By
Rebecca Gibson |
KfW IPEX-Bank of Germany is to finance Star Cruises’ latest newbuild, which will be constructed at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
KfW IPEX-Bank has structured the overall financing and will provide the entire loan amount, together with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and the Singapore branch of DNB Bank ASA. The finance agreement has been backed by export credit insurance issued by the German Federal Government (covered by Euler Hermes) and encompasses the commercial interest reference rate for ships.
The purchase price of the ship is around €700 million, while the financing of around €600 million will be paid in US dollars. The financing has a term of 12 years from the ship’s delivery.
“With this high-volume financing, we are underlining both our expertise in structuring within the cruise ship industry and our role as one of the world’s leading players in ship financing,” said Christian Murach, member of KfW IPEX-Bank’s management board. “We are also helping to support German exporters, especially North Germany as a shipbuilding location.”
Ordered in October 2013 and scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2016, Star Cruises’ new 150,000 gt vessel will have more than 1,600 passenger cabins and 18 decks. At around 330-metres in length, the ship will be the line’s largest ship, increasing its fleet to eight. It will also be one of the biggest Asia-base cruise ships.
Star Cruises has also commissioned Meyer Werft to construct a sister ship to the newbuild, which is to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2017.