Cathay United Bank grants Marco Polo Marine unit long-tenor facility for NT$4.7 billion research vessel project
The group previously said it would finance the project through internal cashflows and not require any project-specific debt
[SINGAPORE] Marco Polo Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of integrated marine logistics firm Marco Polo Marine , has obtained a long-tenor guarantee facility of up to six years for its construction of an advanced research vessel.
The Singapore branch of Cathay United Bank (CUB) said on Wednesday (Jan 7) that it provided the facility to Marco Polo Shipyard, and that the transaction was “supported by” Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).
CUB is a subsidiary of Taiwanese financial firm Cathay Financial Holdings.
Marco Polo Marine earlier announced in November 2025 that Marco Polo Shipyard had secured its largest-ever contract win – worth NT$4.7 billion (S$198 million) – from Taiwan’s National Academy of Marine Research to construct a 4,000 gross tonne oceanographic research vessel.
The National Academy of Marine Research is a research institute under the Ocean Affairs Council of Taiwan.
Marco Polo Marine had earlier said that the project would be fully self-financed through internal cashflows, and that it would not require any project-specific debt.
CUB said that under the facility, it combined “tailored financing with a risk-sharing structure to provide an end-to-end structured trade finance solution for Marco Polo Shipyard”.
Sean Lee, chief executive of Marco Polo Marine, said the partnership with CUB, along with the support of EnterpriseSG, positions the group “strongly to execute and deliver complex, high-specification shipbuilding projects”.
CUB noted that EnterpriseSG has been “actively helping” Singapore’s maritime and shipbuilding firms to upscale and access overseas markets.
Marco Polo Marine in October 2024 joined EnterpriseSG’s Scale-Up Programme, which aims to help high-growth local companies scale globally.
Lee said the collaboration strengthens Marco Polo Marine’s ability to “take on large-scale regional contracts and positions (the group) for long-term growth”.
Lee had said in November 2025 that the project would position Marco Polo Marine within the marine research and blue economy sectors as a “landmark achievement” for its shipbuilding division.
He also said at the time that the project adds “valuable dimension” to the group’s portfolio, on top of its offshore wind vessel operations.
The advanced research vessel will be built at Marco Polo Marine’s shipyard in Batam, Indonesia, over 1,460 days. It will be equipped with green and sustainability features, and will be designed for low-noise operations to minimise acoustic output while performing sensitive research operations.
Shares of Marco Polo Marine ended Wednesday flat at S$0.153.
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