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Finnlines, the shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic and North Seas, has signed a EUR 50 million loan agreement to be used to fund its EUR 100-million Environmental Technology Investment Programme.

The loan, from the European Investment Bank (EIB), is guaranteed by Nordea Bank Finland Plc (Nordea), a Swedish financial services group, and a subsequent counter guarantee covering 80 percent is issued by Finnish Export Credit Agency Finnvera Plc (Finnvera), the Finnish state-owned financing company.

The aim of Finnlines' Environment Technology Investment Programme is to improve the fuel economy of their vessels by treating them with silicon anti-fouling to reduce hull friction as well as by reblading, and to reduce emissions by installing exhaust gas scrubbers. It is hoped that these measures will allow Finnlines to meet the stricter MARPOL sulphur emission regulations that came into force in the beginning of 2015.

Finnlines initiated the environmental programme in 2014 and to date 18 out of 22 ro-ro and ro-pax vessels are equipped with scrubbers, 7 have been rebladed and 2 repainted.

In May, when the company's first-quarter 2016 financials were issued, Finnlines said that operationally it had reaped the benefit of using scrubbers on board its vessels. In 2015, Finnlines' overall fleet fuel consumption decreased by over 8 percent compared with 2014 – a 75,000-tonne carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction. The company expects to complete the full programme by early 2017.

"We here at Finnlines appreciate greatly the Finnvera, Nordea and EIB cooperation in financing part of our EUR 100 million Environmental Technology Investment Programme," said Tom Pippingskold, CFO of Finnlines, on agreement of the loan. "Finnlines has the youngest, the most cost-efficient and environmentally friendly vessels and through this cooperation we can strengthen our operations in an even more sustainable way," he added.

The EIB's own investment target is to direct at least 25 percent of its lending towards climate related projects. According to Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori, who is responsible for EIB-operations in the Nordic countries, the co-operation between Finnlines' and the EIB is "an exemplary step" towards achieving their environmental goals.