Eksfin nears NOK 10bn in loan financing for green ship projects
Norwegian export credit agency Eksfin (formerly Export Credit Norway and GIEK) is playing a major role in accelerating the ‘green shift’ at sea, providing loan guarantees approaching 1 billion Euro for the construction of 35 eco-friendly vessels over the last four years – including ‘Le Commandant Charcot’, the world’s most exclusive polar exploration cruise ship recently delivered to French cruise line PONANT by Norwegian shipbuilder VARD.
The delivery from VARD Søviknes of ‘Le Commandant Charcot’ serves to highlight Eksfin’s decisive role in financing such projects. VARD won the PONANT contract thanks in part to Eksfin’s state-backed loan and risk guarantees.
Marseille-based PONANT contributed a significant amount of the contract position from its own resources, with Eksfin providing the outstanding monies in cooperation with French banks. The Eksfin loan amounted to EUR 162.4m, with risk guarantees totalling an even higher EUR 182.7m.
Eksfin earlier contributed to the financing of six expedition cruise ships also built by VARD for PONANT, but this seventh ship is unique and, as the world’s first hybrid-electric, LNG-powered vessel with icebreaking capacity, the first ever of its type.
PONANT will deploy the 245-passenger ship on polar cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica. Shipping activity in these highly remote areas is subject to strict regulation. In line with PONANT’s strong emphasis on environmental considerations across its activities, ‘Le Commandant Charcot’ has been certified by French classification society Bureau Veritas not only with PC2 polar ice class, but also with ‘Clean Ship’ and ‘Comfort Class’ status thanks to cutting-edge technologies that reduce not only environmental impact but also noise and vibration while ensuring the highest level of safety.
