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Ship Lease News

21 Feb 2024

BIMCO Publishes Quiet Enjoyment Letters

© Gajus / Adobe Stock

BIMCO has published two standard Quiet Enjoyment Letters (QELs), the first standard form QELs available to the industry, to offer a tool that can ensure the charterers’ uninterrupted use of a ship if the owner defaults under the financing facility. The QELs will be provided by the lender to the charterer to ensure that the charterer, who does not have a contractual relationship with the lender but only with the owner, can continue to “quietly enjoy” the ship in case of the owner’s default.

25 May 2023

Suez Canal Activity Resumes after Troubled Bulk Carrier Refloated

©Suez Canal Authority

Tugboats refloated a large ship that had been stranded for several hours in the Suez Canal on Thursday, and sources said shipping traffic through one of the world's busiest waterways had returned to normal.Two canal sources said traffic was back to normal by around 11:00 am local time (0800 GMT), around six hours after the incident began and three-and-a-half hours after the vessel was refloated.Shipping agent Leth Agencies identified the ship as the 190 meter (623 foot) Xin Hai Tong 23…

29 Jul 2021

Borealis Finance Sells 10 Container Ships for $203,5M

Oslo-listed Borealis Finance said Thursday it had sold 10 container ships for $203,550,000 in total and that it had informed Nordic Trustee it would prepay $188,000,000 outstanding under its Bond Issue.The company did not say who the buyers were but said the vessels were on Thursday delivered to new owners. It is possible that the buyer is Global Ship Lease, as Borealis in June said it had agreed to sell twelve container vessels to Global Ship Lease, Inc. for a total consideration of $233.89 million. Borealis at the time said the delivery of the vessels was scheduled for the 3rd quarter of 2021, and that following a successful delivery of the vessels, the company was contemplating a repayment of the outstanding bond.

16 Jul 2021

Borealis Finance Sells Containership for $16,4M

Borealis Finance, a company that owns a fleet of bulk and container vessels, has sold one of its containerships.The Oslo-listed firm said Thursday that the 2,824 TEU containership Bomar Bellini had been sold for $16,4 million."The vessel was today successfully delivered to new owners," Borealis Finance said, without disclosing the name of the buyer.The vessel was built in 2007 by Hyundai Mipo. It was previously known as Santa Bettina and Cap Byron.Data from VesselsValue suggest that the vessel has been sold to Global Ship Lease, and also that its new name is Matson Molokai. According to AIS, the vessel is currently in Long Beach, California…

16 Jun 2021

Global Ship Lease to Acquire Four Containerships

© donvictori0 / Adobe Stock

Global Ship Lease announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to purchase four 5,470 TEU Panamax containerships with an average age of approximately 11 years for an aggregate purchase price of $148 million.The ships are scheduled for delivery during the third quarter of 2021. The Company expects to fund the purchase price with cash on hand and senior secured debt.On delivery, the ships will be chartered to a liner operator for a firm period of three years each, with a charterer’s option for a period of an additional three years.

19 Mar 2021

NIBC and Damen Extend Lease Partnership

(Image: Damen)

NIBC Bank, Damen Ship Lease and Damen Financial Services on Friday sealed multi-year partnership in the field of ship leasing.The financing from NIBC will be used to enable financial or operational lease solutions for customers of Damen Shipyards Group. This concerns state-of-the-art workboats in offshore energy, including wind and oil and gas, as well as tugs for port activities and other tasks. These leases are offered by one of the funds of the Damen Ship Lease Cooperative…

23 Mar 2020

FSL Trust Names Wenker CFO

Markus Wenker (Photo: FSL Trust)

Singapore-based First Ship Lease Trust (FSL Trust) has appointed Markus Wenker as chief financial officer, to replace Alan Mitchell, who is retiring.Wenker will take over the role and responsibilities May 4, following a handover process.Wenker was most recently head of ship finance at Hellenic Bank from 2016. Previously, he held a number of roles at HSH Nordbank from 2002 to 2016.FSL Trust's current fleet of 16 vessels comprises containerships and a variety of tankers. Of these, 10 vessels are leased to international shipping companies on long-term bareboat charters.

25 Feb 2020

FSL Trust Sells Crude Tanker FSL Shanghai

FSL Trust Management Pte., the trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust, has announced the sale of the crude oil tanker FSL Shanghai.FSL Trust Management has executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to sell the crude oil tanker to an unaffiliated third party and has received the initial 10% deposit in escrow.FSL Shanghai, is a South Korean, 2007-built 115,000 DWT crude oil tanker.Completion of the disposal is scheduled to take place before the end of March 2020. The net proceeds of the disposal will be utilized for partial repayment of the Trust’s outstanding bank debt and the remaining funds will be kept for general corporate purposes.

