London-headquartered containership owner, Global Ship Lease (GSL), has agreed a new three-year charter with an undisclosed leading liner for the 2,200 teu Kumasi at a rate more than 300% above the prior and around 20% above sister ship charters agreed in the fourth quarter of last year.
at a rate more than 300% above the prior and around 20% above sister ship charters agreed in the fourth quarter of last year.The 2002-built sub-panamax is scheduled to commence its charter following regulatory drydock in January, at a rate of $38,000 per day. French liner CMA CGM has been paying around $9,000 per day under the previous charter deal, according to VesselsValue data.
Global Ship Lease executive chairman, George Youroukos, commented: “We are exploring opportunities for forward contracts for vessels coming off charter later this year. We believe that this is clear evidence that the market for mid-sized and smaller containerships has maintained significant positive momentum on the back of highly supportive and durable fundamentals despite what is traditionally the low season for the charter market.” Â
Global Ship Lease currently owns 65 containerships, ranging from 1,118 to 11,040 teu with an aggregate capacity of 342,348 teu. The company has also recently agreed to a $219.4m refinancing deal, extending the maturity date to December 2026, and releasing three vessels from the facility’s collateral basket, which were subsequently used as collateral for a new $60m syndicated senior secured debt facility, intended to fully repay its 10.00% junior debt facility and for general corporate purposes.
