Direct Ship Finance to launch a senior secured credit fund in September 2021
Direct Ship Finance is a new, structural provider of senior secured loans to ship owners. Direct Ship Finance is backed by major US- and European-based institutional investors and will launch its first senior secured credit fund effective September 2021.
The Direct Ship Finance team is ready to issue terms as from today.
Direct Ship Finance puts the needs of small- to medium-sized (European) ship owners front and center by offering a quick turnaround, flexible structures and competitive terms. This allows shipping companies to grow their business.
Who we are
Direct Ship Finance has been established as a direct response to banks withdrawing from the maritime sector. It offers competitive terms and conditions to shipping companies that are looking for senior secured loans as an alternative for traditional bank finance.
Direct Ship Finance is a good example of the trend of disintermediation that is changing the financial sector: capital increasingly flows directly from those who have money to those who need it – without touching the banks’ balance sheets. This leads to lower costs and higher efficiency.
Who we serve and how it works
Direct Ship Finance focuses on small- to medium-sized (European) ship owners that are active in deep-sea shipping. These companies are typically active in dry bulk, crude, product, container, chemical or LPG segments. Other type of vessels can be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Direct Ship Finance team understands the cyclical nature of shipping and knows that every company has different needs. Direct Ship Finance offers standardized flexibility. Each loan can therefore be customized to a required loan amount, non-linear repayment profiles, pre-agreed skip options, variable loan terms and other features that may suit a specific transaction.
A more detailed presentation about Direct Ship Finance and our lending terms can be requested by email.
We focus on one thing
Providing senior secured loans to ship owners is our sole focus. With a dedicated team of ship finance professionals, Direct Ship Finance offers its clients a transparent finance product in a unique and efficient way with clear terms and a straight-forward approval process.
Ship owners can discuss their financing needs and request indicative terms by contacting the Direct Ship Finance team, or by directly requesting terms through the website.
About Direct Ship Finance founding partners
Robbert Jan Sougé (1964) has 30 years of experience in shipping and ship finance. Robbert Jan headed NIBC's shipping team 'West of Suez' and was responsible for corporate- and asset finance activities for the US, European and Scandinavian shipping markets. Robbert Jan started his 15-year ship finance career at ING Bank Maritime Industries. In addition, Robbert Jan has close to 15 years of experience in general, financial and commercial management positions in the shipping industry in the dry bulk-, tanker- and the container shipping space with De Poli Tankers, Van Weelde Shipping Group, Anthony Veder and Nedlloyd Lines, the liner shipping division of the Nedlloyd Group.
Wijnand Botman (1982) has been active in the ship-finance industry since 2010. Wijnand started his career in 2007 at NIBC Bank in corporate finance and investment management, where he worked on multiple senior debt and mezzanine debt funds in structured finance before joining the ship finance team. In 2015, Wijnand joined the Shipping Finance Europe team of DVB Bank where he was responsible for the shipping clients in Western Europe, the UK, Poland and Russia. Wijnand has originated, executed and managed finance transactions across all the main segments for international shipping clients.