Seaspan seals full funding for 70-vessel newbuild programme
Seaspan Corporation has landed the last of its financings for its full 70-vessel newbuild initiative, recently securing approximately $1.4bn that will be used to fund ten 15,000 teu LNG dual-fuel ships.
The wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Corp said the proceeds from these financings total around $6.9bn and will be drawn throughout the construction of the ships to fund a total investment of some $7.6bn.
The latest financing combines export credit agency (ECA) backed loans supported by Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure), and the Export–Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), which is additionally providing a direct funding tranche, and sale-leaseback deals under special Japanese lease contracts (JOLCOs). The JOLCOs include Japanese equity and ECA-backed syndicated bank loans. Seaspan said that this is the first time Korean ECAs have provided export buyer credit insurance and a guaranteed tranche for such a transaction.
Graham Talbot, CFO of Atlas and Seaspan, commented: “We have now concluded binding financing arrangements for our full newbuild program, solidifying our long-term liquidity. We have demonstrated consistent success in executing on attractive growth opportunities at the right time, while diligently managing associated risk. We do this by ensuring we enter into newbuild contracts only once a long-term lease is in place with one of our high-quality counterparties, and that we have a clear line of sight to financing the project.”
Seaspan operates a fleet of 134 vessels with a total capacity of around 1.15m teu and has 67 ships under construction, increasing the total capacity to close to 1,96m teu on a fully delivered basis.
