Seaspan Buys Two 13,000 TEU Containerships

Seaspan has agreed to buy two containerships on long-term charter for around $146 million in cash, with delivery expected in the third quarter of 2020.

The company, a subsidiary of Atlas, said Thursday that the transaction was expected to be "immediately accretive to Atlas' earnings per diluted share and increase long-term contracted revenue by over $150 million while maintaining a strong net debt to equity ratio of approximately 1.2x1."

Seaspan said that the two 13,000 TEU containerships built in 2010 and 2011 were of high-quality.  Both vessels will operate under long-term charters with a leading global liner. Seaspan did not say who it was buying the vessels from, nor who the client for the charter was.

Bing Chen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan, commented, "I am extremely proud of our team's consistent discipline and execution during this unprecedented time. Despite the extreme market conditions, we will have successfully acquired a total of 13 high-quality vessels backed by long-term charters with three different leading global liners over the past year and during the height of COVID-19. This is a true testament to our resilient business model and best-in-class integrated platform, as well as the committed and creative partnerships with our liner customers who trust us as their scalable, reliable, long-term solutions provider."      

Ryan Courson, Chief Financial Officer of Seaspan, added, "This transaction further demonstrates our patience in allocating capital at the right time, and our ability to source and execute investments to achieve attractive rates of return through economic cycles. We remain committed to maintaining the strength of our balance sheet, including a focus on maintaining liquidity, which stands today at over $400 million, while continuing our disciplined approach to strategic growth opportunities."

Seaspan's global fleet will consist of 125 vessels and approximately 1,049,000 TEU, with total contracted revenue of approximately $4.5 billion and a weighted average remaining lease period of approximately 4 years.

The company will finance the acquisition of the two containerships from additional borrowings as well as cash on hand.