KARATZAS MARINE ADVISORS & Co.

 

The Sale & Purchase market (so-called ‘S&P’ in shipping industry parlance) for commercial vessels is similar to the real estate agency model: a licensed real estate agent does not have inventory of houses for sale on their ‘balance sheet’ just like a ship-broker with ships to sale; they just market other people’s vessels for sale, a strictly intermediary function. In an age passed, when shipowners were both managing and operating their own vessels, S&P used to be a marketing function, ‘blasting’ to as many as possible potential buyers candidate vessels-for-sale, attract most attention, bring offers to the principal and allow the seller make their own decision on which offer and buyer are the best.

 

In today’s market, when many vessels are directly or indirectly controlled by financial owners (institutional investors, mortgage banks, leasing companies, etc) - which lack shipping market expertise, ship brokers are much more than just ‘promoters’ of vessels: they have to depended upon to assist the principals with evaluating offers, quality of counterparties and credit risk, providing shipping market expertise and logistical support, while all along having to comply with the heightened regulatory prerequisites of a financial institution. [For more about the Sale & Purchase market, please feel free to visit our dedicated blog at Karatzas Shipbrokers Register.]

 

Ever increasingly since the market collapse in 2008, many apparently S&P transactions have been involving financing and refinancing, where a high-cost-basis for a vessel may lead to equity injections, new financing and possibly restructuring instead of an outright vessel sale. Unlike a plain S&P transaction where the vessel (‘steel-plate’) is typically the primary trade-able asset, money and placing a financial transaction becomes the primary concern and the vessel is now the ‘derivative’ of the transaction. Shipbrokers with experience and ability to access and deal with investors routinely provide ‘value-added’ services and great success rate for getting results.

 

Our firm, Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co, have an exceptionally strong access to buyers and sellers of vessels worldwide, whether they are privately-held, independent operating shipowners or publicly traded companies, active or passive owners of the vessels. Our firm have extensively represented financial owners as sellers of vessels - leasing companies, institutional owners, shipping banks, and have a demonstrable strong record of delivering superior performance and pricing and have executed impeccably on the delivery of the vessels and change of ownership.

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Whether tankers, dry bulk, containerships, ‘brown water’, Jones Act or offshore assets, our clients can depend on us to maximize the sale price and added value.

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Whether the transactions were outright market transactions at 'arm's length' or required 'soft financing' or happened under extenuating circumstances, our clients can depend on our firm to negotiate on all aspects of the transaction, deeply engage with all parties and deliver outstanding results and smoothly exceed on expectations. Sale of assets from financial owners, who are not in charge of the vessel(s) from an operational point of view and where conflicts of interest between vessel owners and vessel managers can be monumental, our firm have proven to be a world-class performer of resolving issues and impeccably executing on transactions; whether in a conference room in Manhattan, in Canary Wharf, in Piraeus, in Jakarta, in Hong Kong Central, in Tokyo; references can be provided gladly upon request for transactions our firm have been superiorly executing with Fortune 100, household-name companies. Our shipping expertise and hands-on approach have saved the day many a time in sales of assets from financial owners.

 

The London-based Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) is the international accreditation body for sale & purchase shipbrokers.  The CEO of Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co holds a Fellowship with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), among our Firm's many qualifications and accreditations.