Seaspan Corp News

Supply chain issues tied to liner shipping have been front page news throughout 2021; just about everyone agrees that there’s a problem. The underlying cause is right out of Economics 101: a surge in demand for moving containerized cargo, in the face of “inelastic” throughput capacity (which includes vessels and their landside interfaces to surface transportation, trucks and rail) that could not handle the swell, attributable to re-stocking of containerized cargo as economic activity recovered from the pandemic induced jolts.

The  charter owner and manager of containerships Seaspan Corporation announced that it has prepaid a credit facility which was secured by eight of its vessels.Upon completion of the collateral release documentation in respect of this facility and the facility prepaid in November 2018, this will expand Seaspan's pool of unencumbered vessels to 32, from 24 as reported in its press release dated November 26, 2018, and 18 as reported in its Q3 2018 earnings press release.This includes vessels securing debt which has been repaid in November 2018 and January 2019, pending completion of collateral release documentation.Ryan Courson, Chief Financial Officer of Seaspan, said, "In line with our corporate goals, Seaspan continues to reduce leverage and streamline its capital structure, which will enh

With new global emissions standards looming, the marine shipping industry is increasingly looking at liquefied natural gas as alternative to high-sulfur bunker fuel, shipping and energy executives said at a global gas summit this week. Already used to fuel ferry fleets and cruise ships, LNG is gaining traction among freight and cargo shippers, despite a reluctance by the entrenched industry to make major changes. The stakes are high: the global shipping fleet now consumes about 4 million barrels per day of high sulfur fuel oil. "Ship owners are very conservative, they're generally a little slower to act... But it's going to happen," Peter Keller, chairman of SEA\LNG and executive VP of maritime firm Tote Inc, told Reuters at the World Gas Conference in Washington.

Seaspan Corp  chairman and ceo Gerry Wang has described the bankruptcy of South Korea’s biggest container line Hanjin Shipping Co as the industry’s equivalent of the Lehman Brothers collapse that triggered the global financial crisis, reports Bloomberg. “The fallout of Hanjin Shipping is like Lehman Brothers to the financial markets,” Wang said. “It’s a huge, huge nuclear bomb. In an interview on Bloomberg TV Wang, who is founder of Seaspan, the Hong Kong-based container-ship leasing company that has three vessels chartered to the distressed line, likened the impact to shipping and supply chain to that of a nuclear bomb. In June, Wang had rejected Hanjin’s requests for charter-rate cuts before the shipping line filed for court receivership last month.

A Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd vessel is finishing unloading in California and scheduled to leave port on Monday, shipping industry officials said, as shareholders and executives associated with the South Korean firm pledged funds to help resolve the turmoil created by its collapse. The Hanjin Greece docked in Long Beach on Saturday after a U.S. bankruptcy court granted it protection and terminal operators agreed to take it. Truck drivers probably will begin moving containers from the Greece on Monday while the vessel prepares to leave late in the day for the Port of Oakland, said Teamsters spokeswoman Barbara Maynard and shipping traffic controllers.

The container ship-leasing company Seaspan Corp declined Hanjin Shipping Co.’s request for a cut in charter rates by about 30 percent, dealing a blow to efforts by South Korea’s biggest liner to revamp debt amid a prolonged trade slump, reports Bloomberg. Hanjin Shipping operates seven container vessels leased from Seaspan. Seaspan recently said there were $11.6 million in charter-hire arrears from Hanjin Shipping. Gerry Wang, CEO of Seaspan, said: “We do not accept any rate cut. We have never done it. We won’t tolerate a contract re-negotiation. "We are in continuous discussion and negotiation with Seaspan, and we are putting all our effort (into bringing) the best viable result as soon as possible,” a Hanjin spokesperson said.

State-backed shipbuilder CSBC Corporation, Taiwan has launched two domestically developed and constructed vessels in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung, reports Taiwan Today. YM Window and YM Width are 368 meters long, 51 meters wide and can carry 14,198, 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers. A 40-foot container—the most commonly used size—is around two TEUs. CSBC Chairman Lai Sun-quae said the vessels are a significant step up from the company’s last batch of 10 container ships produced from 2011 to 2015 that could carry around 8,000 TEUs. “Window and Width are quieter and more economical,” Lai said. The improved performance of the ships will help ensure they do not fall prey to pirates off the coast of Somalia as was the case with Maersk Alabama…

Reuters - Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd, a top Chinese shipbuilder, plans to build more mega container ships for shipowners eager to cut operating costs. Yangzijiang is China's third-largest listed shipbuilder by market capitalisation and has boasted profit margins that dwarf those of domestic and overseas peers. Yangzijiang is ready to hand over its first mega container ship in March, which can move around 10,000 standard twenty-foot (TEU) containers, and is planning to build vessels that can handle up to 18,000 boxes.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) announced the Company won a $700 million order for five 18,400 TEU containerships from China Shipping Container Lines (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. The world’s largest containerships will feature an electronically-controlled main engine and two EcoBallast seawater treatment system. The electronically-controlled main engine will maximize fuel efficiency, and reduce noise, vibrations, and carbon emissions by automatically controlling fuel consumption to suit sailing speed and sea conditions.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) wins the order for five 14,000 TEU container ships, with a contract option for 5 more. The ultra-large container ships, measuring 368 m in length, 51 m in width, and 30 m in depth, are scheduled to be delivered from 2015. Upon delivery, the vessels will be charted by Seaspan Corp. to the Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp on a long-term contract. The container ships will feature an electronically-controlled main engine and HiBallast seawater treatment system.

