Freight container ship in the sea

    Maritime Industries

    As one of the world's leading ship financiers, we help to preserve the innovative power of maritime enterprises. We are Germany's leading ship financier and among the world's top ten.


    Our main target groups

    • European shipyards: We finance vessels built at German and European shipyards and exported throughout the world.
    • European vessel owners: We finance both the construction of new vessels and the modernisation of existing vessels operated by European ship owners.
    • European and German equipment suppliers: We finance vessels that are built globally with European equipment and/or components.

    Our financing products:

    • Financing of maritime vessels with European content
    • German and other European export loans
    • Investment loans for European maritime companies
    • Down payment and post delivery financings

    We finance worldwide

    We finance maritime vessels with European technology worldwide, including the bulk of projects realised on German and European shipyards: investments by cargo shipping companies and passenger shipping. In this way we promote family-owned enterprises and listed corporates that are world leaders in their industry, as well as their suppliers.

    Contact: Sebastian Blum, Global Head of Mobility

    Portrait Sebastian Blum

    KfW IPEX-Bank
    Palmengartenstraße 5-9
    60325 Frankfurt am Main
    Germany

    Phone: +49 (0)69 7431 60597

    Video podcast of Capital Link on retrofit financing

    Tanja Georg, Director and Team Head Origination & Structuring, Maritime Industries, and Stephan Vetter, Vice President Debt Origination & Structuring APAC, Maritime Industries, are featured in a Capital Link video podcast. They share their expertise and experience in retrofit financing and explain how KfW IPEX-Bank supports companies in making their ships more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

    Financing case Tallink

    KfW IPEX-Bank supports the switch to new energy sources for propulsion in shipping, for example by financing a new LNG-powered fast ferry for Tallink.

    Financing case QPS Retrofitting

    KfW IPEX-Bank supports the reduction of emissions despite long investment phases in the maritime industry, for example through the financing of retrofit equipment for Quantum Pacific Shipping.

    Financing case Baltrader

    KfW IPEX-Bank supports manufacturers of the GEMAX initiative as well as other European suppliers, for example by financing two cement carrier newbuilds for Baltrader Capital.

    Financing case INEOS

    KfW IPEX-Bank supports inland navigation and thus the ecologically sound inland transport of goods on waterways, for example by financing four river gas tankers for INEOS Group.

    Further activities of Maritime Industries at KfW IPEX-Bank

    More sustainable scrapping of ships

    Inclusion of scrapping clauses in loan agreements

    The aim of the initiative is for shipping companies to observe minimum standards of occupational safety and environmental protection when scrapping their ships, and therefore to view scrapping as part of their own value-added chains. The banks ABN Amro, ING and NIBC established the initiative.

    Poseidon Principles

    KfW IPEX-Bank has endorsed the Poseidon Principles, the global framework for responsible maritime finance. This is a further step to continuously develop the sustainability framework of KfW IPEX-Bank in financings for the maritime industry.

    KfW IPEX-Bank is a founding member of GeMaX.

    GeMaX helps shipbuilders and the maritime supply industry increase their sales opportunities around the globe.