Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport has subchartered a neo-panamax containership for a year in a rare deal that reels in a profit that could reach $47m.

The deal with AP Moller-Maersk opens a potential new trade in the tight containership market: sublets among rival liner operators.

In a regulatory disclosure, Yang Ming said it chartered out a containership at between TWD 3m and TWD 4m ($108,000 to $144,000) per day. That translates to total revenue of between TWD 1.25bn ($44.9m) and TWD 1.75bn ($63m).

The Taipei-listed company did not disclose the charter period or the vessel's name but said it has fixed the containership to Denmark's Maersk.

Yang Ming added that it is set to make a profit of between TWD 900m and TWD 1.3bn ($32m and $46.7m).

Containership sources believe the deal centres on the 10,114-teu Express Berlin (built 2011).

The Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries-built ship is owned by New York-listed Danaos, a Greek tonnage provider. Danaos lists the Express Berlin as on charter to Yang Ming until April 2022 at $27,750 per day.

Yang Ming, a member of THE Alliance, said it sublet the ship to another company after fulfilling the vessel's commitment to its partners and it has sufficient vessels for its own use.

The charter is for a period of around 12 months.

One source familiar with the deal said there was competition from another liner operator for the ship, but subjects were not lifted on the initial deal.

That resulted in Maersk stepping in and securing much-coveted neo-panamax tonnage is what could be looked at as "a bit of a one-off" deal, he said.

It is not yet clear where Maersk will operate the vessel, although its size is flexible enough to operate in various trades. A spokesperson said the Copenhagen-listed liner operator chartered the ship to meet the needs of its customers, without elaborating.

An emerging market

It is rare for container liner operators to sublet vessels, especially to rival liner alliances.

However, the tightness in the market for large containerships has spurred talk of a new charter market developing for subletting boxships.

That may be the only way for operators to obtain vessels from the charter market in the coming months, especially large ones such as the Express Berlin, according to charter brokers.

Most large containerships are already locked into long-term charters with liner operators at premium rates, or snapped up in the secondhand market by the likes of Mediterranean Shipping Co.

Demand for large containerships of over 7,600 teu in the charter market far outstrips supply, said MSI Horizon in its October newsletter.

One-year charters in the segment are few and far between, with 8,500-teu gearless vessels now estimated to have crossed rates of $135,000 per day, the analyst said.

Maersk, led by chief executive Soren Skou, has not been buying as many secondhand vessels from the market but is proving a nimble player in the charter market. Photo: Maersk

Similarly, 9,000-teu 'eco' units are assessed at about $160,000 per day.

Both rates are new historical highs and sit more than 470% and 410% higher year-on-year respectively.

No respite

The slackening of production in China is not deemed likely to offer much respite to overflowing ports and astronomical charter rates.

Charter expiries are becoming increasingly scarce, keeping time-charter rates buoyant and sentiment positive, according to MSI Horizon.

It expects tightness in tonnage supply and the corresponding strength in demand to keep charter rates sustained at elevated levels through the first half of 2022.