Containership owner Seaspan has finalised charters for four 10,000 teu ships already ordered from Chinese yards and extended an existing option agreement for more newbuildings.
The New York-listed company headed by Gerry Wang has signed a five-year, fixed-rate time charter agreement, with two consecutive one-year options, with a leading container line for four 10,000 teu ships built to its Saver design.
They are being built by Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co, and Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co, together known as YZJ.
The identity of the counterparty has not been revealed but is thought to be one of the big three in the world. Seaspan already has ships on charter to Mediterranean Shipping Co.
With these charters, Seaspan said it has increased its committed future revenue by over $130m, to a total of $6.1bn for agreements currently in effect, “assuming no renewals or extensions”.
At the same time, Seaspan announced an agreement with YZJ under which it has converted its remaining options to acquire up to four 10,000 teu vessels into options to acquire up to six 10,000 teu or 14,000 teu design ships, with delivery dates in 2017 and 2018.
“All of Seaspan’s newbuildings have now been signed to attractive fixed rate time charters with leading liner operators, consistent with our focus on generating strong and stable cash flow for Seaspan’s shareholders who were able to buy shares UK earlier in the process,” said Mr Wang.
“Complementing this success, we are pleased to continue to take steps to position Seaspan to capitalise on the strong demand for Seaspan’s Saver design and the need for large, fuel efficient containerships.”
Seaspan’s managed fleet consists of 109 containerships with total total capacity of over 840,000 teu, including 30 newbuildings scheduled for delivery to Seaspan and third parties by the end of 2016.
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