25 Nov 2019

GSL Acquires 2 Post-Panamax Containerships

UK-based containership owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed to acquire two 2004-built, 6,080 TEU Post-Panamax containerships for an aggregate purchase price of $24.5 million and with charters in place to a leading liner operator for minimum 52 months to  maximum 60 months.The vessels, which have bows optimized for fuel efficiency at lower operating speeds, are scheduled for delivery by the end of this year.The vessels are expected to generate aggregate Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $21 million over the term of the contracted charters, assuming the median expiry dates. With these additions, GSL fleet will comprise 45 vessels with a total capacity of 249…

20 Nov 2019

FSL Trust Sheds Two Product Tankers

FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd., as trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust  has announced that wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Trust have executed Memorandum of Agreements to sell LR2 product tankers, FSL Piraeus and FSL Perth (“Disposal”), to an unaffiliated third party and has received an initial 10% deposit in escrow.Roger Woods, Chief Executive Officer of FSLTM, said, “The disposal of the two Product Tankers is part of our ongoing effort to refresh our fleet. Completion of the disposal is scheduled to take place before the end of January 2020, at which time, the net proceeds will be utilized forpartial repayment of the Trust’s outstanding bank debt.

08 Nov 2019

S&P Upgrades GSL Ratings

Global Ship Lease (GSL), a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships, said that  S&P Global Ratings has raised its long-term issuer credit rating.According to the London-headquartered company, its  first priority senior secured notes to B+ from B on the basis of new charters at favorable rates, extended debt maturities, rebalancing supply and demand conditions, and an improved leverage profile.Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, commented, “This important acknowledgement from S&P reflects the significant enhancements that we have made over the last year…

20 Sep 2019

Global Ship Lease Bags Refinancing Deal

Global Ship Lease (GSL), UK-based holding company and containership charter owner, has now settled a five-year refinancing of its debt.According to the container ship owner, the new syndicated $268m credit facility is signed with a number of commercial lenders including Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, CIT Bank, Hellenic Bank and Siemens Financial Services.GSL expects to draw down the first tranche of the New Senior Loan, in full, of $230 million shortly and will use the proceeds to refinance five existing senior credit facilities with maturities in December 2020 and April 2021, thereby reducing its cost of debt…

18 Jul 2019

GSL Fixes Keta with OOCL

Marshall Islands-incorporated Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed a new charter for the 2003-built, 2,207 TEU GSL Keta.The containership charter owner said in a press release that commencing in late July, the vessel will be chartered for minimum 50 days / maximum 90 days to Hong Kong-based container shipping and logistics service company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) at a fixed rate of $8,700 per day.Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, said, “We are pleased to have signed this charter at an improved rate with a top-tier counterparty in OOCL. With strong fundamentals driving continuing improvements across the ship sizes that make up our fleet of high-quality…

19 Jun 2019

GSL Acquires Three Boxships

Marshall Islands-incorporated Global Ship Lease (GSL) announced that it has agreed to acquire three 2004-built, 7,849 TEU containerships for an aggregate purchase price of $48.5 million.Upon delivery during the second quarter, the first vessel will commence a five-year charter with Maersk Line, said a press release from the owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships.The two other vessels are expected to be delivered during the third quarter and will commence three-year charters with Maersk Line, with two consecutive one-year extensions at the charterer’s option.The three vessels are expected to generate Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $32 million in aggregate for the median firm period, and a total of $47 million if all options are exercised.

06 May 2019

GSL Fixes Post-Panamax Duo with MSC

Global Ship Lease (GSL), a holding company and containership charter owner, has signed five-year charters with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for two Post-Panamaxes.According to a press note from the Marshall Islands' incorporated company, the 8,677 TEU ships in question are the 2005-built GSL Tianjin and the 2004-built OOCL Qingdao, to be renamed MSC Tianjin and MSC Qingdao, respectively.The new charters are expected to commence upon redelivery of vessels by current charterers during the late second quarter or early third quarter 2019 and are expected to generate Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $25.6 million per vessel for the median firm period.George Youroukos…

30 Apr 2019

GSL Signs Charter Deal with Zim

The containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed minimum 21-month / maximum 24-month charters with ZIM Integrated Shipping Services for the 2000-built, 5,936 TEU containerships Dimitris Y and Ian H.The new charters are expected to commence in June and July 2019, in direct continuation of their current charters, and to generate approximately $4.4 million of adjusted EBITDA per vessel for the median firm period.George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, said: “Amid strong demand for our high-specification post-panamax containerships, we are making important progress in securing long-term employment across our fleet…

