Swiss and German boxship owners have been tempted back into the sale-and-purchase market in the belief that asset prices are bottoming out.
The latest charge is led by HS Schiffahrt, Atlanship and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company who have tied up a number of deals after massive falls in market prices.
Germany’s HR Schiffahrt has emerged as the buyer of three vessels from Taiwanese liner operator TS Lines.
The 1,043-teu TS Moji (built 2006), as well as the 1,096-teu TS Shanghai and TS Yokohama (both built 2019) are sold for a reported $40m en bloc.
That suggests a fall of around one-third from where values stood barely a year ago.
The two larger ships are worth $16.5m each — down from $45m in March — while the smaller vessel has fallen from $22m to $7m over the same period, according to VesselsValue.
Managing director Heinz Josef Schepers declined to comment on the deal but suggested that the company is capitalising on the massive falls in container markets.
”We sold a lot — or fixed on long term —at the top of the market,” he said.
“We saw the prices come down again. And we don’t know how far away from the bottom we are, but we think that we are close.”
Schepers described the ships as “fuel-efficient vessels” with “a good future”. All three vessels are currently operated on TS Lines intra-Asia network.
His company currently owns a dozen container vessels and commercially or technically controls a larger fleet, including multipurpose vessels and bulkers.
Making a move
Another company that has made its move into the container sector for the first time in several years is Atlanship, based in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland.
The company has purchased the 2,751-teu Northern Vivacity and Northern Volition (built 2005) from tonnage provider V.Ships Germany.
Atlanship spokesperson Alexis Maubon confirmed the acquisition but describes a reported price of around $13m each as inaccurate.
Currently, the ships are valued at $11.67m each, down from over $50m in April last year, according to VesselsValue.
TradeWinds understands the ships will have reefer capacity boosted in an upcoming dry-docking. They are then expected to operate in designated services for reefer and fruit trades in the Caribbean.
The vessels are the first purchased by Atlanship since 2014 and 2015, when the company acquired four ships of 2,100 teu to 2,500 teu.
These are on charter to associated company Great White Fleet, the shipping division of US fruit group Chiquita.
MSC again
Another more familiar name to have cashed in on the collapse of boxship values is perennial buyer MSC.
The Geneva-based liner giant has purchased the 4,922-teu NYK Deneb (built 2007) from Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping for an undisclosed price, Alphaliner reports.
That vessel is estimated to be worth around $23.7m — down from over $100m one year ago, according to VesselsValue.
The NYK Deneb is expected to be delivered to MSC in the second half of February and is expected to be renamed MSC Roshney.
The deal brings to 284 the number of secondhand vessels purchased by MSC since August 2020, the analyst calculates.
