AsiaContainers

PIL’s owned box fleet ducks below 80 with latest trio of sales

Under pressure Pacific International Lines (PIL) from Singapore continues to divest itself of tonnage to help pay bills.

The SS Teo-led line is widely reported by brokers to have found buyers for three more of its boxship fleet.

Jakarta-based Temas Line is tipped to have taken the 18-year-old, 2,475 teu Kota Ganteng, while Greek interests are believed to have snapped up the 13-year-old, 4,253 teu Kota Laju and an unknown party has pounced for the 19-year-old, 1,728 teu Kota Jasa feedership.

VesselsValue data shows the company, mourning the loss of its founder Y C Chang who died 10 days ago, now stands at 96 vessels, of which 78 are boxships with the remainder being bulk carriers and multipurpose vessels.

In late July PIL won interim funding from a unit of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings, to keep the line operating.

Heliconia Capital Management has agreed to invest between $100m and $110m in the line as negotiations between the two parties continue for a much larger investment in the region of $400m to $450m.

PIL has been selling many assets in the last two years to stay afloat.

The company, founded in 1968, is the world’s 10th largest liner company with 332,236 slots in its fleet. At the start of 2020, PIL’s box fleet stood at approximately 400,000 slots.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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