Hapag-Lloyd has secured 12 neo-panamax containerships on period charter from three different tonnage providers.
The German liner operator has chartered five vessels of 10,010 teu each from US-listed Seaspan Corp; five Capital Maritime & Trading ships of 9,954 teu apiece; and a 10,114-teu pair from Danaos Corp.
Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that the charters have been extended for periods of between one and three years.
Details remain unclear, although some vessels are rumoured to have been fixed for three years at around $28,000 per day.
However, some observers suggest that rates may be much lower, in line with the drop to $12,000 per day in 12-month charter rates for vessels of this size.
“We extended good ships which were already on charter,” Hapag-Lloyd director Nils Haupt told TradeWinds. “This is ‘business as usual’ for us.”
Haupt flatly denied speculation that the charter deals include any agreement involving exhaust-gas cleaning systems. “We did not fix anything with scrubbers,” he insisted.
Although details have only just emerged, Haupt said the charters were done in August and September.
Seaspan confirmed in its quarterly results presentation that it had obtained one new charter and extensions for seven ships with Hapag-Lloyd, including the 10,010-teu Seaspan Ganges, Seaspan Yangtze, Seaspan Zambezi, Seaspan Thames and Seaspan Amazon (all built 2014).
Seaspan has also fixed three smaller panamaxes to Hapag-Lloyd, including the 4,250-teu Seaspan Hamburg (built 2001), fixed for 26 to 28 months at “market rates”.
The Capital vessels taken by Hapag-Lloyd are understood to include the 9,954-teu Athos, Aristomenis and Asklipios (all built 2011), as well as the Adamastos (built 2010), which was sold to Navios Containers in May.
Hapag-Lloyd is one of several liner players showing an interest in neo-panamax vessels.
Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) also emerged as an active player in the charter market, reportedly taking the 8,073-teu Conti Chivalry (built 2006) for 11 to 13 months at $12,500 per day.
It has also been linked to the 8,586-teu SM New York (built 2010) and SM Savannah (built 2011) reportedly for six to 16 months, although brokers said this week that the pair were still available for charter.
Danaos was unable to comment on reports that it has fixed four neo-panamaxes to Hapag-Lloyd and MSC, including the 10,114-teu Express Athens and Express Rome (both built 2011), whose charters are due to expire in January.
Some observers speculate that the two vessels have been fixed at $28,000 per day for three years, although sources suggested they are fixed with MSC on a long-term basis at considerably lower rates.
The sustained interest of liner operators in neo-panamax boxships is encouraging for owners in a sector where rates have collapsed in recent months, but in which more ships are expected to finish their charters early next year.
