KfW IPEX-Bank to Finance AIDA Cruises’ 3rd LNG-Powered Unit

February 27, 2019, by World Maritime News

German lender KfW IPEX-Bank is structuring the financing for another cruise ship for AIDA Cruises that is powered with liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Illustration. Image Courtesy: Pixabay under CC0 Creative Commons license

The vessel, which is the second sister ship to the cruise line’s AIDAnova, would also be constructed by Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg.

AIDA Cruises’ parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, is the borrower. The financing is backed by export credit insurance issued by the Federal Republic of Germany (Hermes cover), and encompasses the Commercial Interest Reference Rate (CIRR) for ships, as determined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

KfW IPEX-Bank is handling the entire structuring of the financing for AIDA Cruises and, in cooperation with Carnival Corporation & plc it will syndicate a significant share of the loan amount to an international banking consortium after signing of the agreement.

“As one of the leading ship financiers, this commitment underlines our aspiration to finance ships that are equipped with modern, climate-friendly propulsion systems,” said Andreas Ufer, member of the Management Board at KfW IPEX-Bank, upon signing the agreement.

Just like its sister vessels, the new AIDA weighing 183,900 gross ton, with a length of 337 meters and a width of 42 meters, will have space for around 2,500 cabins.

AIDA Cruises took delivery of AIDAnova, the world’s first cruise ship to be powered solely by LNG, in December 2018. The company’s two newbuilds are scheduled for delivery in 2021 and 2023, bringing the company’s fleet to sixteen ships.