KfW IPEX-Bank finances two transport vessels for Greenland

• New container vessels for Royal Arctic Line to supply the Greenlandic population

• Construction at a Spanish shipyard with a high portion of German components

KfW IPEX-Bank is providing EUR 30 million to finance two new feeder container vessels for Greenland's Royal Arctic Line.

The vessels will be built at Zamakona Shipyard in Spain, with approx. 30% of components supplied from Germany. The financing is backed by cover from the Spanish export credit insurer CESCE and includes funds from the Spanish CIRR (Commercial Interest Reference Rate).

The newbuild container vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2020 and will replace older vessels in RAL's fleet. They will be used to ship cargo to remote towns and settlements along the Greenlandic coast that are not connected by land. The vessels will be especially equipped for these routes: for instance, the 67m-long-vessels will have one of the highest ice classes, on-board cranes and a dynamic positioning system (DP) as well as connections for refrigerated containers to transport deep-frozen fish for exporting. Of course, they comply with the new IMO Polar Code which has been in effect since 2017. The vessels will help ensure supplies to the island's population in the far north during most of the year.

"We are pleased that our financing will support our long-standing and valued customer Royal Arctic Line with its fleet renewal plan. At the same time, we are contributing to supplying the Greenlandic population and to modernising the maritime infrastructure in the European North Sea," said Andreas Ufer, member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank, during the signing.

KfW IPEX-Bank's most recent financing for Royal Arctic Line was for a 2,150 TEU container vessel that is envisaged to improve liner traffic between Denmark and Greenland from 2019, together with two other, identically constructed newbuilds of the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip.