The Loadstar reported, German liner operator Hapag-Lloyd has stated that it is planning to buy ten 13,000 teu newbuilding resales as part of a ‘vessel tonnage arms race.’
“We are in negotiations about ten 13,000 teu vessels,” a spokeswoman said but declined to elaborate.
According to Alphaliner, Hapag-Lloyd has reached agreements with Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Executive Ship Management and Lou Kollakis’ Chartworld Shipping for vessels on order at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea and China’s New Times Shipbuilding, respectively.
Hapag-Lloyd is said to have agreed to buy half of the ships and charter the rest for a long period of time.
Three of Capital’s 13,200 teu newbuildings and two of Chartworld’s 13,000 teu newbuildings are expected to be acquired by the fifth-largest liner operator. The Capital vessel orders were signed in December and February for $103 million apiece, while the Chartworld ships were signed in March for $105 million each.
The newbuildings for Capital will be delivered between 2022 and 2023, while the Chartworld ships will be delivered between 2023 and 2024.
According to VesselsValue, the Capital newbuildings are now worth $140 million to $151 million each, and the Chartworld ships are at $117 million to $126 million, giving a tidy profit for the Greek owners if the sales are confirmed.
