Three of Denmark’s largest pension funds are committing $300m (€273m) alongside specialist fund manager Navigare Capital Partners to a new shipping fund.

PensionDanmark, Danica Pension and Lægernes Pension said they will be cornerstone investors in Maritime Investment Fund II.

The fund follows on from an initial vehicle launched in 2017, which attracted $450m from institutional investors, including the DKK250bn (€33.5bn) labour-market pension fund PensionDanmark and the DKK450bn Danske Bank subsidiary Danica Pension.

Navigare Capital, which will co-invest and manage the fund, is part-owned by Robert Mærsk Uggla, the CEO of AP Møller Holding and a member of the Møller family.

The first fund has now created a $1bn portfolio of vessels chartered on long-term contracts.

Torben Möger Pedersen, CEO OF PensionDanmark, said: “The investments will be managed by a team with strong competencies and vast experience from the sector.

“Based on our positive experience from the first fund, we are also expecting attractive returns from the new fund over the relatively long horizon during which we invest in the shipping sector.”

The three Danish pension funds have all taken part in a first close of the new fund and it is now open to other investors.