Hapag-Lloyd concludes container ship green financing

Shipping group Hapag-Lloyd has said it will use green financing for the 24 large container ships it ordered in October 2024.

The newbuildings will have a combined capacity of 312,000 TEU and involve a combined investment volume of around US$4bn.

The financing consists of four components, Hapag-Lloyd, noted.

Around US$900mn of the purchase price will be financed using the company’s own funds, while a total of US$500mn will be made available from two banks in the form of bilateral mortgage loans.

Another part, in the amount of US$1.8bn, will be financed via three leasing structures, and US$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 per cent of the investment volume, with maturities ranging between 10 and 18 years.

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 modernising our fleet in order to deliver a high quality of service and to achieve our ambitious decarbonisation goals,” said Mark Frese, CFO/CPO of Hapag-Lloyd.

“The successful conclusion of several attractive financial transactions confirms that green financing components are becoming increasingly important,” he added. ”In addition, we are pleased to be able to finance newbuild projects in China for the first time with the Sinosure transaction.”

Hapag-Lloyd explained that the 24 ships will be built in China and equipped with state-of-the-art, low-emission and fuel-efficient high-pressure liquefied gas dual-fuel engines.

In addition, the vessels can be operated using biomethane, which can reduce CO2e emissions by up to 95 per cent compared to conventional propulsion systems.

The new ships will also be ammonia ready, it said, with delivery taking place between 2027 and 2029.