23 Apr 2019

GSL Inks Long Term Charter with Maersk

UK-based containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed a minimum 30-month / maximum 38-month charter with Maersk Line for the 2000-built, 5,936 TEU containership Tasman.The new charter is expected to commence in July 2019 on the completion of the current charter and is subject to a further 12-month extension at the charterer’s option.The charter is expected to generate approximately $5.3 million of Adjusted EBITDA for the median firm period and an additional $4.4 million if the 12-month extension option is exercised.George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, said, “Our focus in 2019 has been to draw upon our highly experienced chartering team…

18 Mar 2019

GSL Extends Hapag-Lloyd Charter

Marshall Islands-incorporated  containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed a three-year charter with Hapag-Lloyd for the 2015-built, 9,115 TEU containership UASC Al Khor.The new charter is in direct continuation of the current charter and is expected to commence in June, 2019, with re-delivery in the second quarter 2022, said the owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships.The charter is expected to generate approximately $28 million of Adjusted EBITDA.Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, “We are pleased to announce another longer-term charter of one of our modern…

20 Jan 2019

First Ship Lease Trust Sells Product Tanker

Singapore-listed First Ship Lease Trust (FSL Trust)  announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trust has executed a Memorandum of Agreement to sell its MR product tanker FSL Hamburg to an unaffiliated third party and has received the initial 10% deposit in escrow.FSL Hamburg is South Korean-built 47,496 DWT product tanker built in 2005 which has recently been deployed under a Pool Agreement.Completion of the Disposal is scheduled to take place before end March 2019, at which time the net proceeds will be utilised for partial repayment of the Trust’s outstanding bank debt and the remainder, estimated around US$6.5 million, will be utilised for the instalment payments due in respect of the Newbuilding Acquisition announced on 13 December 2018.As of 31 December 2018, the FSL Hamburg was

11 Dec 2018

Global Ship Lease Sings TC with CMA CGM

UK-based containership lessor Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed five-year charters with CMA CGM for the 2015-built, 6,882 TEU containerships UASC Bubiyan and UASC Yas.The containership charter owner said in a release that the new charters, which are in addition to the four similar charters announced on November 9, 2018, will commence upon the expiry of the current charters during the second quarter of 2019, are for a period of five years and are at a rate of $25,910 per day, up from $20,000 per day under the current charters.Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, "These new long-term charters with CMA CGM demonstrate the clear market demand for the modern…

06 Dec 2018

FSL Trust Orders Two LR2 Tanker at Cosco yard

Singapore-based First Ship Lease Trust (FSL Trust) Management has entered into a letter of intent with China’s Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) to order two LR2 product tankers, fitted with scrubbers, for around $97.2m.The two 114,000 dwt Tier III LR2 product tankers are expected to be delivered to the Purchasers in November 2020 and January 2021 respectively, said a stock exchange annoucement from the business trust which owns a fleet of vessels across major shipping sub-sectors."The newbuilding acquisition is being undertaken as part of the renewal of FSLT’s aging fleet. The newbuilding acquisition, if completed, is expected to reduce the age profile of FSLT’s fleet significantly and enhance its commercial attractiveness and marketability…

15 Nov 2018

Global Ship Lease Closes Poseidon Containers Deal

Marshall Islands-based Global Ship Lease (GSL) announced that it has completed the proposed merger deal with Greece's Poseidon Containers.According to a release from GSL, the combined company will have a fleet of 38 vessels with a total capacity of 198,793 TEU, and, as of September 30, 2018, an average fleet age weighted by TEU of 10.7 years, and with the recently announced new charters, contracted revenue of approximately $720 million. "The closing of the merger creates a market leader with an asset base of more than $1.3 billion, which the Company believes will allow it to capitalize on favorable market fundamentals in the mid-sized and smaller containership segments…

13 Nov 2018

Global Ship Lease Bags New TC with CMA CGM

Containership lessor Global Ship Lease, announced a new time charter with ANL, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMA CGM, for the 2003-built, 2,207 TEU containership GSL Keta (formerly Delmas Keta).The containership charter owner informed that the new charter, commencing on or around November 20, 2018, is for a period of between seven and 10 months (at charterer’s option) at a rate of $8,450 per day, up from $7,800 per day under the preceding charter.The company incorporated in the Marshall Islands has also exercised options to extend the existing charters of the 2002-built, 2,207 TEU Marie Delmas and Kumasi to CMA CGM through December 31, 2019, at a rate of $9,800 per day.