Asia/Pacific News
Seaspan Deal for Five Fuel Efficient 14,000 TEU Containerships
Hong Kong-based Seaspan Corporation [NYSE:SSW] (Seaspan) says it has signed contracts for the construction of five fuel-efficient containerships to be used by Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming).
The 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels will be built at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in South Korea for delivery in 2015, and will be constructed using Seaspan's SAVER design.
Seaspan said it has also signed 10-year, fixed-rate time charters for the ships with Yang Ming, who have the option to extend that charter for an extra two years.
The ships are subject to allocation in relation to Seaspan's right of first refusal agreement with the investment vehicle Greater China Intermodal Investments LLC and Blue Water Commerce LLC.
Seaspan said it will use proceeds from previous share offerings along with debt financing that it will undertake over the next few quarters to fund the ships' construction.
Seaspan, which provides long-term containership leases and ship management services to major shipping lines, has said it is improving its performance by focusing on fuel-efficient ships and by taking advantage of an attractive market for vessel acquisitions.
