The Arkas Group revealed on Friday that it has received Chinese leasing finance to increase its newbuilding investments in China to $360m.
Turkey’s biggest container ship owner signed formal agreements for six 4,300-teu panamaxes with the CSSC group’s Huangpu Wengchong Shipyard.
The Lucien Arkas-led company had announced in April that it was booking four vessels at the yard in its first newbuilding deal in eight years.
Since then, it has declared options for two additional ships, bringing the total to six. The eco-design vessels come at $60m each, giving the transaction an overall value of $360m.
The Turkish company said much of that amount is bankrolled by CIMC Financial Leasing under a “long-term loan agreement … to both expand and rejuvenate” the Arkas fleet.
Skye Zhu Tianwei, CIMC general manager of business development, was present at the signing ceremony at Arkas’ Izmir headquarters.
“This first collaboration between Arkas and CIMC is one of the best decisions we’ve made this year,” he said, adding: “I believe this will not be the last.”
Arkas was known to have been in talks with Chinese leasing companies before. In 2019, TradeWinds reported that it had concluded its first such transaction of more than $50m with Minsheng Financial Leasing.
Arkas is due to take delivery of its new vessels in two-month intervals between February and December of 2028.
They will be the biggest vessels ever to join its fleet, which currently consists of 47 boxships, six small tankers and a supramax bulker.
