Hede (Hong Kong) International Shipping has made a clean sweep of charters from the boxship fleet of German owner F Laeisz.
The Chinese operator has secured the 2,800-teu Porto (built 2010) for a three-and-a-half-year charter beginning in the middle of next year, brokers said.
The vessel will join three sister ships that Laeisz chartered to Hede earlier this year, which operate on newly launched liner services from China to the US.
Brokers report the Porto has been taken for 40 to 44 months at a firm rate of $28,000 per day.
That is similar terms arranged in July and August for two other Laeisz-owned vessels, the 2,700-teu Posen and Pona (both built 2007).
The rate reflects the improvement in the market since April when Laeisz fixed the fourth boxship.
Then, the 2,646-teu Pontresina (built 2008) was taken by Hede for just 23 months at $18,500 per day.
Hede, which is the shipping division of the Tangshan Port Industrial Group, is one of a handful of newcomers that have been attracted to the transpacific by high freight rates.
The company entered the transpacific with the launch of two services between China and the US West Coast.
Transpacific newcomers Hede, Singapore-based SeaLead and TS Lines of Hong Kong now have a combined 1% market share on the Asia-North America trade, according to Alphaliner.
The share is small due to the use of relatively small ships of 1,730 teu to 5,600 teu, compared to an average vessel size of 9,550 teu in the trade, the analyst adds.
About 562 ships are trading on dedicated liner services between the Far East and North America.
The vessels represent a total capacity of 5.37m teu, about 17% of the global container fleet capacity deployed between Asia and North America, Alphaliner said.
Market leaders in the transpacific are CMA CGM and AP Moller-Maersk with just over 13% of the market share, the analyst notes.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company ranks sixth with 8.2% market share, but is expected to ramp up capacity in February with the launch of a new network.
Taiwanese operator Wan Hai Lines and Israeli liner Zim were the fastest growing after deploying a series of newbuildings on the transpacific trade.
