Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime is leading the way in a booming container ship charter market by securing a pair of money-spinning charters.
The London-based tonnage provider has fixed the 6,612-teu Cap Andreas (built 2013) for five years with Japanese operator Ocean Network Express (ONE).
It is being taken on extension for a mid-2025 fixture at a rate reported to be around $41,000 per day.
That indicates sustained demand, as Zodiac fixed the 6,612-teu Cardiff and Swansea sister ships (both built 2014) in June on similar terms and periods.
The shipowner is reaping the benefit of a “mini boom” for chartering container ships partly fuelled by strong demand for classic panamax tonnage.
That has resulted in ONE taking another Zodiac vessel, the 4,253-teu Xiamen (built 2006), for three years at $35,000 per day, brokers said.
The dearth of prompt container ship tonnage has caused some operators to opt for profitable relets.
Danish operator Unifeeder is said to have relet the 4,730-teu Navios Jasmine (built 2008) to Taiwanese operator Yang Ming Marine.
Terms are private but rumoured to be in the region of at least $50,000 per day for a 12-month charter.
That would probably mark a benchmark for panamax boxships outside of the Covid era.
Some classic panamaxes are already being taken for three-year fixtures.
Greek owner Dioryx has fixed the 4,376-teu Maliakos (built 2012) to German operator Hapag-Lloyd, reportedly for three years at $38,000 per day.
That would more than double the daily rate of $17,000 that the Maliakos has been earning for the past nine months on a charter with Singapore-based ONE.
Forward fixing
The strong market is also supporting smaller container ships.
Tonnage provider MPC Container Ships has forward-fixed another sub-panamax with AP Moller-Maersk.
The 3,426-teu AS Nina (built 2010) has been taken for up to 30 months at a reported rate of $30,000 per day, starting in the second quarter of 2025.
The agreement includes a scrubber profit-sharing mechanism between operator and owner, according to brokers.
CMA CGM has taken two Danaos Shipping-controlled sisters on forward fixtures.
It is taking the 3,398-teu Express Brazil and Express France (both built 2010) on charter for 24 months at $28,000 per day from mid-2025.
The enduring strength of the charter market contrasts with the weaker freight market, which has been heading down for several weeks.
It remains unclear whether the onset of the slack season in the run-up to Chinese New Year and a steady delivery of newbuilding tonnage will lead to a softening of the freight market and whether this will affect the charter market.
Just 0.7% of the container shipping fleet is registered as commercially idle, a figure that reflects full employment, Alphaliner said.
Only 67 vessels of 208,283 teu are commercially idle, with the lowest proportion larger container ships.
Only two ships over 18,000 teu and one 15,000-teu neopanamax counted as idle, the analyst noted.
