MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has purchased three more small boxships from the German market.
The liner giant is buying the 2,450-teu Ella (built 2003) for a reported $14m from Hamburg’s Ernst Russ Group, the investment and asset manager controlled by the Dohle Group.
Ernst Russ confirmed that the vessel will be handed over to an unnamed buyer in mid-July. “The sale is a contribution to the rejuvenation of our fleet,” a spokesperson said.
MSC is also said to be purchasing its second vessel this year from V.Ships Hamburg. The 2,751-teu Northern Vigour (built 2005) is reportedly bought for around $17m, following MSC’s acquisition of the 6,732-teu Northern Magnum (built 2003), which already operates as MSC Magnum VII.
Finally, MSC is understood to have bought the 2,846-teu Chiquita Passion (built 2008), a former German KG (limited partnership)-owned vessel managed by Interunity Management.
The three deals take to 311 the number of secondhand container ships that MSC has acquired since August 2020, when it embarked on a historic spending spree, according to Alphaliner estimates.
Those vessels include the 4,256-teu AS Emma (built 2010), which Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships said it had sold last month for $22m.
That vessel will continue under its current time charter contract with MSC at $20,000 per day until handover in November.
Other deals include the sale by UK-based Hadley Shipping of its only container ship.
The 1,732-teu Cerinthus (built 2013), sold for about $17m, has been renamed XH Cherry and operates for China’s Zhejiang Xiehai Group, according to Alphaliner.
Another German-controlled vessel, the Leonhardt & Blumberg-owned 1,732-teu Hansa Steinburg (built 2010), is reported sold by Pareto Securities of Norway.
Alphaliner lists it as being on charter to Shanghai Pan Asia, a regional affiliate of Cosco Shipping Lines, until summer 2024.
Brokers also reported the 1,795-teu Mellum (built 2010) as being sold to Qatar Navigation (Milaha).
The Doha-based carrier has declared a purchase option on a time charter of the vessel at a below-market price of $12m, according to Braemar.
China-based buyers are also believed to have bought the 1,618-teu Grand Power (built 2002) for around $8m.
The sale-and-purchase market remains resilient as charter rates for vessels of these sizes come under pressure. But ship prices could start falling in the next few weeks, given the bleak macro environment, Alphaliner suggested.
