Mare Forum November 6

During the 19th Mare Forum – Ship Finance, that was held on November 6, attendees had the opportunity to meet over 30 members of the Rotterdam Maritime services community. Connie Roozen of C&B More and Pieter Baan of ING elaborated on the role and added value of the Rotterdam Maritime Services Community during their opening speeches.

Annet Koster of the Dutch Ship Owners Association held a vivid speech on how shipowners have to get to the 2050 environmental regulations, with a direct question for George Gourdomichalis, one of the Greek shipowners, on who the Greek Goddess for sustainability was. George is confident that the sector will find a solution for the emissions while in the process asking the banks to finance the transition.

Zuyderzee Capital, a specialized investment and advisory services company based in The Hague, raised the question if bank debt capacity would increase as shipping markets might improve? But they themselves stated hesitant, as the recent reduction of activity by banks is no longer driven by market outlook concerns alone, but also by regulatory influences and increased protectionism.

Alternative financing scenarios were discussed, such as Chinese leasing and alternative lenders. Feel free to contact one of the capital providers of the RMSC for additional information.

Sustainability was a recurring topic in all presentations, with a focus on the Poseidon Principles and the Getting to Zero coalition. One thing is for sure, this topic will be back at the 20th Mare Forum on November 4th 2020. Then we will ask again for the ancient Greek Goddess of Sustainability.