Furetank first shipping company granted green credit guarantee
As the first shipping company in Sweden, Furetank has been granted a green credit guarantee by the Swedish Export Credit Agency for financing a vessel of top-class environmental and climate standard. The approval is pioneering for shipping, enabling vast investments in the green technology required to achieve European climate goals, according to the company's release.
The guarantee applies to the pre-financing of Furetank's next product and chemical tanker. It covers 80 percent of the risk for the lender Tjörns Sparbank, and marks a milestone for Furetank and Swedish shipping.
This is the first time a green credit guarantee has been granted to the shipping industry and only the second time that the Swedish Export Credit Agency grants this guarantee overall. The possibility was introduced in the autumn of 2021 to enable critical investments in sustainable industry.
The green credit guarantee is granted based on the EU taxonomy, the assessment tool that will guide international capital towards green investments. In order to reach EU climate goals and realize the European Green Deal, capital needs to be directed towards a sustainable business sector.
The agency motivates the approval saying that the ship is of ”top-class environmental standard" thanks to LNG / LBG propulsion and an energy consumption already lower than the IMO objectives for 2050. They also take into account Furetank's environmentally optimized transport patterns and ambition to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the vessels through exclusive biogas agreements.
Furetank's CFO Pär Karlsson describes the approval as a definitive breakthrough: a confirmation from the state that Furetank has chosen the right path in making the climate investments that Sweden, the EU and the world are calling for.
The approval also means progress for shipping as a whole, according to the Swedish Shipowners’ Association. They have engaged in the pursuit of giving shipping companies access to green credit guarantees according to Anders Hermansson, CEO of the association.
Furetank, based on Donsö in the Gothenburg archipelago, is a Swedish, family-owned shipping company active in tanker shipping since the early 1950’s. Furetank operates 9 owned vessels and is a founding member of the Gothia Tanker Alliance: a market platform for small and intermediate product tankers, operating 40 vessels in European waters.
