Dutch money for short-sea shipping sector

Institutional investors and the Province of Groningen offer through the fund financing for Dutch shipowners who are planning to acquire (or re-build) short-sea vessels. The fund is partly backed by a guarantee from the Dutch state. ‘NSDF’s lending is supplemental to existing credit capacity from banks’ explains Pieter van der Burg, managing director of Nesec. “The introduction of a range of measures has steadily reduced lending activities of banks towards shipowners.”

“Shipping companies in Groningen own 75% of the 400 ships in the Northern Netherlands. So Groningen is a genuine short-sea province”, adds Henk Staghouwer, a member of the Groningen provincial executive. “No fewer than 112 short-sea vessels were launched from northern shipyards between 2012 and 2017. We are happy to provide the forty shipping companies active in this field with access to financing for the construction of new, innovative vessels. With a turnover of 1.3 billion euros and 4,300 employees in some 100 companies, shipbuilding is vital to the economy and jobs in the north of the Netherlands as a whole and in Groningen in particular.”

Nesec was founded in 1946 to promote the export of vessels built in the Netherlands and to provide financing for shipowners.

By Jake Frith