KfW IPEX-Bank: Two additional transport vessels for Royal Arctic Line A/S

• New feeder/container vessels to serve population of Greenland
• Construction at Nodosa shipyard in Spain, high proportion of German supplies
• Extensive project support through the German Suppliers´ Initiative, GeMaX

KfW IPEX-Bank is providing EUR 16.43 million to Royal Arctic Line A/S to finance two additional transport vessels. In November 2018, KfW IPEX-Bank concluded a pre- and post-delivery financing for two similar vessels for the Greenland shipping company, which are being built at the Zamakona shipyard in Spain.

The new vessels will be built at the Nodosa shipyard in Spain, with a significant portion of the components sourced from Germany. Securing this industrial suppliers´ portion took place primarily in cooperation with the German Maritime Export Initiative (GeMaX). The financing is covered by insurance from the Spanish state export credit insurer CESCE and avails of the fixed rate funding offered by the Spanish CIRR (Commercial Interest Reference Rate).

The vessels are designed for year-round operation so as to supply the inhabitants of remote settlements along the Greenland coast that are not connected to each other by land. The 36-metre-long vessels are specially equipped with on-board cranes, highest ice class and refrigerated container connections for transporting deep-frozen fish for export. Of course they also meet the requirements of the New Polar Code, which came into force in 2017.

Andreas Ufer a Member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank announced that "We are delighted to be able to continue reliably to finance and secure the fleet renewal for Royal Arctic Line, our valued customer for many years. We thereby not only contribute to supplying the Greenland population, but also to modernising the maritime infrastructure of the North Sea".

With delivery at the end of 2020 and 2021 respectively, these newbuild transport vessels will replace older ships in the Royal Arctic Line fleet.