BLME Signs Islamic Banking Deal With Global Marine for Wind

Bank of London and The Middle East Plc, the London-based Islamic bank, signed a 14 million-pound ($22 million) deal to help Global Marine Systems Ltd. buy a vessel to install subsea power cables at offshore wind farms.

The leasing transaction with the Essex, England-based marine technology and engineering company is the Shariah- compliant bank’s first in the renewable energy industry, according to a statement from the bank.

The deal “allows us to contribute indirectly to the U.K.’s attempts to diversify its sources of energy,” Jervis Rhodes, head of corporate banking at BLME, said in the statement sent by e-mail yesterday.

Nations from the U.K. to Germany are installing wind turbines offshore to curb fossil-fuel emissions and meet targets for renewable power. The U.K. plans to reach 18 gigawatts of capacity from offshore wind parks by 2020 while Germany is targeting 10 gigawatts by then. Parks will be built further from shore in deeper waters as developers seek to industrialize the technology to bring down costs.

The barge, called Cable Enterprise, will install subsea power links that help transport power generated by the turbines for use by consumers. As an Islamic bank, the transactions and contracts BLME undertakes are Shariah compliant, or follow principles of Islamic law.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sally Bakewell in London at sbakewell1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net