Eib News

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri held a steel cutting ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new Hydro-Oceanographic Ship (N.I.O.M.) for the Italian Navy.Scheduled for delivery from the integrated shipyard in Riva Trigoso-Muggiano in 2026, the new vessel is intended for mapping and scientific monitoring activities, as well as in support of the initiatives of the Hydrographic Institute, took place today at the Riva Trigoso shipyard.The ship will feature technologies to contain emissions…

A group of European development banks plan to double its funding for global efforts to stop plastic waste from polluting the world's oceans to 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion).The Clean Oceans Initiative, led by the French and German development banks and the European Investment Bank is the largest such grouping targeting plastic pollution of the sea.Around 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the oceans every year, most of it discarded on land or washed into rivers, the group said on Friday…

Engineering and technology group, Technip Energies has acquired a 16.3% stake in X1 Wind, a startup that has designed "an innovative and disruptive" offshore wind turbine floater.Technip Energies is the lead investor in this funding round, which also counts with the participation of the European Commission-owned European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, advised by the European Investment Bank (EIB), and some of X1 Wind’s previous shareholders. Under the terms of the agreement, Technip Energies will hold two of the nine seats on X1 Wind’s Board of Directors.Also…

Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said.A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods in Lebanon’s capital, plunging the country deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.According to two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the plans…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide an €80 million loan ($94,7 million), alongside EU and EIB financing, for a floating storage and regasification unit in CyprusThe EBRD is providing an €80 million loan to the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company of Cyprus (ETYFA) for the acquisition of an FSRU and the development of related infrastructure.The FSRU will be permanently anchored about 1.3 km off the coast of Limassol in Vasilikos Bay and will connect directly to the adjacent Vasilikos power station, the largest power plant in Cyprus. The EU is extending a €101 million grant for the project under the Connecting Europe Facility.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a SEK 445 million ($45.6 million) loan agreement with the Municipality of Ystad to expand harbor facilities so that new, larger liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels on the Swinoujscie-Ystad line can access the harbor.The port in the southern-Swedish town is a busy connection point to the Polish Port of Swinoujscie and the Danish island of Bornholm. The project aims at increasing the capacity and upgrading the Port of Ystad facilities in order to accommodate larger ro-pax vessels over 240 meters in length…

European Investment Bank (EIB) and Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) have signed an agreement to finance with up to 20 million euros the construction of a new liquid natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel for maritime use in Greece which will be based in Piraeus. EIB said that the first vessel of its kind in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean will have a capacity of 3,000 cubic meters and will be supplied with LNG at Revithoussa LNG terminal.The bunker tanker will refuel its LNG at Revithoussa LNG terminal and will carry out bunkering both in Piraeus and other Greek ports, as well as the wider region, in support of the shift towards green shipping with more environmentally friendly fuels.The agreement was signed by Konstantinos Xifaras…

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's financing department, will bar funding for most fossil fuel projects to become the world’s first ‘“climate bank”.The bank will end its financing of oil, gas, and coal projects after 2021, and will accelerate clean energy innovation, energy efficiency and renewables. EIB Group financing will unlock EUR 1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainable investment in the decade to 2030, it said.Over the last five years the European Investment Bank has provided more than EUR 65 billion of financing for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy distribution.“Climate is the top issue on the political agenda of our time,” said EIB President Werner Hoyer.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday formally agreed to provide 140 million euros (USD $154.5 million) to support expansion and upgrading of Piraeus Port, Greece's main port.The largest ever loan for port investment in the country by Europe’s long-term lending institution, will support the implementation of part of investments at the Port of Piraeus in a total investment plan of more than EUR 600 million. The 20-year loan was signed in Athens in the presence of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Xu Lirong, Chairman of COSCO Shipping Corporation, by Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President, the Chairman of Piraeus Port Authority S.A.

Jan De Nul group of the beginning of work on dredging and expansion on an internal ship canal and a turning circle in port of Nouadhibou (Mauritania), one of the largest centers through which iron ore from the country is exported, is told in the group message.With the deepening and widening of the 25-km long entrance channel to the mineral terminal of Port of Nouadhibou, the National Industrial and Mineral Authority of Mauritania (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière or SNIM) opens the port for vessels with a capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes.One of Jan De Nul’s largest Cutter Suction Dredgers Zheng He arrived in the first week of October on site.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 14 million venture loan agreement with Sweden’s Cimco Marine AB to co-finance its innovation and growth investments.As per the unsecured credit facility agreement, the EIB will finance up to 50 percent of Cimco’s development of a new family of diesel outboard engines, inter alia a 3 liter, 6- cylinder twin turbo BMW diesel engine with a number of power outputs between 200 hp and 300 hp."The total facility is split into three tranches of EUR 4 million (A), EUR 4 million (B) and EUR 6 million (C) respectively," it said.The availability period for the facility is 30 months from signing, during which Cimco can meet all milestones for tranches A-C.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a total of EUR 4.5 billion (USD 5bln) of new financing that will tackle investment gaps hindering private sector growth, including replacement of old buses and trains.The new EIB support will directly back projects in 23 countries, it said.The EIB agreed EUR 611 million of new financing to support energy transition, reduce carbon emissions and scale up renewable energy.This includes backing new solar power in Zambia and wind farms in Portugal, energy efficiency projects in Lebanon and Jordan and support for rural communities across Niger to access clean energy.Hungary and northern Spain public transport users will benefit from EIB support to provide 3…

