German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd has signed a series of financing deals for its US$4 billion newbuilding programme.

In October 2024, Hapag Lloyd signed orders for a total of 24 vessels with two Chinese yards. Twelve ships with a capacity of 16,800 TEU ( 20-foot equivalent units ) will be built by the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, which will be used to expand the capacity of existing services. Another 12 vessels with a capacity of 9,200 TEU have been ordered from New Times Shipbuilding Company to replace ships nearing the end of their life.

The first debt financing to support these orders is a US$1.1 billion green term loan, backed by China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation ( Sinosure ). It will finance the construction of six of the 12 16,800 TEU and two of the 12 9,200 TEU vessels.

HSBC Continental Europe acted as ECA ( export credit agency ) coordinator, green loan arranger, and arranger for a syndicate of banks consisting of BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Fortis, Citibank, Crédit Agricole CIB, DZ Bank, ING Bank, and SMBC.

The second financing is a US$280.8 million bilateral green term loan to finance the construction of three of the 12 9,200 TEU newbuild vessels, with KfW IPEX-Bank providing the debt.

The third is a US$201 million bilateral green term loan to finance the construction of two of the 12 9,200 TEU newbuild vessels, with Bank of America Europe Designated Activity Company as the financing bank.

All three transactions were carried out in accordance with the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association. Watson Farley & Williams advised the arrangers, financing banks, and green loan arrangers. Hogan Lovells acted for Hapag Lloyd.

According to KfW IPEX-Bank, the ships will be equipped with state-of-the-art, low-emission, and fuel-efficient high-pressure dual-fuel liquefied natural gas engines and are ammonia-ready. These ships can also be fuelled with biomethane, which reduces carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by up to 95% compared to conventional propulsion systems.

In addition, Hapag Lloyd recently signed US$1.8 billion worth of sale and leaseback agreements with ship lessors for 11 of the vessels, under three separate leasing structures. Linklaters advised Hapag Lloyd.

The company is also committing its own internal funds to the US$4 billion ship order programme.

Deliveries of the 16,800 TEU vessels will take place between Q4 2027 and Q4 2028, and the 9,200 TEU vessels will be delivered between Q2 2028 and Q4 2029.