The Eurazeo Sustainable Maritime Infrastructure II (ESMI II) fund, launched in December 2025, has exceeded its initial first closing target of €125m and is approaching half of its €400m final target. Structured around senior secured, asset-based financing, the vehicle is designed to provide long-term capital to European small and mid-sized shipowners and maritime stakeholders facing the twin pressures of compliance and fleet renewal.
The fund’s remit spans marine transportation, offshore renewable energy and port infrastructure, with an emphasis on assets incorporating newer vessel designs and sustainable technologies. For many operators, particularly smaller companies, the shift towards low-carbon shipping is becoming a balance sheet challenge as investment cycles shorten and regulatory demands increase.
Guillaume Branco, managing director of asset-based finance at Eurazeo, said the fund aims ‘to provide European maritime stakeholders with a tailor‑made alternative financing solution, in a market with massive financing needs, partly driven by the environmental regulation and the lack of financing sources available, particularly for SMEs.’ The strategy seeks to combine ‘quality returns with a conservative risk profile’.
Eurazeo noted that the first closing was followed by two investments completed within six weeks, financing two new eco-friendly vessels for Dutch shipowner Longship Group. The quick turnaround points to early momentum and demand for capital that can support greener tonnage.
ESMI II builds on Eurazeo’s first sustainable maritime fund, ESMI I, and retains its classification as an Article 9 fund under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Such vehicles are expected to deliver measurable environmental impact, and ESMI II’s stated focus is on assets that reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency and support the renewable energy value chain.
The fund expects to back 20 to 30 European ship operators and maritime stakeholders, pointing to a strategy that targets a broad mid-market segment rather than a handful of large owners. That could prove significant as decarbonisation technologies, from alternative fuels to new vessel designs and energy-efficiency measures, increasingly move beyond pilots and into commercial fleet planning.
Anchor investors include the European Investment Fund, alongside MAIF, Suravenir, AG2R La Mondiale and L’Auxiliaire, signalling continued European policy and capital market backing for maritime transition infrastructure.
As operators prepare for stricter emissions rules and rising investment needs across low-carbon maritime infrastructure, access to specialised transition finance is likely to become as critical as the technologies themselves.