Containership orders are increasing at a dramatic rate, analysis from Braemar’s Seascope’s research division has revealed. Figures show that since the beginning of this year 52 containerships of 10,000TEU or larger have been ordered – compared to just 10 vessels from this sizeband for the whole of 2010 and zero of this size in 2009. This year’s containership orders add 765,000TEU to the post-panamax boxship orderbook. As of August 30th 2011, the total number of vessels of this size on order reached 158 ships, totalling 2.13mTEU which represents 48% of the fully cellular orderbook. Table 1: 10,000TEU or larger containerships ordered since Jan 1, 2011. Table 2 – Order year for ships of 10,000TEU or larger.

Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) announced the financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009. - Paid a second quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, representing an approximate 20 percent payout ratio. - Reported normalized net earnings of $57.5 million, an increase of $1.7 million, or 3.0%, for the nine month period from $55.8 million for the comparable period last year. Normalized net earnings include a $1.1 million charge that was accrued for in the second quarter as a result of exercising the delivery deferral options. This amount is due at the deferred delivery date of each vessel and represents the cost of entering into the delivery deferral options and, therefore, is required to be accrued for in the period under financial reporting standards.

Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW) announced that it accepted delivery of the MOL Eminence from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. on August 31, 2009. The 5100 TEU containership is Seaspan's fifth newbuilding in 2009 and expands the Company's fleet to 40 vessels. The MOL Eminence is chartered to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. under a twelve-year, fixed-rate time charter that requires MOL to pay all fuel, cargo-operating and related costs. Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan, said, "The MOL Eminence represents the fifth vessel we have taken delivery of in 2009 and fortieth overall. We continue to execute our business model and have further expanded our sizeable contracted revenue stream derived from major liner companies primarily based in Asia.

The roll call of countries and regions now declaring themselves in recession keeps growing, and credible economists around the world offer little hope for relief in the short term. While the impact of the economic turmoil on financial institutions and on global credit liquidity has been written about exhaustively, the impact is now spreading far beyond the Wall Street world, touching businesses that until recently were healthy and growing. For both the marine industry and the insurers who partner with them to protect shipping, the recession threatens an abrupt halt to the unprecedented boom times of recent years. While key indicators of marine industry prosperity are eroding…

Seaspan Corp has signed contracts for Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd to build five new 4,520 TEU container ships. Seaspan has also completed more than $900 million in debt financing with a long-term fixed interest rate of less than 6 percent. The company has signed 12-year time charters for the vessels with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, Japan's third-largest liner operator. The five new vessels are due to be delivered in 2010 and 2011.

According to Bloomberg, Seaspan Corp., will lease eight container vessels to a unit of China Cosco Holdings Co. for $1.9b. Cosco Container Lines Co., will pay a daily fee of $55,000 a vessel during the 12-year contract, Seaspan said. The Seaspan vessels are designed to carry 13,100 standard containers measuring 20 ft. in length, among the largest ships of their kind. They are scheduled for delivery in 2011. Source: Bloomberg

Hong Kong-based container ship company Seaspan Corp. has signed contracts for two 2500 TEU vessels from Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. at an expected delivered cost of $46.4 million per vessel. Seaspan said the two new orders, scheduled for delivery in March and June, are on top of the eight 2500 TEU vessels it ordered last year from Jiangsu. The company said it has arranged simultaneous 10-year charter agreements for the two vessels with Japan's Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. at a daily rate of $17,880. Seaspan said it expects each new vessel to contribute between $4.5 million and $4.9 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes and other payments. Source: AP

Reuters reported that Seaspan Corp. has agreed to buy four container vessels from A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S for $40m per vessel. The company said each new 4800 TEU vessels was expected to contribute between $5.9 million and $6.3 million in incremental EBITDA in the first year following acquisition. The vessels are expected to be delivered to Seaspan between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31.

Container shipping operator Seaspan Corp. signed an order for four new container vessels to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in South Korea. Reuters reported that four 5,100 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container ships would cost approximately $83.4m each. The company, which has corporate headquarters in Vancouver, has arranged 12-year charters for the four vessels with Japan's Mistui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. at a per ship daily rate of $28,880. Each of the four ships should contribute between $8.5m and $9m annually in incremental EBITDA, or net earnings before interest, undrawn credit facility fees, taxes, depreciation and amortization of deferred financing fees. The ships will be delivered between April and December 2009.

Seaspan Corporation announced the delivery of its 17th contracted vessel, the Lahore Express. The 4250 TEU vessel, which was built by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., was delivered approximately nine weeks ahead of its contractual delivery date. The Lahore Express is the fifth of nine Seaspan vessels to be chartered to CP USA, a subsidiary of CP Ships Ltd.