FIE460 Ship Finance and Marine Insurance

• Topics

  Shipping, being one of the most international industries, is risky and highly capital intensive. This course gives students a foundation to work with the financing, risk assessment and insurance of ships within lenders, project finance specialists, investment banks, private equity, marine insurers and shipping companies. Sustainability, being one of the topic focuses of the industry, will be addressed through the course. The course builds around two main topics:

  Shipping finance: How shipping companies fund their assets, i.e. their capital structure and sources; How ship finance providers evaluate their investments, i.e. credit analysis - including vessel valuation (collateral), earnings analysis (cashflow) and covenants. We also cover how sustainable finance initiatives in shipping can be used to promote green shipping investments.

  Marine Insurance: How insurance companies and P&I Clubs indemnify shipping companies and financiers, including the structure of the marine insurance market; types of marine risks and underwriting (e.g. marine insurance policy coverage and data analytics for marine risk assessment); and claims handling in relation to, for instance, ship operations, persons and the environment.

• Learning outcome

  The goal of the course is to teach students the principles and tools of ship finance and marine insurance. Upon successful completion of the course, the student shall:

  Knowledge

  • Understand methods in financial valuation for asset-based industries, both corporate finance and project finance.
  • Understand the newly emerged Sustainability-Linked financing tools and performance measurements.
  • Understand the key elements (3Cs) in credit analysis of the shipping industry.
  • Be familiar with marine insurance coverage and underwriting.
  • Understand how ship finance and marine insurance can drive investment in a more sustainable global shipping industry.

  Skills

  • Perform asset valuations for Sale & Purchase transactions in shipping.
  • Perform cash flow analysis for ships under different types of contracts.
  • Build risk assessment models based on both traditional actuary theories and modern data analytics.

  General competence

  • Apply the knowledge and techniques of financial and insurance economics to specialized asset-based real-world cases.
  • Communicate with ship finance and marine insurance specialists using appropriate terminology.
  • Communicate problems, methods and solutions from risk analyzes both in writing and orally with specialists and the general public.

• Teaching

  Teaching consists of lectures, guest lectures from industry experts, case studies and student presentations. 

  Lectures will be onsite in the auditorium. Recorded lectures might be available after lecture time.

  Lectures and  all teaching materials are in English.

• Recommended prerequisites

  There are no formal prerequisites for the course, but students are expected to be familiar with basic concepts in discounting and net present value.

• Credit reduction due to overlap

  None.

• Compulsory Activity

  An online quiz for the purpose of course approval.

  All guest lectures are mandatory.

  Previously acquired course approval is still valid.

• Assessment

  • 40% participation
  • 60% group-based presentation(up to 4 members per group) 

  Due to the nature of the assessment, the grade cannot be appealed.

• Grading Scale

  A - F.

• Literature

  The International Handbook of Shipping Finance, edtied by Kavussanos and Visviks

  Gard Guidance on Maritime Claims and Insurance 

  Gard Handbook on P&I Insruance 

  Shipping Economics, by Martin Stopford 

  Selected academic articles to be made available through Canvas/Leganto.