Financing secured to build new Sea Ranger ship
The construction of a new Sea Ranger Service ship has just been given the green light with three investors confirmed to finance it. The new ship is expected to be operational from early 2024. As with the current Sea Ranger Service ship, the purpose of the vessel is to assist Dutch and British governments with conservation activities in the North Sea and UK waters. Alongside this, the ship will be instrumental in climate change mitigation work such as our upcoming seagrass restoration programme.
The ability to deploy the new ship is a big step for the Sea Ranger Service, as we now have some tangible resources to help expand our ocean conservation work and training of young people, to other parts of Europe.
Currently at a shipyard near the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the 24 metre sailing work vessel uses wind as its primary method of propulsion. This makes it a very low emission vessel, and in turn a low-cost alternative to deliver on offshore research and biodiversity restoration services.
Our partners
Financing for the ship has been provided by Triodos Sustainable Finance Foundation; a foundation managed by Triodos Regenerative Money Centre (TRMC), NESEC Ship Finance and PDENH (sustainable impact fund from the Dutch province of North Holland). These investors make for unusual financiers as they are typically not involved in ship financing or social impact investing.
What makes the financing setup unique is that the conservation business model of the Sea Ranger Service has now enabled investment funds and maritime sector financing to make an impact towards achieving better ocean health, where this may have primarily been financed through government subsidies or philanthropic funds in the past.
For some of the investors the project has proven to be a first, with Triodos Regenerative Money Centre and PDENH never having invested in a shipbuilding project before. When speaking about the reasoning behind this decision, Thomas Ticheloven, Investment Manager at PDENH says;
“The trigger for us is the absolute necessity of fossil free maritime activities. The Sea Ranger Service initiative entails the strong combination of a sustainable approach, making impact on a social scale, and also leading the way in a new market. This makes it very attractive to us.”
Underpinning the need for the new ship, Wietse van der Werf CEO and Founder of the Sea Ranger Service says;
“We are very pleased to announce this financing agreement. Through government contracts we have serviced over the last years, we have shown that there is a great need for the Sea Ranger Service to revive our oceans. There is a growing market to measure the effects of climate change on our seas and help restore the biodiversity in it.”
We look forward to sharing more news on the construction of this new ship. Keep an eye on our social channels for updates on the construction progress.