Greece’s Euroseas is continuing to scour the market for term deals for its newbuildings as it revealed the charterer of its first two new container ships.
The US-listed owner said the 2,800-teu Gregos was handed over on 6 April at South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
The vessel has been fixed at a strong $48,000 per day for between 36 and 40 months by Oman group Asyad, the former Oman Shipping Co.
The deal will add more than $42m in Ebitda.
The acquisition was financed with a combination of the owner’s own funds and a sustainability-linked loan provided by Eurobank.
A sister ship, the Terataki, has been fixed on the same terms from delivery in June.
These charters are the second-highest in the Athens-based company’s fleet of 18 operational vessels.
A 2004-built feedermax has a deal in place at $50,000 per day until February 2024.
Asyad is a diversified owner with an owned fleet of 46 vessels valued at $3bn, including capesize bulkers, VLCCs and LNG carriers.
It has one owned boxship but has been expanding its liner operations in the Middle East and Asia through the Asyad Lines unit.
Singapore and Malaysia link
In 2022, the network was extended to South East Asia, with the owner claiming it is the only company to operate a direct route connecting Singapore and Malaysia with Oman.
Euroseas chief executive Aristides Pittas said the Gregos is the first of nine newbuildings on order: five of 2,800 teu and three 1,800-teu units.
“Following the containership market’s rebound during 2021 and 2022, our overall strategy has been to grow the company in a manner that creates value for our shareholders and adheres to our ESG commitment of having a more environmentally friendly fleet,” he added.
“In that respect, it is noteworthy that Gregos and the rest of our newbuildings are 40%-plus more efficient than the previous generation of similar size non-eco ships,” Pittas said.
The company is continuing to monitor the markets “to identify accretive opportunities for our shareholders,” the CEO added.
