Diverse Marine launches UK first finance and lease programme

The Diverse Marine Client Finance Programme provides a mechanism whereby the shipyard funds the construction of the vessels, giving the owner/operator the ability to “collect” the vessel on completion through term finance or long-term lease options.

“Over the last 24 months, Diverse Marine has witnessed the pressures that our clients and vessel owners are under and the difficulties they face justifying builds in the UK, with conventional vessel procurement methods uncompetitive against yards in Europe, Scandinavia and the Far East – who can offer procurement terms without the need for stage payments through the construction phase,” the company says.

“Diverse Marine has listened and can now offer this with immediate effect through the Diverse Marine Client Finance Programme. Financing for an initial, but rolling, eight vessels has been allocated, with the first vessels already in build for delivery in 2024.”

With the UK government targeting 50GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 from the current 15GW and European member states targeting a collective 111GW offshore wind capacity by 2030, the European and UK supply chain needs to be up to the task.

“This in-house programme is the result of more than 12 months of discussions with funders after listening to the needs of our clients,” says director Ben Colman. “For UK yards to remain globally competitive, the need to talk monthly lease figures or monthly repayment figures has become more critical than capital purchase costs. The scheme is unique in how it is set up and unique in terms of the finance solution that we can offer our clients.”