Newcomer Castle Harbour Capital has taken its fleet to 15 with the acquisition of two German-managed boxships.
The London-based asset manager and investment advisor has emerged as the buyer of two veteran feeder vessels recently sold by Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships.
The 2,824-teu Cimbria (built 2002) and Cardonia (built 2003) were sold last month for $42.5m en bloc.
The deal includes the balance of a charter with Israeli liner operator Zim at $40,000 per day, ending in 2025.
The two-ship purchase sees Castle Harbour take the company’s total spend to $350m since its inception in the second quarter of 2020.
The company has emerged on the scene as a result of the spin-out of the investment management business of Mount Street Capital.
The firm was co-founded by managing partners Shaun Burch and Reid Payne. The duo formerly held senior positions at Mount Street, where they helped grow its container ship portfolio.
That included acquisitions of the 1,700-teu Big Dog (ex-Hansa Magdeburg, built 2003), 1,858-teu Big Breezy (ex-Thana Bhum, built 2005) and 2,458-teu Big George (ex-Messini, built 1997).
All vessels are on long-term charter.
Crucial juncture
The purchase of the boxship duo comes at a time when there has been a notable decline in boxship sales, according to shipbroker Braemar in its quarterly container report.
“Whether this is simply a case of a traditional quiet summer or something more fundamental remains to be seen,” the analyst writes.
“Indicators have not been positive overall and asset prices have continued to slide.”
“Some who managed to get ships out at the end of June will be sitting quite happy as values have dropped in some segments considerably as the period market has faltered,” Braemar added.
The shipbroker concluded that the second half of 2023 “is not shaping up to be a classic in terms of asset prices”.
“But buying interest remains healthy and liquidity remains strong,” it said.
