Fincantieri inks €500M sustainability-linked loan to build cruise ships

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has signed a sustainability-linked revolving credit facility with compatriot bank Intesa Sanpaolo for a maximum amount of €500 million (around $505 million).

According to Fincantieri, the three-year financing is aimed at covering the financial requirements of the construction of cruise ships.

As informed, the construction loan is defined as sustainability-linked because it is related to the achievement of two specific performance indicators:

• the sustainability score level, assigned every year by S&P Global with the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) questionnaire, and
• the energy efficiency of the cruise ships delivered every year (EEDI Index).

At the end of 2021, the Italian company signed the first sustainability-linked construction loan with Intesa Sanpaolo and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti for a maximum amount of €300 million (around $340 million), intended to cover the financial requirements of the construction of a cruise ship with delivery expected in 2023.

Shortly after, Fincantieri finalised an agreement with BNP Paribas Italy to turn the guarantee line for a maximum amount of €700 million (about $797 million) granted by the bank into a sustainability-linked guarantee facility. It was the first operation of this kind for the shipbuilding group.

When it comes to the construction of cruise ships, the shipbuilder recently entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Explora Journeys, the luxury travel brand of the MSC Group’s cruise division, for the construction of an additional two hydrogen-powered cruise ships.

With this agreement, MSC Group will take the total fleet number from four to six hydrogen-powered vessels. The two newbuilds are planned to come into service in 2027 and 2028.

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