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Fjord Line in financing talks over debt and equity

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 November 2015 05 November 2015

Fjord Line, the Norwegian company whose shares are traded on the OTC list in Oslo and which operates ferry services to Denmark and Sweden, says it has initiated a dialogue with its senior lenders with the purpose of refinancing the group's long term debt and that it has received an offer for an equity injection plus offer to buyout minority shareholders.

“As a part of this refinancing, the board of directors of the company also resolved to arrange for a share issue in a minimum amount of NOK 100 million. The main shareholder in the company has, on certain conditions, indicated a willingness to underwrite the share issue,” the company said in a statement.

Fjord Line has, on 3 November 2015, received an offer from Ferd AS for the subscription of 40 million shares in the company at a subscription price of NOK 5.00 per share, amounting to a total of NOK 200 million. The offer, which contains certain conditions, has been accepted by the board of directors of Fjord Line.

Ferd will also make a voluntary offer to all shareholders in Fjord Line – apart from the two holding companies of its biggest shareholder - at a price of NOK 5.00 per share. “Due to the limited liquidity of the Fjord Lines shares, the board of directors are pleased that the minority shareholders are offered to sell their shares at a price equaling the subscription price, the company said

Ferd is a family-owned Norwegian investment-company, owned by Johan H. Andresen and his family, committed to value-creating ownership of businesses and investments in financial assets.

Ferds' offer is based on their underlying belief in the industry in general, and especially in Fjord Line. “The company operates a new and modern fleet and has achieved an impressive growth so far in 2015. The technical start-up issues related to the new LNG cruise ferries seems to be solved and the company has obtained settlements/solutions for all recent disputes. Furthermore, Ferd has a good impression of the management of the company and is confident in Fjord Lines' continued growth,” Fjord Line said.

Subsequent to the capital increase, holding companies Kontrari AS/Kontrazi AS will jointly control 57.86% of the shares of the company and Ferd 21.56%.

TUI Cruises appoints Denis Wiechert as Director Product Management

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 November 2015 04 November 2015

TUI Cruises, the Hamburg based premium market cruise shipping company, says it has appointed Denis Wiechert to the newly created position of Director Product Management. He will join the company on 26 January next year and he will be responsible for quality and guest satisfaction.

The company will have five vessels in service next summer and it has further two units on order and the growth of the business has made it necessary to create the position in question in the organisation, TUI Cruises said in a statement.

Phoenix Seereisen to offer nine cruises on Deutschland in 2016

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 November 2015 04 November 2015

Phoenix Seereisen, the German ocean and river cruise operator, will offer nine cruises on the Deutschland between May and September next year, information on the company's website shows

The cruises will start on 14 May and run until 7 September and they will depart and terminate in Bremerhaven. Deutschland will join Albatross, Amadea and Artania that operate year round for Phoenix.

The 22,496 gross ton Deutschland was built in 1998 for Peter Deilmann Reederei, which together with a company that from a later point owned the vessel both went bankrupt last year. It was sold for private US based interests in 2015 and it has been operated by Semester At Sea as a floating university.

Danish investors acquire FleetPro activities

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 November 2015 04 November 2015

FleetPro Group, the Miami based ship management company, says it has sold its FleetPro Leisure unit that manages passenger vessels to a group of Danish investors. It will be renamed CMI Leisure Ltd.

This will continue hotel management services on seven vessels.

At the same time, FleetPro has agreed to transfer technical management of the seven ships to a new company called Cruise Management International, which is a new company set up by the same Danish investors that own CMI Leisure.

Both companies continue to operate from the former FleetPro offices in Miami, FleetPro said in a statement.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines sees Enjoyment Promise to attract newcomers

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 02 November 2015 02 November 2015

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destinational cruise line that operates four medium sized vessels, says its efforts to increase the numbers of passengers new to the brand have borne fruit, whereas overall, the British market has struggled in this respect.

“Fred. Olsen has been working hard to attract the ‘new-to-Fred.’ market, and has seen over 43% of bookings from newcomers since the ‘Enjoyment Promise’ was first introduced,’ the company said in a statement.

Introduced in December 2013, the scheme means that passengers not happy with their experience with the line can get their money back under certain terms and conditions. Only five people of the 190,000 that the line has carried since its introduction have resorted to the scheme, a senior company official said.

“The average guest age across the Fred. Olsen fleet has stayed constant during the last five years, whilst the industry average has increased five years in five years, which is further evidence that Fred. Olsen is continuing to offer appealing and innovative cruises to attract a new, younger demographic, as well as catering to its existing loyal clientele,” the company continued.

These trends appear to contrast the overall development of the British market, which contracted by 4.8% to 1.64 million passengers in 2014, according to CLIA UK & Ireland figures.

The percentage of newcomers of the total number of passengers rose to 33% last year from 32% in 2013. However, it was 36% in 2012 and 40% in 2011 and again 33% in 2010.

The average age of British cruise passengers rose to 58.2 years last year from 57.0 in 2013; it was 54.8 in 2010.

In addition to the ‘Enjoyment Promise’, Fred. Olsen has also been trying to stimulate new markets by cruising out of more regional departure ports than any other cruise line, offering the convenience of joining the ship without the hassle of flights. For instance, during its first cruise season from Belfast, in Autumn 2013, nine out of ten guests had never cruised with Fred. Olsen before.

“Fred. Olsen is committed to creating unique itineraries with shorter durations to attract those who are still at work, or who would prefer more of a ‘taster’ cruise for their first experience. The ‘Norwegian Fjords’ continues to be the number one itinerary for ‘new-to-cruise’ and ‘new-to-Fred.’ customers, and Balmoral’s new five-day ‘Norwegian Fjords’ cruise from Newcastle in May 2016 is the perfect itinerary, given its limited requirement for annual leave – just two days, as it is over a Bank Holiday; notably, this itinerary would take eight days from Southampton,” the company stated.