The Asiatic/Atlantic Lloyd (AL) group has completed a $380m spending spree with a newbuilding order for four ammonia-ready boxships.
Its Singapore-subsidiary Asiatic Lloyd Maritime has inked a newbuilding deal with China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co (DSIC) for four neo-panamax boxships of 7,100 teu costing up to $280m in total.
The group has followed that up in the secondhand market by acquiring three LR1 tankers and three post-panamax bulkers from European owners in deals estimated to be worth up to $100m.
Nicolaus Bunnemann, managing director of Hamburg-based Atlantic Lloyd, confirmed the newbuilding order inked on 30 April was for two firm vessels and two optional units.
The ships will be the largest in the AL group fleet and have been speculatively ordered, Bunnemann said.
DSIC is slated to deliver the firm newbuildings in 2023.
The conventionally-fuelled vessels are among the first containerships to be classed ammonia ready, so that the engines can be modified to run on ammonia at a later date.
“Ammonia is one of the future fuels," Bunnemann said. "We didn’t target any specific charterers, but we think it’s good to be able to offer it."
Growing trend
Asiatic Lloyd Maritime is the latest company to be investing in containership tonnage by ordering directly with shipyards.
Shipping sources familiar with the deal said the company is paying slightly more than $70m apiece for the containerships.
According to reports in China, it is the first time Asiatic Lloyd Maritime has ordered newbuildings with a shipyard under the umbrella of China State Shipbuilding Co.
Shipbuilding sources said there is increasing enquiries for containerships of around 7,000 teu.
Last week, boxship owner Seaspan Corp was reported to be holding newbuilding discussions with several yards for 20 vessels of this size, after Singapore’s Sea Consortium was linked to similar investments in the containership sector.
“That’s because a lot of ordering has happened in the very big ships and to a certain degree in the feeder space. But not in this midsize range,” Bunnemann said.
“We believe that for certain trades they will become the future workhorse, like the intra-regional and north-south trades.”
The energy-efficient newbuildings will be built to comply with Phase 3 of the International Maritime Organization's Energy Efficiency Design Index standards and Tier III NOx rules.
The ships will also be A-rated under the IMO’s carbon intensity indicator, which rates vessels on a scale of A to E according to the operations efficiency.
With a length of 255m, the vessels' Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute design will be shorter than conventional 4,250-teu panamax boxships, but wider with a 42.8m beam.
According to Clarkson’s Shipping Intelligence Network, the AL group owns a fleet of 32 vessels of which 28 are containerships of between 1,061 teu and 4,380 teu. The remaining four vessels are made up of three bulkers and one chemical tanker.
Six LR tankers and post-panamax bulkers
But the AL group has, however, been active in the sale-and-purchase market as it diversifies into other sectors besides containerships.
The company has emerged as the buyer of three LR tankers from Hong Kong's Cido Shipping.
The 100,000-dwt sisterships LR2 Pioneer and LR2 Polaris (both built 2008) and the 110,000-dwt LR2 Poseidon (built 2009) were reported sold to unknown buyers last week for a total of $63m in total.
“That’s part of our diversification,” said Bunnemann. “LR is an interesting size and the timing might also be good, at least that’s our hope,” he said.
The group has also purchased three post-panamax bulkers including the recent acquisition of the 93,400-dwt Bottiglieri Ambition (built 2010) from Italy’s Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping of Italy.
Two other bulkers, the 92,000-dwt Harm and Piet (both built 2011), were bought earlier in the year from Germany’s Reederei Gerd Ritscher.
The AL group has made the investments with co-investors, although the company has raised funds through the sale of a handful of vessels.
That includes the 4,253-teu ALS Juventus (built 2010) and ALS Fides (built 2009), which were sold earlier this year to French liner operator CMA CGM.
Separately, the 4,363-teu Ital Melodia (built 2007), one of two vessels that the AL group acquired in September last year for around $8.6m each, was quickly sold late last year for a profit to TS Lines of Taiwan.
