MPC Container Ships (MPCC) says the liner market structure is changing, not weakening, as charterers increasingly switch to longer-term fixes.
The Oslo-listed feeder specialist also revealed seven new charters of its own, while selling another vessel.
Six feeder ships have been fixed for between 34 and 39 months at daily rates ranging from $27,750 to $42,000, while the 3,586-teu AS Nadia (built 2007) was booked for around three years from July at a whopping $61,000 per day.
Contracted revenue now stands at $1.2bn, with projected Ebitda of $854m.
Spot freight rates increased sharply from the second quarter of 2020 and reached record heights week by week.
At the same time, contract periods got longer, MPCC said in a market update, with secondhand prices surging to record levels.
The development since last November would indicate a softening or normalisation of the market, the owner conceded, but it warned this reading would be "misleading".
"The structure of the charter market changed, moving from a spot market towards a forward market with longer periods. Forward fixtures increased significantly," it said.
Disruptions, port congestions and shortages are still driving the sector and even increasing due to current Covid-19 infection rates and lockdowns.
"In a sold-out market, operators try to secure capacity in advance," the company added.
"Forward fixtures increased sharply in number, rates and the forward period. Tight capacity also induced a significant increase in the average charter period."
Forward availability and the charter market risk exposure have decreased to "negligibly low numbers", it added.
The seven new charters concluded since November demonstrate a continuously strong market, with forward fixtures being done at attractive rates and for solid periods, MPCC argues.
And it has taken advantage of strong asset prices again, selling the 2,510-teu joint venture vessel AS Patricia (built 2006) for $34.3m, against a VesselsValue valuation of $33.2m.
The ship was acquired for $9.9m.
Six more ships were offloaded at the end of 2021, for a total of 11 last year.
These 11 and the AS Patricia cost the owner $112m to buy, but were sold for an astonishing $288m.
