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, high-specification, eco, wide-beam containerships acquired through our recent strategic combination with Poseidon Containers."

Ian added: "The fixture is consistent with our strategy of locking in contracted cashflow for longer periods when rates have risen to attractive levels, whilst retaining some exposure to the short-term charter market, allowing us to enter into new charters in an improving market.  This charter extension further improves our long-term cashflow visibility and is indicative of our expanded relationship with charterers.”

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.  On November 15, 2018, it completed a strategic combination with Poseidon Containers.

Global Ship Lease owns 38 vessels ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 TEU, of which nine are fuel efficient new-design wide beam, with a total capacity of 198,803 TEU and an average age, weighted by TEU capacity, of 11.0 years determined as at December 31, 2018.