Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has continued its massive container ship buying spree with the acquisition of two of Sea Consortium's largest existing X-Press Feeders containerships.
MSC has purchased the 4,800-teu X-Press Jersey (built 2014) and 4,700-teu X-Press Guernsey (built 2015) at $105m each, according to broker reports.
If confirmed, they would lift MSC's total number of containership purchases since August 2020 to around 120 ships, amid record charter rates which have left few vessels available for hire.
Neither ship is currently named among the X-Press fleet list, and brokers said they thought the sale was done prompt in September.
Sea Consortium has not just been selling ships, though.
In September, the Singapore-based company was reported by European brokers to be paying $39m to acquire the 1,762-teu Feeder 1 (built 2021) from Meratus Line of Indonesia.
It was the fourth vessel in the handysize sector that the owner has acquired this year.
In July the group was also reported to have inked another four 7,000-teu containership newbuildings worth about $292m at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding — lifting its neo-panamax order tally at the Chinese yard to eight.
Brokers said that, when delivered, the neo-panamax newbuildings would replace its 4,250-teu ships that would be around 10 years old.
On fire charter markets have included Chinese forwarder BAL Container Line last month reportedly fixing the 4,250-teu X-Press Kilimanjaro (built 2006) for 25 to 35 days at $190,000 per day.
Earlier this year, one of its newest vessels the 2,743-teu X-Press Pearl (built 2021) sank off the coast of Sri Lanka after a blaze lasting two weeks.
