Nikolas Pateras’ Contships Management, the world’s largest independent owner of vessels of between 900 teu and 1,500 teu, is reaffirming its commitment to the sector with yet another acquisition deal.
The Athens-based company has agreed to buy four such ships from Lomar Shipping, Greek brokers said.
Both companies declined to comment on the transaction, which boosts the fleet of Nikolas Pateras-led Contships to 46 vessels — all feederships.
The vessels changing hands are said to be the 1,100-teu Taipei Trader and Tokyo Trader (both built 2014), as well as the slightly younger sisterships Trinidad Trader (built 2015) and Toronto Trader (built 2016).
According to the brokers, Contships will take delivery of the vessels in November.
The four ships are part of a six-vessel order Lomar placed with China’s Jiangsu Newyangzi Shipbuilding back in 2012. The entire quartet is locked into ongoing charters — the Tokyo Trader with China’s Cosco and the other three ships with Israeli liner company Zim.
No price details have emerged on the transaction.
Feeder aficionado
Activity on the secondhand market for container ships has slowed down considerably in recent months, following a drop in earnings in the sector from last year’s vertiginous levels.
Contships’ acquisition of the Lomar sistership quartet, however, suggests that the company sees little reason to change the business strategy it adopted since its foundation seven years ago.
It continues to bet that such ships will remain popular with charterers and enjoy ample trading opportunities due to a lack of port infrastructure able to handle bigger vessels in several parts of the world.
Pateras has made more than 50 feedership acquisitions since 2015.
The company particularly focuses on the 1,100-teu size, which forms the bulk of its fleet and of which it owns 31 vessels.
The acquisition from Nicholas Georgiou-led Lomar reaffirms Pateras’ commitment to feederships in one additional way: the Tokyo Trader, Toronto Trader, Taipei Trader and Trinidad Trader are set to become the youngest vessels to join the Contships fleet.
The purchase could thus also be seen as part of a gradual fleet renewal, after Contships grew to reach the critical size it had set out to achieve in order to become an established player in its market.
Contships, which has been already shaking out some of its oldest vessels in recent years, still has some ships in its fleet built between 2003 and 2006.
