Maritime Partners Earns Top Credit Rating
Maritime Partners LLC has been assigned a provisional top credit rating of AA by Morningstar DBRS, one of the world’s top four credit rating agencies. Morningstar provides independent credit ratings, research and analysis for corporate and sovereign entities, financial institutions and structured finance instruments. An AA rating is considered a very safe “investment grade” rating in terms of risk of default and is just one level below the highest rating possible of AAA. Technically, the rating was issued for a series of notes offered by MP worth $268.4 million.
It was MP’s third asset-backed securitization (ABS), in which assets that generate regular revenue (in this case, barge and vessel leases) are transformed into tradeable securities as a way for a company to raise capital. Maritime Partners pioneered the practice among inland barge companies. Their first one in 2023 was recognized as the industry’s first-ever ABS issuance composed completely of inland marine vessels and won the Securitization Deal of the Year Award from Marine Money magazine. It raised $235.3 million in asset-backed bonds. The second one, in 2025 with ratings also provided by Morningstar, raised $281.7 million.
Morningstar’s latest report described the management team as having “deep experience with maritime leasing, investing, operations, commercial management and shipbuilding.” It noted that MP has had an equipment utilization rate of 10 percent from its formation in 2015 by Bick Brooks and Austin Sperry through 2020, weathered well a slight downturn in demand for barges during the COVID period and noted that utilization has since rebounded to 98 percent.
The report said the collateral pool consists of 662 leased vessels, all “relatively young” and with a weighted average lease of 5.6 years. Among 28 charterers of MP vessels, the top two are responsible for 51.5 percent of the current appraised value.
In August, MP added the mv. Lulu Hamilton to its fleet as a newly constructed pushboat designed by Entech Designs, LLC and built by FMT Shipyard & Repair in Harvey, La. (WJ, August 7, 2026). In September, MP added three new vessels built by Master Boat Builders in Coden, Ala., the mvs. Titan, Marauder and Defiant (WJ, Sept. 4, 2026).
The Morningstar report may be read at https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/491191/morningstar-dbrs-assigns-provisional-credit-rating-to-mp-2023-llc-series-2026-1.
