Box shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has signed a framework agreement with French bank BNP Paribas and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) for the financing of a major scrubber conversion deal.
Under the agreement, MSC will award scrubber conversion work for its containership fleet to a number of shipyards including subsidiary yards of Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. BNP Paribas will provide financing support for the deal while Sinosure will offer export credit insurance services.
The deal is believed to be the single largest scrubber conversion order in the world so far. The contract details were not disclosed.
In July, MSC placed an EUR170m ($198m) order for scrubber systems with Wärtsilä for its containership fleet. The orders include both open and closed loop scrubber systems.
MSC is the world’s second largest container shipping line in terms of capacity, operating a fleet of around 200 containerships.
