USD$290 million secured debt facility to finance its two new build projects, the Ceona Amazon vessel and the Polar Onyx Vertical Pipelay System (VLS), along with performance bonds to further support the company’s growth initiatives.

The new debt facility will be used for the completion of the Ceona Amazon, a specialist pipelay and subsea construction vessel, and the VLS, currently being installed on the Polar Onyx vessel that Ceona has chartered on a long-term basis.All scheduled equity payments for the Ceona Amazon and the Polar Onyx VLS have been made. Performance bonds available under the facility will provide more flexibility for Ceona to execute on its comprehensive growth strategy in the coming years.

The ECA-covered term loan facility is underwritten by ABN Amro Bank N.V. (ABN Amro) and KfW IPEX-Bank (KfW IPEX), and is backed by Atradius Dutch State Business, Euler Hermes and Kuke as export credit insurers. The transaction is in addition to existing term loan facilities Ceona has in place for its owned vessels, the Blue Giant and the Ceona Giant II.

Ceona CEO Steve Preston said: “We are very pleased to have secured financing from two strong European lending houses with substantial experience in the offshore industry. This new debt facility perfectly complements our existing debt arrangements and the strong equity commitment from Ceona’s main shareholder Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and will bring Ceona’s capital commitment to over USD$900 million to support our future growth and vessel development strategies.”

Michael De Rhune, Chief Financial Officer at Ceona, declared: “The successful conclusion of this financing package with ABN Amro and KfW IPEX secures the completion of our two new build projects while also providing us with performance bonds to support our operational activities worldwide.”