Notice. We are a boutique capital advisory firm. We provide underwriting support, structuring, and private capital introductions for corporate clients. We are not a bank, lender, credit insurer, broker dealer, or retail investment adviser and do not issue loans, guarantees, or insurance products. Any facility or instrument is provided by regulated counterparties under their own approvals and documentation. All transactions are subject to KYC and AML checks, sanctions screening, credit committee decisions, independent legal and tax advice on the client side, and formal agreements with those regulated entities.
Ship Financing (Gap Funding)
Shipping deals rarely fail on “asset quality” alone. They fail when the capital stack does not close: senior secured sizing is conservative, equity is conditional, and the seller timeline does not wait.
We specialise in ship financing gap funding. We design and place the capital between senior secured debt and sponsor equity, so vessel acquisitions, fleet programs, and CAPEX cycles close on schedule with a coherent security and cashflow framework.
Our mandates are full scope. Underwriting support, structuring, market approach, term negotiation support, coordination of technical and legal workstreams, and closing management through funds flow.
Request A QuoteWhere The Gap Shows Up
- Purchase price versus senior secured ship mortgage advance rate and covenant headroom.
- Deposit and delivery timing mismatches, including back-to-back closings.
- Fleet growth requiring repeatable liquidity across multiple assets and jurisdictions.
- Special survey, drydock, ballast water, scrubber, or emissions-related CAPEX without destabilising liquidity.
- Refinance transitions where senior approvals and documentation timing create a bridge requirement.
What Capital Providers Underwrite
- Loan-to-value and downside protection, not headline upside.
- Cash generation and break-even economics (TCE sensitivity, OPEX, bunkers, utilisation).
- Charter profile: time charter versus spot exposure, counterparty quality, hire mechanics.
- Security package: mortgage, share pledge, assignments of earnings and insurances, account controls.
- Technical and regulatory profile: class, maintenance status, special survey schedule, compliance constraints.
Vessel Segments We Commonly Support
Gap funding is not vessel-type agnostic. We position the story and the structure with language the maritime desks recognise.
- Tankers: Medium Range, Long Range 1, Long Range 2, Aframax, Suezmax, Very Large Crude Carrier, plus clean and chemical configurations subject to profile.
- Dry Bulk: Handysize, Supramax, Ultramax, Panamax, Kamsarmax, Capesize.
- Containers: feeder and regional, Panamax, Neo-Panamax, Post-Panamax, Ultra Large Container Vessel programs.
- Gas: Liquefied Petroleum Gas carriers including Very Large Gas Carrier and mid-size profiles, and Liquefied Natural Gas carriers where counterparties and documentation support participation.
- Specialised: roll-on roll-off, pure car and truck carriers, reefers, and selected offshore support profiles depending on contract coverage and risk allocation.
The mandate is structured around what can be controlled and monitored: earnings assignment, charter cashflow mechanics, insurance, class, and an enforceable security framework.
Common Ship Financing Structures We Advise On
We build the stack to be coherent across security, intercreditor positioning, and covenants, not just pricing.
- Senior Secured Ship Mortgage Facilities, bilateral or syndicated, with standard maritime security deliverables.
- Revolving Credit Facilities for fleet operators, often supported by collateral pools, eligibility mechanics, and reporting undertakings.
- Mezzanine Debt and junior capital with defined intercreditor rights, cure mechanics, and enforcement positioning.
- Preferred Equity with structured returns designed to reduce common equity dilution while preserving control parameters.
- Bridge Financing for deposits, delivery windows, or refinance timing risk.
- Sale and Leaseback and bareboat charter structures where commercial and tax advice supports the approach.
- Portfolio Facilities across multiple vessels with substitution rights, concentration limits, and monitoring protocols.
Underwriting Support
Gap capital is committee-driven. We build the submission so counterparties can price risk and move to terms without repeated resets.
- Asset and market memo, including valuation framing and downside cases.
- Charter and cashflow analysis, including sensitivities and break-even logic.
- Sponsor and operator diligence narrative with governance and track record.
- Risk register with mitigants: technical, regulatory, counterparty, and jurisdictional.
- KYC and AML readiness packaging to reduce onboarding friction.
Structuring And Execution
We structure for enforceability and monitoring. That is what makes capital repeatable across fleet programs.
- Security framework design: mortgage, share pledges, earnings and insurance assignments, account controls.
- Intercreditor positioning: priority, standstill, cure rights, consent and enforcement mechanics.
- Covenants, reserves, and permitted leakage framing aligned to underwriting logic.
- Draw mechanics, conditions precedent, and deliverables management.
- Term sheet negotiation support through definitive documentation and closing.
Indicative Timeline To Closing
Timelines depend on data quality, technical diligence, documentation complexity, and counterparty onboarding. For well-prepared mandates, a practical path from intake to closing is typically 6 to 12 weeks. Compressed timelines are possible when vessel documentation, charter packages, corporate KYC, and technical materials are complete at day one.
- Weeks 1 to 2: intake, underwriting plan, structure design, initial market approach.
- Weeks 2 to 4: term indications, security concept alignment, diligence workplan.
- Weeks 4 to 8: technical and legal diligence, KYC and AML onboarding, documentation drafts.
- Weeks 8 to 12: definitive documents, conditions precedent, funds flow, closing.
What We Need To Issue A Quote
A concise pack allows clean scoping and correct pricing of the advisory mandate.
- Vessel details: type, specs, age, class status, flag, registry, and survey schedule.
- Transaction status: purchase agreement stage, timeline, deposits, and target close date.
- Charter package: contracts, counterparties, hire mechanics, tenor, and operational assumptions.
- Sponsor and operator profile: ownership, governance, track record, and financials.
- Proposed stack: senior terms (if any), gap requirement, and preferred security concept.
FAQ
Do you provide the capital directly?
- No. We provide underwriting support, structuring, and introductions to private capital sources and regulated counterparties acting under their own approvals and documentation.
What does gap funding mean in ship financing?
- Capital that sits between senior secured debt and sponsor equity. It is commonly structured as mezzanine debt, preferred equity, or bridge capital to meet closing requirements and senior constraints.
Can you support tanker subclasses like Medium Range, Long Range 1, and Long Range 2?
- Yes. We position the underwriting narrative and structure based on vessel class, market liquidity, charter profile, and enforceable security deliverables.
What drives pricing and terms for gap capital?
- Asset liquidity, charter coverage, sponsor quality, security package, intercreditor positioning, covenant headroom, and the credibility of monitoring and enforcement.
How long does it usually take to close?
- A typical mandate runs 6 to 12 weeks from complete intake to closing, driven by technical diligence, documentation, and onboarding. Incomplete packs are the most common delay.
What is the fastest way to receive a quote?
- Submit vessel specs, charter package, transaction timeline, sponsor profile, and the target capital requirement through our contact page. We revert with scope and commercial terms.
If you are facing an acquisition timing constraint, an equity shortfall, or a CAPEX-driven liquidity pinch, gap funding is the tool that keeps execution tight. Share your vessel details and transaction timeline to receive a quote.
Request A QuoteDisclosure. We provide structuring, modelling, underwriting support, and private capital introduction services for corporate clients. We do not accept client money and do not originate or issue loans, guarantees, or insurance products. Any facility or instrument is provided by regulated counterparties under their own licences, terms, and documentation. Nothing on this page is a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any security or regulated financial product. All engagements are subject to internal approval, conflict checks, applicable KYC and AML checks, and sanctions screening where required, as well as the terms of a formal engagement letter.
