Securitisation Solutions For The Maritime Industry

The shipping sector appears to be slowly emerging from its negative cycle, with Moody's changing its outlook on the global shipping industry to stable earlier this year, driven primarily by positive developments in the dry bulk and container ship market segments.

Still, traditional sources of ship finance that had previously dried up are unlikely to re-emerge in a hurry. Bank lending to the shipping companies has decreased in recent years in response to increased regulatory capital requirements and a more conservative approach to risk.

The capital markets can provide a valuable alternative source of funding, but this requires a change in mindset for shipping companies that have to date always relied on their bankers for funding, although this should not be much of an obstacle in practice, given that institutional investors typically have many of the same investment or credit criteria as conventional lenders.