Sovereign Risk Insurance, a Bermuda political risk insurer, yesterday said it has closed a landmark deal with Denmark's official credit agency.

The agreement paves the way for the agency to help more of Denmark's exporters with shipment of goods originating from outside the country, said Lars Kolte, managing director of Eksport Kredit Fonden.

Under the deal, Sovereign provides reinsurance covering a Danish export firm sending about $17 million, or 100 million Danish kroner, worth of equipment to several Ukrainian mills that process cooking oil.

The agreement marks the first private insurance transaction for EKF, said Sovereign chief executive Price Lowenstein.

EKF bought protection privately because 80 percent of the equipment in the shipment was made outside Denmark. "The cooperation between EKF and Sovereign has made it possible to make a deal where the Danish part is relatively small," said EKF managing director Lars Kolte.

EKF, a government agency, counts its main task as offering insurance to those involved in Danish export transactions.

"The ability of EKF to work with private companies makes it possible for us to better serve our Danish companies by enabling us to focus more on the national interest than the national content," Mr. Kolte said.

The agency secured reinsurance to cover the shipment by Danish exporter, Alfa Laval, as well as the Ukrainian borrower's obligations. The transaction also involved a bank, which is the beneficiary of the policy.

The ultimate destination of the shipment, the Ukraine, is one of the four areas that Sovereign is most active in, after Turkey, Russia and Indonesia, said Mr. Lowenstein.

Sovereign has underwritten more than 400 policies over its nine year history. The value of its global portfolio has grown from $5.9 billion to $6.2 billion in recent years, said Mr. Lowenstein.