KfW IPEX Splash Out $306 Mln for Ten Viking Longships

KfW IPEX-Bank is financing the construction of ten river cruise vessels of the type Viking Longship Class for the renowned Swiss shipping company Viking River Cruises (VRC) as Mandated Lead Arranger and Facility Agent together with UBS. Half of the vessels will be built at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock/Warnemünde and the other half at the Meyer Werft shipyard, its sister company based in Papenburg.

Neptun Werft, which is specialised in river cruise ships, hat already delivered 13 identical ships to VRC – this large follow-up order ensures that the shipyard can operate at full capacity for an additional year. In Papenburg the order will also help Meyer Werft to fill its available capacities. By providing the financing KfW IPEX-Bank is furthering its close, long-standing cooperation with VRC and the Meyer Group. Two of the vessels will be delivered in January 2014, with the rest scheduled for delivery through the end of March 2014.

The ships are suitable for operation on various pan-European waterways such as the Rhine, Main, Mosel and Danube Rivers and also in Dutch waters. They will be approx. 135 m long and 11.45 m wide and have a draught of some 1.60 m. Each will accommodate 190 passengers in 95 outer cabins and be equipped with state-of-the-art diesel-electric hybrid propulsion systems. What sets the vessels apart is on-board herb gardens and solar cells that feed power into their electrical network.

The financing with a term of 8 1/2 years adds up to some EUR 236 million (approx. $306.6 mln), with 75% provided by KfW IPEX-Bank and 25 % by UBS. It is covered by an export credit guarantee of the Federal Republic of Germany.

[mappress]

Press Release, July 4, 2013