Illustrative of the sky high charter rates being banded around at the moment, Israeli carrier ZIM has opted to buy rather than rent some ships. The liner traditionally charters most of its tonnage but has moved to buy four classic panamaxes – all in the 4,200 to 4,600 teu range.
No price has been revealed for the quartet which brokers list as the Harpy Hunter, Heron Hunter, ALS Fauna and ALS Juno.
“This does not indicate a change of strategy but rather seizing a market opportunity and utilising available cash to best enhance our service to customers,” a spokesperson at ZIM headquarters told Splash today.
ZIM is the world’s 11th largest carrier with 402,670 slots in its fleet according to the latest data from Alphaliner.
Nearly $6bn in secondhand boxship tonnage has changed in 2021 so far in what has been a record S&P year for the segment.
This does not indicate a change of strategy but is a change of strategy.
It is a smart move