Norwegian investor Arne Blystad is acquiring six more containerships worth close to $150m from the fleet of Dutch shipowner Vroon.
The Oslo-based company is poised to take over three feedermaxes of 1,118 teu and three handysize vessels of up to 1,800 teu.
The price paid is not known although the six ships have an estimated total value of about $146.6m, according to VesselsValue.
The move marks a remarkably rapid rebuilding of the Blystad-controlled boxship fleet.
It comes less than six months after the sale of Oslo-listed Songa Containers, where Blystad was the major shareholder, and the establishment of his privately controlled container vehicle Songa Box.
Vroon exits containers
Vroon confirmed the sale of its six vessels and said that they would be delivered to unnamed buyers in the coming months.
The transfer of the ships will take Vroon out of the container shipping sector completely.
Sources close to the Oslo-based group say that the vessels being taken over by Blystad include the 1,118-teu Ionian Express (built 2006), Iberian Express and Indian Express (both built 2008).
These will be renamed Songa Lynx, Songa Cheetah and Songa Cougar, respectively.
The others are the 1,800-teu Bahamian Express and Belgian Express (both built 2010), as well as the 1,674-teu Caribbean Express (built 2007).
These will be renamed Songa Lioness, Songa Leopard and Songa Express, respectively.
All ships are currently performing charters for different operators.
Blystad has been building up a privately held container shipping portfolio after netting $210.5m from the sale in June of Songa Container and its 11-ships fleet to MPC Container Ships.
The company has already bought five vessels this year.
On the newbuilding front, the privately owned interests recently inked a deal for two 1,800-teu ships at Huanghai Shipbuilding in China, with deliveries starting towards the end of next year.
The two Bangkokmax designs, named Songa Jaguar and Songa Panther, are scheduled for delivery in November 2022 and March 2023.
Flipped to Fesco
Since then, Blystad's private interests have acquired three small secondhand containerships, one of which has been flipped on delivery.
The company has bought the 2,872-teu Robin 1 (built 2009), which has been renamed Songa Puma and is fixed with Maersk for three years at $36,000 per day.
It also bought the 1,740-teu Hansa Falkenburg (built 2008).
The vessel has been renamed Songa Tiger and is fixed with French operator CMA CGM for three years at $27,500 per day.
The third secondhand acquisition was the 3,091-teu Barry (built 2004) that was bought in June from Norway's Torvald Klaveness for a reported $10m.
The vessel was renamed Songa Lion and flipped to a new buyer on delivery in September.
That ship has emerged in the fleet of Russian operator Fesco, for which it operates as the Fesco Sofia.
