European lenders put up $162.8m to finance ‘green’ shipping

The European Investment Bank and Netherlands-based ABN AMRO have agreed to provide 150 million euros (U.S. $162.8 million) to support investments that aim to make the European shipping fleet more environmentally sustainable.    The European Investment Bank and Netherlands-based ABN AMRO have agreed to provide 150 million euros (U.S. $162.8 million) to support investments that aim to make the European shipping fleet more environmentally sustainable, the firms said in a joint statement.
   The new loan facility will be available to companys for the retrofitting of existing shipping operations – both at sea and inland – as well as for research and development projects in new vessel construction.
   The program, supported by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and made possible by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), is intended to fund projects that will improve the environmental performance of transport vessels by increasing fuel efficiency and cutting harmful emissions, the firms said.
   The EFSI is a central pillar of the European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s Investment Plan for Europe, which aims to create jobs and boost economic growth via targeted institutional investment. The EIB, which is owned by EU member states, serves as the primary lending institution under the plan, providing long-term financing for projects that “contribute towards EU policy goals,” including EUR 12.5 billion in transportation project funding in 2016 alone.
   Under the CEF, EUR 24.05 billion is made available from the European bloc’s 2014-2020 budget to co-fund priority transport projects within EU Member States.
   “The [European Investment] Bank received a clear signal from the market that there was a financing gap for the greening of shipping fleets,” EIB Vice President Pim van Ballekom said of the agreement.
   “By allowing the EIB to take more risk, the Investment Plan for Europe enabled us to create a new instrument to support shipping companies in complying with the European sustainability standards,” he added. “This is the second agreement under a EUR 750 million EFSI Green Shipping Guarantee Programme, which was set up after numerous discussions with Dutch counterparts from the public and private sector. We are really looking to ship owners to make use of it so that we can implement it in other countries as well.”
   “Financing the transition to more sustainable transport systems and networks requires a commitment to invest,” said European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc. “Today’s agreement demonstrates that the Investment Plan can play an important role in mobilizing private finance to support this transition.”