Sovcomflot, NYK Line Ink Loan to Refinance LNG Carrier Duo

Joint venture companies belonging to Sovcomflot and NYK Line have signed a new USD 176 million non-recourse credit facility to refinance two ice-class LNG carriers.

The vessels in question are the Grand Aniva and sister ship Grand Elena, servicing the Sakhalin-2 project. The 145,000 cbm units are jointly owned and operated by SCF Group and NYK Line.

The loan was signed for eight years with three international banks, namely Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Japan (through its German subsidiary, SMBC Bank EU AG); Société Générale of France, and Shinsei Bank of Japan.

With this financing facility, SCF Group said that it is pioneering the adoption of provisions that enable lenders to comply with the Poseidon Principles, an environmental initiative by international banks that promotes a low carbon future for the global shipping industry by establishing a framework for assessing and disclosing the climate change impact of ship finance portfolios.

Grand Aniva and Grand Elena, built in 2008 and 2007, transport LNG year-round from the port of Prigorodnoye on Sakhalin Island to Japan, South Korea and China under long-term contracts with Sakhalin Energy, the operator of Sakhalin-2 project.

Since LNG shipments began from Sakhalin-2 in March 2009, the two carriers have completed 325 voyages, delivering over 46.5 million cubic metres of LNG.