Photo credit: Preben Olsen
Germany’s container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd will use green financings for the 24 large container ships, ordered in October 2024 and expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2029. The newbuildings will have a combined capacity of 312,000 TEU and involve a combined investment volume of around $4bn.
The 24 ships will be built in China and equipped with high-pressure liquefied gas dual-fuel engines. In addition, these vessels can be operated using biomethane and will also be ammonia ready.
According to the company’s statement, the financing consists of four components. Around $900m of the purchase price will be financed using the company’s own funds.
A total of $500m will be made available from two banks in the form of bilateral mortgage loans.
Another part, in the amount of $1.8bn, will be financed via three leasing structures, and $1.1bn will be financed via a syndicated credit facility backed by the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure).
The financing share amounts to a total of around 80% of the investment volume, Hapag-Lloyd said, with maturities ranging between 10 and 18 years.
Hapag-Lloyd also revealed that the financing will be carried out on the basis of Hapag-Lloyd’s Green Financing Framework, which in turn complies with the standards of the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association (LMA).
“We are continuously modernizing our fleet in order to deliver a high quality of service and to achieve our ambitious decarbonization goals,” said Mark Frese, CFO/CPO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.
“The successful conclusion of several attractive financial transactions confirms that green financing components are becoming increasingly important. In addition, we are pleased to be able to finance newbuild projects in China for the first time with the Sinosure transaction.”
The company has a target to reduce by 2030 its greenhouse gas emissions by around a third compared to 2022.
