LNG News Editor:
Spanish ferry company Baleària, which is continuing with its build-out of dual-fuelled ferries with gas capability for use on its Mediterranean routes, has become the first company in the Spanish shipping sector to sign a “sustainable financing” agreement.
CaixaBank, the leading financial institution in Spain for “green loans”, acted as financing coordinator, insurer and sustainability agent for €80 million ($88M) syndicated loan.
Gas and electric
Baleària’s ferries link the Spanish mainland to Spain's islands such as Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and the Spanish territories in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.
Internationally, it also operates to southern France and links the US mainland with the Bahamas.
To reduce emissions both on journeys and in ports, Baleària has begun to invest in providing vessels with an electrical connection to the port when they are docked to enable them to remain operational without using fuel.
Baleària noted that in 2021 it added the “Eleanor Roosevelt” to its fleet as the world's first fast-ferry with dual-fuel engines and able to run on bio-LNG and with an electrical connection to the port.
“This enabled it to make the first carbon-free journey of any ship in Europe, in its first month of operation, using bio-methane. The shipping company aims to have nearly 15 percent of its fleet utilising these electrical connections by 2026,” it added.
Baleària regards itself as a benchmark shipping company in sustainability as a result of its leadership in projects related to gas and renewable energy.
The €80M loan to Baleària was calculated using the interest rate based on two environmental indicators: the number of eco-sustainable vessels and the number of vessels with electrical connections when docked and used by the company.
Baleària said that other Spanish banks had participated in the CaixaBank-led syndicated loan, including Abanca, Banca March, BBVA, Cajamar and Santander.
