Global Ship Lease Bags New Time Charter with Maersk Line

Global Ship Lease announced a new time charter with Maersk Line for the 2004-built, 8,063 TEU containership OOCL Ningbo, which has been renamed GSL Ningbo, following her redelivery by OOCL on September 17, 2018.

The containership charter owner said in a press release that the vessel will be chartered, commencing on or around September 21, 2018, for a period of between two and 12 months, with a subsequent option for an additional 12-month extension (at charterer’s option).

During the first three months, the charter is at a rate of $11,500 per day; during months four to six, at $12,100 per day; during months seven to 12, at $12,400 per day; and during the subsequent 12-month option period, at $18,000 per day.

The Company also announced that it has agreed to an extension of its charter with CMA CGM for the 2002-built, 2,207 TEU containership Julie Delmas, which has been renamed GSL Julie.

The extension will commence in direct continuation of the existing charter with effect from October 26, 2018, maintaining the current rate of $7,800 per day. The extended term runs through January 20, 2019 to March 20, 2019 (at charterer’s option).

Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, “While ongoing trade tensions continue to impact sentiment in the sector, we are pleased to have secured full charter coverage for our fleet while incurring minimal vessel downtime. We are also delighted to have further diversified our counterparty portfolio with the addition of Maersk, the world’s largest container liner company.”

Webber continued, “We remain confident in the strong long-term fundamentals for mid-sized and smaller containerships, driven by a limited orderbook and the continuing expansion of the non-mainlane trades that are heavily reliant upon these workhorse vessels. With the support of our substantial contracted cashflows, our strong balance sheet, and our recently announced $65 million growth facility, GSL is well positioned to seize attractive growth opportunities currently available in the market.”

Global Ship Lease is a containership charter owner. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under mainly long-term, fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies.

As of July 1, 2018, Global Ship Lease owned 19 vessels with a total capacity of 85,136 TEU and an average age, weighted by TEU capacity, of 13.5 years. All 19 vessels are fixed on time charters, 17 of which are with CMA CGM. The average remaining term of the charters at July 1, 2018 was 2.4 years or 2.7 years on a weighted basis.