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Seaspan orders seven boxships

London: Seaspan has placed orders for seven new containerships in China and in the Phillipines in deals worth a combined $653.5m.

The NYSE-listed owner has contracted Hanjin Heavy Industries’ Subic shipyard (HHIC-Phil) to build five 11,000-teu boxships for a combined price of $467.5m. The contracted was signed on April 13.

The five ships are due to arrive throughout 2017 and will each be chartered out for 17 years to “a leading operator”, Seaspan said in its first-quarter results. The unnamed operator will purchase the vessels for a “pre-determined amount” once the contracts are up.

Three of the five vessels will be owned by Greater China Intermodal Investments (GCI), with whom Seaspan has a right of first refusal agreement. The remaining two will be owned by Seaspan.

On April 27, Seaspan ordered two 10,000-teu containerships from Jiangsu Xinfu and Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co, China, for a combined price of $186m. Delivery is expected in 2017.

The boxships are being constructed to Seaspan’s fuel-efficient SAVER design.

The Hong Kong-headquartered corporation has not yet finalised how the vessels will be allocated with GCI.

“These transactions increase our owned and managed fleet to 118 vessels. With a strong and flexible capital structure, we remain well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities, as we continue to provide leading liner companies with large, efficient containerships,” Gerry Wang, CEO, co-chairman and co-founder of Seaspan, said in a statement.

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.
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