Bermuda continues to be the jurisdiction of choice for the
cruise ship industry, with the world's largest cruise ship
operators structuring and flagging a significant number of their
vessels in Bermuda. Bermuda proved to be a robust and flexible
jurisdiction in response to the challenges faced over the past two
years. Upwards of US$15 billion in debt and equity was raised by
the key operators through capital markets issuances and by Bermuda
issuers, with many of the issuances listed on the Bermuda Stock
Exchange. We have also seen the industry turn to private equity for
additional capital investment, for example the sale by Royal
Caribbean Group of its luxury cruise brand Azamara to Sycamore
Partners in 2021. With cruising not yet returning to pre-2020
levels, we expect to see the industry continuing to tap the capital
markets space for additional working capital and operators
exploring further opportunities for dispositions to private equity
houses and non-traditional buyers.
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