KfW IPEX Bank has announced that it is leading an international consortium providing $2.5 billion in financing for two 5,500-passenger ships for Royal Caribbean to be built at Meyer Turku in Finland.

Fueled by LNG, the ships are slated for deliveries in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

With KfW IPEX being the syndicate leader, the other banks involved include BNP Paribas,HSBC, Commerzbank, Santander, BBVA, Bayern/LB, DZ Bank, JPMorgan and SMBC.

This is the largest syndicate package that KfW IPEX has ever structured and led, contributing a 686 million euros.

The financing is covered by the Finnish export credit authority, Finnvera, and also by export credit insurance by the Federal Republic of Germany (Hermes cover). Finnish Export Credit, a subsidiary of Finnvera will provide most of the funds at OECD-set ship financing interest rates.

The loans granted separately for each ship have terms of 12 years from the delivery date.

The production calls for the complete hulls and main engines at the Neptun Werft in Rostock, Germany.