New Containerships

Hong Kong-based containership owner and operator Seaspan has announced it has entered into an agreement with a major shipyard for the construction of two 24,000 TEU-capacity containerships.

The new vessels are scheduled for delivery in early 2023 at which point they will enter into 18-year charters with a leading global liner customer, Seaspan said in statement.

As of September 30, 2020, Seaspan’s global fleet consisted of 127 vessels and approximately 1,073,000 TEU. Late last year, the company also announced an agreement for five newbuild 12,200 TEU vessels which, combined with the two vessels announced today, will add new capacity of 109,000 TEU to the its fleet.

The deal marks Seaspan’s entry into the ultra-large containership segment.

“By combining our key core competencies of creative partnerships, quality growth and disciplined capital allocation, we have developed compelling newbuild opportunities to continue to fuel the company’s growth and enhance our competitive advantages,” said Bing Chen, Chairman, President and CEO of Seaspan. “With newbuild slots scarce in today’s market, we have been consistently meeting our liner customers’ needs while maintaining our return discipline and prudent capital allocation. Upon their completion, these seven best-in-class newbuild vessels are scheduled to consistently add to our fleet beginning late this year and extending through 2023, supporting our strategies to continue generating quality growth and creating value for our shareholders.”

The company said it expects to finance the vessel’s through additional borrowings as well as cash on hand.

Seaspan Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Corp. (NYSE:ATCO).