Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has continued its secondhand purchase spree with a $240m spend on four classic panamax boxships.
The Swiss liner operator picked up the quartet from US-based fund Mangrove Partners for about $60m each, according to brokers.
The vessels include the 4,852-teu MP The Edelman, MP The Brady, MP The Gronk (all built 2005), as well as the 4,844-teu MP the Belichick (built 2006).
The scrubber-fitted ships are due for delivery in the second and fourth quarters of 2022.
Massive profit
Any sale is likely to reap a massive profit for the New York-based investment manager.
The company acquired the four ships in the second half of 2017 for a total combined price of just $32m, according to VesselsValue.
Three were bought for $7.5m each in July that year from the former Rickmers Reederei.
A fourth vessel was acquired later from German owner Reederei Stefan Patjens for $9.5m.
That compares with a newbuilding cost when they were ordered from South Korean shipyards in 2003 of between $50m to $55m.
Mangrove and MSC declined to comment.
The company is believed to be selling the vessels several months after the US firm refinanced its containership fleet.
In February, seven boxships owned by a Mangrove-managed fund were part of a $45m refinancing deal led by New York-listed CIT Bank.
The company was then listed with 13 vessels.
That included a further three traditional panamax boxships and six newcastlemax bulkers.
In March, Mangrove was reported to be selling the 208,000-dwt bulkers MP The Harrison, MP The Vinatieri (both built 2021), MP The Kraft and MP the Brushi (both built 2020) to China’s Citic Group for $54.4m each.
2021 is turning into a bumper year for secondhand boxship sales.
MSC has played a major role in that and is estimated to have acquired 108 ships from the secondhand market already this year, according to Alphaliner.
More than 300 containerships totalling over 1m teu sold in the year to late August, according to Clarksons.
That makes it the second busiest year on record, the shipbroker notes.
