Standard Chartered Bank, together with Rabobank and ING Wholesale Banking, today announced a $125 million loan facility for Sharjah-based Lamnalco Group. 

Standard Chartered Bank acted as structuring bank for the facility, which was lead arranged by the three banks.

Lamnalco Group is a global provider of solutions to the marine terminal towage and associated marine service needs of the global oil and gas industry. It is jointly owned by Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, a dredging and maritime infrastructure development company, and Rezayat Group, a privately owned engineering and trading conglomerate.

The loan facility supports Lamnalco Group’s new vessel acquisition programme by arranging the refinancing of a number of vessels in Lamnalco’s existing fleet.  A fleet of 15 Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels (AHTS) is refinanced and the proceeds are used to fund the company’s global vessel acquisition programme.
 
Daan Koornneef, managing director of the Lamnalco Group, said: “In these testing times, we are very pleased to be able to raise $125 million for our new vessel acquisition programme.  Expanding our vessel fleet not only demonstrates the vibrancy of our business in the Middle East and the rest of the world, it is also representative of the financial institutions’ confidence in our business.”

Nigel Anton, managing director and head of shipping finance, Standard Chartered Bank, said: “Lamnalco is a long-standing customer of Standard Chartered Bank, and we were very pleased to be able to arrange this structure, which met their key financing requirements - especially in this challenging climate.  Transportation finance is core to Standard Chartered Bank’s business and shipping finance is integral to the overall transportation segment; this transaction further demonstrates our commitment to our client base and the shipping industry in the Middle East.” – TradeArabia News Service