Klaveness Combination Carriers nets green financing for its two newbuilds

Oslo-listed Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA has secured a $60 million green loan for the financing of the seventh and eight CLEANBU vessels with delivery in 2021.

The loan is linked to the company’s sustainability perfomance and is being provided by Nordea, acting as coordinator and bookruner, with Credit Agriole CIB acting as sustainability agent.

Under terms of the loan, the credit margin will be adjusted, up or down, based on the company’s sustainability performance, as defined by the company’s ability to meet its goal of reducing CO2 emissions per ton of transported cargo per nautical mile (EEOI) and reducing absolute CO2 emissions per vessel.

KCC’s ambition is to be carbon neutral by 2030, to reach the International Maritime Organization’s carbon intensity target for 2030 already in 2022 and to reduce absolute emissions per vessel by 15% from 2018 to 2022.

On the way to reaching these goals, KCC’s sustainability performance/KPIs will be disclosed on a quarterly basis and main KPIs will be subject to an annual external audit.

“We strongly believe in the greening of capital and that access to competitive funding going forward will be based on the ability to deliver green transformation. Linking pricing to emissions performance demonstrates our commitment towards our targets to substantially improve CO2 efficiency in our fleet,” says Liv Dyrnes, CFO of Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA.

“This facility shows us that sustainability ambitions pay off and we are pleased to co-operate with banks that have the same ambitions as us when it comes to sustainability.”

KCC said that its fleet is a combination of carriers built for the transportation of both wet and dry bulk cargoes and are operated in trades where the vessels efficiently combine dry and wet cargoes with minimum ballast.

“The resulting high utilization and efficiency already makes KCC’s fleet the most carbon efficient deep-sea transport system for tanker and dry bulk cargoes in the world, with up to 40% less CO2 emitted per transported ton compared to standard vessels,” the company added.