Euroseas, a US-listed owner of 20 container ships on the water, announced late on Wednesday a lucrative, long-term charter deal for one of the six newbuildings it has under construction.
The two-year employment arranged with “one of the largest liner companies” for the 2,800-teu Leonidas Z (built 2024) provides further evidence of improving market sentiment for container ships in the wake of the Red Sea disruption.
Boxship charter rates have risen by more than one-third since the start of the year.
The Leonidas Z is set to earn $20,000 per day when Hyundai Mipo Dockyard delivers the ship around the end of April or in May.
Improved market fortunes become clear when one compares the Leonidas Z deal with another chartering agreement Euroseas unveiled just three weeks ago.
The company said on 7 February that its 2,800-teu Tender Soul (built 2024), another newbuilding freshly delivered from HMD, started a charter of up to 10 months with AP Moller-Maersk at $17,000 per day.
Euroseas chief executive Aristides Pittas highlighted the improvement by saying on Wednesday that the Leonidas Z deal reflected “the recent strength of the market both in terms of charter level and charter duration”.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to continue capitalising on the current strength of the market for chartering our few vessels that come open within the next quarter, including the three 1,800-teu vessels that will be delivered during this period,” Pittas added.
The Tender Soul and Leonidas Z are just part of an extensive newbuilding programme of nine feeder container ships that Euroseas has placed with HMD.
The South Korean yard has already delivered three of these ships and the remaining six are to join the Euroseas fleet by the end of this year.
In May 2022, the company managed to arrange three-year employment with Asyad Lines for the 2,800-teu newbuldings Gregos and Terataki (both built 2023) at $48,000 per day.
