MSC secures $439m financing for 86 scrubbers

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) is advising BNP Paribas as coordinating bank and agent, together with a syndicate of four other banks as lenders, in connection with the Sinosure-backed financing.

The $439m loan will be used to finance the manufacturing and installation of scrubbers onboard 86 containerships owned by MSC, in light of IMO’s sulphur cap regulation in 2020.

“We are very pleased to have advised BNP Paribas and the other lenders on this milestone deal, which marks the first scrubber financing between the parties highlighting MSC’s environmental commitment and its firm support by the lenders in light of the new IMO 2020 sulphur cap,” said Alexia Russell, finance partner of WFW.

According to analyst Alphaliner, MSC is a proponent of scrubbers as the carrier plans to equip the system on more than 120 of its 520 owned and chartered fleet.

Read more: Scrubber economics? Early price assessments put 0.5% sulphur fuel premium at $40-104