Norwegians to finance vessel retrofits

Government-owned Export Credit Norway offers financing to international vessel owners which purchase retrofit equipment from Norwegian suppliers.

“Money is tight and access to reasonably priced capital is a challenge for many players in the international shipping and maritime industries at the moment. Hence, attractive financing of retrofit equipment could make the investment less demanding for many vessel owners,” said Olav Einar Rygg, director of lending, Export Credit Norway.

The company has assembled a specialised team and tailor-made financing solution to support vessel owners which need to retrofit equipment such as gas exhaust cleaning systems, ballast water treatment systems and new coating systems.

It said it can finance up to 85% of the contract value for retrofit equipment that international vessel owners acquire from Norwegian companies. Norwegian content however must account for minimum 30% of the amount of the Norwegian supplier contracts.

“The Norwegian shipping and maritime industry has a number of world leading technology suppliers within ballast water treatment systems and other required retrofit systems. What we provide is attractive financing for vessel owners who are interested in purchasing this technology,” said Mr Rygg.

For ship owners that have several vessels that need to retrofit equipment, Export Credit Norway can offer a credit frame agreement for the entire fleet.