Dutch banking group ING and the European Investment Bank said they will provide a EUR 110 million ($123 million) loan to Dutch ship management firm Spliethoff’s Bevrachtingskantoor B.V. for retrofitting vessels with exhaust gas cleaning systems.According to a European Commission press release, Spliethoff will use the loan to retrofit 42 of its vessels with exhaust gas cleaning systems and ballast water management systems.The loan is part of the ING and EIB EUR300mln Green Shipping partnership signed in 2018, to support sponsors of green and sustainable projects in the maritime transport sector with advantageous financial terms.The loan will allow Spliethoff to have 17 vessels retrofitted with both exhaust gas cleaning systems and ballast water management systems…

The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 155 million to finance two new passenger and vehicle ships for the Irish Continental Group (ICG) subsidiary Irish Ferries.The two ferries will increase passenger and cargo capacity on routes to Ireland, replace older and smaller vessels and significantly reduce emissions from the Irish Ferries fleet.The new ferries are expected to be used on both the Dublin-Holyhead and Dublin-Cherbourg routes to reflect demand for a greater choice of services from Ireland to Britain and direct to continental Europe.The announcement was made as the W.B. Yeats cruise ferry made its maiden commercial voyage from Dublin to Holyhead this morning.The largest ever EIB support for Irish shipping was announced during a visit this morning by Andrew McDowell…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) announces the signature of the first agreement under its Green Shipping Guarantee Programme (GSGP) through ABN Amro.The EIB will contribute EUR 10.1 million to an ABN AMRO arranged facility to finance the construction of three cement carrier vessels for the Eureka Shipping group, said a press release.The project vessels’ design represents an improvement to the overall environmental performance of the promoter’s fleet, as well as cement carrier vessels currently operating in European waters. The new vessels, which will be laid up in the Netherlands, will operate with significantly better fuel efficiency…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation ING signed an agreement to support green investments for the European shipping market for a total value of EUR 300m  (USD 372.5million). ING and EIB will each contribute EUR 150m to the facility. This agreement will ensure that sponsors of green and sustainable projects in the maritime transport sector can benefit from advantageous financial terms. The facility is available to clients with significant European interests, and can be used for projects with a green innovation element covering the construction of new vessels or retrofitting of existing vessels. It applies to both inland shipping and seagoing operators.

The European Investment Bank and Dutch bank ABN Amro will sign an agreement to support investments for greening the European shipping fleet. This framework is the first with a financial institution in the Netherlands and is supported by the Connecting Europe Facility and was made possible by the EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments), central pillar of the Juncker Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe. The framework guarantee agreement will ensure that promoters of sustainable projects in the maritime transport sector can benefit from favorable financial terms as a result of the EIB's AAA rating. The facility is open for both retrofitting of existing shipping as well as for projects that envisage the construction of new vessels with a green innovation aspect…

The five international financial institutions partially financing the Panama Canal Expansion Program traveled to Panama earlier this week to see the 96.6 percent progress made thus far. During their three-day visit to the Canal, representatives were guided through the Agua Clara and Cocoli locks, as well as the fourth phase of the Pacific Access Channel (PAC-4). They also toured the Canal’s training centers: the Center for Simulation, Research and Maritime Development (SIDMAR) and the new Scale Model Maneuvering Training Facility, which will train pilots and other waterway personnel to maneuver through the Expanded Canal. In addition, they visited the construction site of the third Panama Canal bridge, which will connect Colon to communities west of the Canal.

Over 300 industry guests gathered at the Port of Liverpool yesterday (Thursday June 6th) to toast the launch of Peel Ports’ landmark deep water container terminal Liverpool2.. Sir Bobby Charlton and ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish pushed the button on the start of dredging and launched a dazzling display of fireworks over the site of the new terminal in the Mersey. The two footballing legends were invited to symbolise the great benefits that Liverpool2 – along with Peel Ports’ investments in port hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal – will bring to both the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. Kenny Dalglish said, “Bobby and myself are both very proud of our adopted cities so the business and employment this will bring to the region is fantastic.

Dublin Port Company today welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project which will transform Dublin Port’s infrastructure and enable it to service the economy for decades ahead. The project will increase the port’s ability to handle large ships by deepening and lengthening three kilometres of the port’s seven kilometres of berths. It will also deepen the port to provide an entrance channel with a depth of at least 10m. The ABR Project is the largest single infrastructure development project in the history of Dublin Port. The project is expected to take five years to complete, costing an estimated €230m.

Representatives from the multilateral institutions financing the Panama Canal Expansion Program visited today the new locks project construction in the Pacific side as part of their regularly scheduled visits. Experts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), International Financing Corporation (IFC) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) participated in meetings for two days and visited the Expansion Program construction site. ACP executives made a comprehensive presentation of the current status of the project, including details of the work stoppage by Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (GUPC), the new locks project contractor.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide EUR 165 million (187.5m) to support the construction of a new sea lock at IJmuiden, the principal access to the Dutch Port of Amsterdam. The current Noordersluis lock was built in 1929 and the new larger lock will ensure that the next generation of bulk carriers, container ships and cruise ships can continue to access the Port of Amsterdam and the North Sea Canal, and is expected to reduce waiting time for ships. The new sea lock will be 500 meters long, 70 meters wide and 18 meters deep, and able to operate in all tides. The IJmuiden sea lock is expected to support economic activity both along the North Sea canal and for companies using the Port of Amsterdam, Europe’s fourth busiest port.

A convergence of forces makes for market opportunities for new safe ferry systems in the developing world. Need, policy, and funding are poised to provide a moment of opportunity. The expanding global economy has resulted in economic and population growth in developing world cities, resulting in horrendous road congestion. In response, governments and businesses have begun planning for intra-urban ferries wherever possible. Ferries in the developing world have a deserved reputation for being unsafe.