Project Otto (IFC-48852)

Countries
  • Papua New Guinea
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Nov 5, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Bismark Maritime Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Mar 13, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Sep 25, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed Investment is an up to US$ 20 million financing facility to Bismark Maritime Limited, a Papua New Guinean-owned shipping company, operating in the domestic/inter-islands cargo transportation market. The financing will support Bismark’s plans to acquire two younger multipurpose cargo vessels (MPVs), in order to increase the cargo carrying capacity. The newly acquired vessels are expected to be more efficient in terms fuel consumption and green-house-gas emissions. The project is expected to be supported by the IDA PSW Local Currency Facility (IDA PSW LCF) as described in the Blended Finance Section.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

This is a Category B Project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability (2012) given that the proposed project is expected to have limited adverse E&S impacts that are few, largely reversible, and readily addressed through mitigation measures.

Key E&S risk and issues associated with this project include: (i) adequacy of corporate E&S management systems (ESMS); (ii) vessels operation and maintenance in line with International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions, International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (ISM Code),  International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), and IFC Performance Standards (PS); (iii) labor and working conditions and occupational health and safety (OHS) compliance with PS2 and ILO Maritime Labor Convention; (iv) ballast water management and spill control; (v) combustion air emissions, effluents, and waste management; (vi) ERP, including life & fire safety (L&FS); (vii) resource efficiency; (viii) impacts on sensitive coastal and marine environments; (ix) security and compliance with International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code; and (x) stakeholder engagement and grievance redress, including in relation to crew interaction with communities.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

A secured IFC A-loan of up to US$ 20 million equivalent in Papua New Guinea Kina (PGK).

The total cost of the project is up to US$20 million equivalent in PGK.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Bismark is a private 100% family-owned shipping company, operating in the domestic/inter-islands cargo transportation market. The Founder and Managing Director of Bismark is Hamish Gordon Sharp. Hamish (Jamie) William Sharp is the Chief Executive Officer.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Bismark Maritime Limited Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Bismark Maritime Limited
Mr. Jamie Sharp
Chief Executive Officer
+675 4721990 / +675 72026500
jamie@bismark.com.pg
Montoro Street, P.O.Box 750 Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea
https://www.bismark.com.pg/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works