Israeli liner operator Zim has made an aggressive play in the charter market by taking a handful of boxships on long-term contracts.
The company has secured several vessels, ranging from feederships to post-panamaxes, for periods of up to two years.
Zim has taken about six vessels from the market of between 2,700 teu and 6,050 teu. The company is doing so when some liner operators are reluctant to take vessels for longer periods at today's historically high rates.
But Zim will pay about $28,500 per day to fix the 6,050-teu Torrance (ex-APL England, built 2001) for 24 to 28 months, brokers said.
The vessel has been fixed just weeks after new owner Greece's Technomar Shipping bought it for a little more than $11m.
Zim is paying a significant premium to take delivery of the vessel in January.
In recent days, similar vessels chartered from March are getting slightly lower rates of about $24,000 per day.
Panamax and sub-panamax
Zim has also demonstrated an appetite for traditional panamaxes and sub-panamaxes and has locked in a number on period hires at rates of more than 20,000 per day.
The company has fixed Navios Maritime Containers' 4,250-teu Navios Amarillo (built 2007) for two years at $22,000 per day.
In the sub-panamax sector, it has taken Borealis Maritime's 3,421-teu Bomar Rossi (built 2012) and 2,782-teu Bright (built 2018).
Both vessels have reportedly been chartered for about 12 to 15 months at $20,000 per day with delivery in December.
"These are good strong numbers, we haven't seen those since 2008," one broker said.
Zim has also signed a newbuilding on period hire from Greek owner Cape Shipping.
The 2,756-teu Cape Citius is scheduled for delivery from Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard in January. The vessel will earn $17,800 per day for 22 to 26 months on delivery to Zim.
Zim is making record profits and expanding its liner operations. It has launched several new services this year. These include a high-speed service on the transpacific and between Asia and Australia, as well as its first direct services between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
