BW Epic Kosan has secured its first sustainability-linked loan to refinance 19 vessels for up to $140m alongside an acquisition line of $20m to finance potential growth opportunities.
The loan includes a sustainability-linked margin adjustment with two key performance indicators (KPIs), the Oslo-listed company said in a statement.
One KPI is linked to reducing fleet emissions and the second is to increase the number of female seafarers in the company’s employment.
However, the company did not disclose any targets for either of the KPIs. Other financial details were also not disclosed.
BW Epic Kosan’s vessels emitted 554,322 tonnes of CO2 in FY2022, a 3.3% decline on the 573,325 tonnes seen in the previous year, according to its latest sustainability report.
In terms of current gender diversity, some 37.5% of BW Epic Kosan’s shore staff are female, while only 5% of its seafarers are women.
“We recognise industry challenges in relation to attracting female talent due to the nature of maritime trade,” the shipowner said in its sustainability report.
“These include occupational cultural barriers, lack of awareness and knowledge about females at sea, and the slow development of effective policies and strategies aimed at recruiting and retaining female seafarers.”
To address this, the company said it has embarked on a five-year plan aimed at increasing the number of female seafarers it employs.
The Charles Maltby-led shipowner said that following this latest refinancing, there are no loan expiries until 2026.
The syndicate includes ABN AMRO Bank as sustainability coordinator and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as documentation agent, jointly acting as bookrunning mandated lead arrangers, along with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Standard Chartered Bank and Iyo Bank.
This is the latest company linked to Singapore’s BW Group to have incorporated a KPI relating to gender diversity in a shipping loan.
In March 2023, Navigator Gas secured a $200m loan to refinance 10 vessels and one of the KPI attached to the loan was linked to the number of women in leadership roles at the world’s largest owner of handysize LPG carriers.
The syndicate of lenders for the Navigator loan included ABN AMRO Bank, Nordea and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and BNP Paribas.
