Financing ensured for the construction of the Icon 4 cruise ship - “A huge significance for the Finnish marine industry”

Finnvera has reached a negotiated agreement on the terms of financing for the Icon 4 cruise ship. This allows Royal Caribbean Group to finalise the order. The project will bring the desired continuity to the Finnish shipbuilding industry, says Finnvera’s CEO Juuso Heinilä. The strategic importance of the cruise shipping and shipyard sector is growing due to geopolitical changes and security of supply factors. 

The terms of the financing have been agreed in the financing negotiations, and the actual credit agreement will be signed later. In cruise ship orders, the role of the Export Credit Agency as a guarantor of the buyer's credit is typically essential, as the credit periods are long, and the value of the vessel orders are worth billions.

“We are pleased that an agreement has been reached in the financing negotiations and the vessel order for Meyer Turku shipyard is being confirmed. This is of enormous importance to the Finnish marine industry. Finland produces some of the largest and most advanced cruise ships in the world, and it is very important that the excellence continues and further develops here. The employment impact of the cruise shipping and shipyard sector as well as the indirect effects on the business life of the Turku region and the whole Finland are undeniable", says Juuso Heinilä, CEO of Finnvera. 

Meyer Turku shipyard’s impact reflects widely on the subcontractor network in the maritime cluster and increases the value added and employment of the companies in the network. This is shown in a recent study of the shipyard's procurements. 

The demand outlook for the cruise shipping and shipyard industry is positive 

The share of the cruise shipping and shipyard industry is significant in Finnvera's exposure. At the end of March 2025, the industry accounted for approximately half of Finnvera's total liabilities of EUR 25.8 billion. The strategic importance of the ship and shipyard sector is growing due to transitions in the global economy, geopolitical changes and factors of security of supply, and the Finnish vessel and icebreaker expertise is once again at the centre of attention. 

“The outlook for the shipping and shipyard industry has improved significantly. Demand is boosted globally by the strong development of cruise line businesses, investments in the defence sector, and the demand for governmental authorities’boats. At Finnvera, we work to ensure that the Finnish know-how from hundreds of years of shipbuilding can be exported sustainably to the world also in the future. In the case of luxury liners, the domestic value added is high and the subcontractor networks extend widely”, Heinilä says. 

Additional information: 

Juuso Heinilä, CEO, Finnvera, tel. +358 29 460 2576