Danaos, a serial contractor of container ship newbuildings, does not intend to book more hulls for a while.
One day after unveiling his 20th order since 2022, company chief executive John Coustas suggested this will be the last for the foreseeable future.
“We will pause for the time being,” he told analysts in a conference call to discuss Danaos’ second-quarter results.
The factors weighing on the Greek shipowner’s mind are full yards resulting in late newbuilding delivery dates and a fluid geopolitical situation.
“We’re talking now about deliveries in 2028 plus, at the earliest — I don’t think we’re there to go so far ahead, at this moment,” Coustas said.
The world’s situation was also “not at its best”, the Greek owner added.
Danaos has almost 70 container ships and 10 bulkers on the water.
That excludes 17 container ship newbuildings in China and South Korea, whose delivery the company expects through to 2028. Three vessels under its original 20-ship newbuilding programme have already been delivered.
All of Danaos’ newbuildings will be methanol fuel-ready, fitted with open-loop scrubbers and alternative power units and built to the International Maritime Organization’s Tier III emission and Energy Efficiency Design Index Phase III standards.
Danaos has secured long-term employment for all its newbuildings.
“The good thing is we’re completely covered and practically without debt, so we will keep our ammunition for any opportunities that are going to appear in the future,” Coustas told analysts.
Despite its ample cash offers since the Covid-crisis boom, Danaos uses debt to finance about 60% of its newbuilding costs.
The company has already raised about $450m to help finance the first batch of eight newbuildings under the programme.
All in all, the company expects to raise about $1.2bn in loans to finance the entire 20 newbuildings, chief financial officer Evangelos Chatzis said on the call.
