Canada-based container ship giant Seaspan Corp has returned to the newbuilding arena with a deal for four dual-fuel LNG container ships.
The subsidiary of US-listed Atlas Corp said the 7,700-teu vessels are due from a “major shipyard” in the third and fourth quarters of 2024.
No price has been given for the contracts.
Seaspan said a leading global liner company will charter the ships on delivery, with purchase obligations at the end of the terms.
The charters will add $950m of revenue.
“The vessels are anticipated to be financed through existing liquidity, cash flow from operations, and additional borrowings,” the company said.
Seaspan is the largest global containership lessor, primarily focused on long-term, fixed-rate leases with the world’s largest container shipping liners.
The operating fleet consisted of 132 vessels with a total capacity of 1.14m teu.
There are an additional 67 vessels under construction, excluding the new quartet.
Seaspan also said it has agreed a deal to sell $500m of sustainability-linked notes in a private placement.
Debt to be reduced
Proceeds are intended to pay down existing debt, to fund capital expenditures and for other general corporate purposes.
In its first-quarter report earlier in May, the shipowner said it had extended leases on 18 operating vessels.
One vessel was also sold in the period for $32.8m.
London-based Atlas posted $169m in net income for the first quarter, up from $97.6m for the same period last year. Revenue grew 9.8% from a year ago to $408m.
