Another Italian shipownbing company has found itself on Deutsche Bank’s radar for investment. Following the cases of RBD Armatori and Gestioni Armatoriali, the German bank has just purchased from Unicredit the non-performing loans of Rome-based Finaval which are worth some $40m sources told Splash. Two years ago Deutsche Bank purchased financial exposure from Commerzbank valued […]
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Deutsche Bank takes non-performing Finaval loans from Unicredit
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Four private equity funds circle around Rimorchiatori Riuniti’s towage business
Rimorchiatori Riuniti of Italy has started a process to secure a financial partner, targeting new investments and takeovers in its harbour towage business. The Genoa-based group headed by the Gavarone and Delle Piane families has launched a tender to financial investors interested at presenting before the end of October binding offers for purchasing a minority […]
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Pillarstone goes all in on RBD Armatori’s rescue plan
KKR-controlled turnaround fund Pillarstone has decided to go all in for RBD Armatori, the Naples-based shipping company whose non-performing loans are mostly in the hands of speculative investors, including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Sources have told Splash that Pillarstone has submitted to the current shareholders of RBD, the Rizzo Bottiglieri and De Carlini families, an offer […]
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RBD Armatori shareholders given jail time for tax evasion
The former management at Naples-based RBD Armatori have collectively been sentenced to over 30 years of jail in a tax evasion case. Following the guilty verdict delivered by the local court in Torre Annunziata delivered yesterday, Orsola Bottiglieri was sentenced to seven years jail while Giuseppe Mauro Rizzo, Roberto Rizzo, Ugo De Carlini and Grazia […]
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Ukrainian master disappears from MSC containership in Italy
A 54-year-old Ukrainian master has disappeared from the 2,000 teu containership while the vessel was en route from the Italian ports of Gioia Tauro to Genoa. The crew realised that the man, whose name is Juri Kharytonov, was missing when the ship was sailing between the islands of Elba and Corsica in the Thyrrenian Sea. […]
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Contship details La Spezia expansion plans
Italian terminal operator Contship is making a major investment to upgrade container infrastructure in La Spezia Port in northern Italy in an effort to meet increasing intermodal cargo demand. According to Daniele Testi, marketing director of Contship, the company is now making a EUR200m investment to expand the container terminal and railway connection at the […]
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Confitarma: Time for Italian owners to grow up
The newly elected chairman of the Italian shipowners association (Confitarma), Mario Mattioli, has some specific dossiers to work at in the coming years but the main challenge for the local shipping cluster is to keep the international register alive and competitive. Speaking with Maritime CEO, the Naples-based shipowner at the helm of the family-owned group […]
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Augustea finds post-panamax for Pakistan coal project
Naples-based shipping group Augustea has found the post-panamax bulk carrier needed for the forthcoming coal transhipment project to be established off the coast of Pakistan. The CEO of the company, Raffaele Zagari, confirmed to Splash that his company is closing the purchase of the vessel which will be converted soon in China. Confirmation from Augustea followed […]
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Crewmembers suspected of killing MSC master
Two crewmembers of the have been arrested, suspected of having killed Yurii Kharytonov, master of the containership which is still under arrest alongside the Voltri Terminal Europa in the port of Genoa. Both the officers arrested are Ukrainian as was the 54-year old captain, whose body investigators believe was thrown into the sea while the […]
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Disagreements between Pillarstone and shareholders leave RBD Armatori on the brink
Naples-based RBD Armatori is seeing its rescue hopes slip away as shareholders of the firm, the Rizzo Bottiglieri De Carlini families and main creditor Pillarstone Italy have yet to find the common ground necessary to submit plans to the court of Torre Annunziata for a third chance to save the company under the concordato preventivo […]
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Deutsche Bank buys into Rimorchiatori Riuniti
Starting next week Deutsche Bank-controlled investment fund Deutsche Altrnative Asset Management will become a new minority shareholder of Rimorchiatori Mediterranei, the newly formed subholding company of the Genoa-based Rimorchiatori Riuniti group, in charge of harbour towage services in many ports based mainly in Italy and Malta. The closing of the deal is expected to take […]
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Aponte makes plea to Italian ports to gear up
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) will participate in the tender still to be launched by the Leghorn port authority for the new container terminal project called Piattaforma Europa which will enable the Tuscan port to receive the latest class of containerships. Upon request from Splash whether MSC would run for this terminal Gianluigi Aponte said “Yes, […]
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Eni to quit shipowning with LNG carriers sale
Italian energy company Eni will quit the LNG carrier shipowning business in the near future the company told the seafarers unions in Italy. Sources tell Splash that Eni’s company LNG Shipping feels it is unable to compete in the increasingly competitive market, with the last two ships in its fleet the LNG Lerici and LNG […]
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Marnavi: Trucker of the sea faces challenges head on
Naples-based Marnavi is one of the few shipping companies in Italy which was not involved in restructuring processes in recent years even though the chemical, liquid bulk and offshore markets in which it is active were particularly challenging. The company is managed by its president and chief shareholder, Domenico Ievoli, in close cooperation with his […]
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D’Amico sells and charters back product tanker
D’Amico International Shipping subsidiary d’Amico Tankers has sold 2005-built medium range product tanker for a price of $14.14m. D’Amico says the sale will generate around $7.2m for the company after paying off the vessel’s existing bank loan. The company has also signed a six-year time charter for the 48,700 dwt Imabari-built vessel, at what it […]
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Bulker set for auction after 13-month court battle in Jamaica
The Malta-registered bulk carrier will finally be auctioned off on January 8 after spending more than a year in Kingston Harbour. The ship was detained in Jamaica on behalf of Italian outfit Jebmed in its capacity as mortgagee of the vessel, over a debt of $699,046.38 allegedly due from Capitalease, the Milan-based owner of the […]
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Saipem wins $400m in new contracts
Italy’s Saipem has been awarded a new E&C offshore contract by Saudi Aramco for engineering, procurement, construction activities off Saudi Arabia. The contract scope includes the engineering, procurement and construction of a new 42” offshore pipeline replacing an existing one and other miscellaneous activities for the upgrade of the Manifa water injection system. Saipem said […]
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Venice Shipping & Logistics: Equity index launches
How much does investing in shipping yield today? It depends on the ship you choose as a target, on the financial leverage you use and obviously on the time horizon that you have. Venice Shipping & Logistics, a well known Milan-based advisory firm and investment fund focused on the shipping and logistics sectors in Italy […]
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Grimaldi takes over ro-ro terminal in Savona
Naples-based Grimaldi Group announced the takeover of the shipping agency and freight forwarder company Marittima Spedizioni which entirely controls Savona Terminal Auto. Savona Terminal Auto is the main ro-ro terminal of the port of Savona, 50 km from Genoa, and is regularly called by Grimaldi’s vessels, both car carriers and ro-pax units deployed on the […]
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LGR di Navigazione exits MR segment, eyes gas
Naples-headquartered LGR di Navigazione is on the verge of selling the last two tankers in its fleet. Brokers report that the Italian shipping company controlled by Carlo Pontecorvo is in the process of offloading sister ships Cenito and Posillipo. The 53,000 dwt MR2 tankers are set to change hands to an undisclosed buyer for some […]
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