The FINANCIAL — KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH is financing two 1,600 TEU container vessels that are being built by Germany's Peene-Werft GmbH shipyard in Wolgast for the Turkish Arkas Group. The relevant agreements were signed last on February 9.
The ships being financed are nos. 13 and 14 in a series of container vessels which Arkas has ordered from the Peene-Werft shipyard since 2001. KfW IPEX-Bank has already financed a number of predecessor contracts for its long-time customer Arkas.
The financing for the two vessels covers a volume in the equivalent of EUR 26.4 million per vessel, a combined total of EUR 52.8 million. It is covered by a Hermes guarantee and, additionally, tied into the CIRR (Commercial Interest Reference Rate), in which the risk of interest rate fluctuations is covered by the Federal Republic. The loans will have a term of 12 years. Delivery of the vessels is scheduled for July and September 2009.
The buyer of the vessels is the Arkas Group, Izmir, one of Turkey's leading logistics groups with a history that goes back more than 100 years. The group operates in the road, seaport and shipping sector in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea region.
The Peene-Werft shipyard has been in existence since 1948 and has been a member of the Hegemann group of shipyards since 1992. It has decades of experience in building, repairing and modernising container vessels and special-purpose ships. In the difficult current situation of the container vessel market the financing of the two new buildings represents an important contribution to securing employment at the shipyard.
