John Coustas-led Danaos Corp, a US-listed owner with a current fleet of 70 container vessels and many other container ships under construction, has added $616m to its contracted revenue backlog and an extra five newbuilding containerships to its orderbook.
The contract revenue backlog additions include approximately $203m of forward two-year charter fixtures for nine of its existing vessels and around $413m of charter fixtures for the new five newbuilding orders, with an average charter duration of 4.8 years weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire.
The five newbuilding orders with an aggregate contract price of $509m comprise of one additional 8,258 container vessel to be built at Yangzijiang shipyard in China, expected to be delivered in 2027, and four 9,200 teu container vessels to be built at Dalian shipyard in China, three of which have expected deliveries in 2027 and one vessel in 2028.
All five vessels will be methanol fuel ready, fitted with open loop scrubbers and alternative maritime power (AMP) units.
As a result of the recent activity, total contracted cash operating revenues, on the basis of concluded charter contracts, currently stand at $2.9bln. The remaining average contracted charter duration is 3.1 years, weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire.
Contracted operating days charter coverage for the container vessel fleet is currently 99% for 2024 and 80% for 2025. This includes newbuildings based on their scheduled delivery dates.
The shipowner, during the second quarter of 2024, has taken delivery of the first three newbuilding vessels, namely two 8,010 teu vessels and one 7,165 teu vessel. As a result, the company has currently 16 container vessels under construction with an aggregate capacity of 129,819 teu.
It also anticipates delivery of three newbuilding vessels in the remainder of 2024, two vessels in 2025, three vessels in 2026, seven vessels in 2027 and one vessel in 2028.
Dr. John Coustas, the company’s chief executive, said: “We are very pleased to announce the commissioning of a further five containerships that are at the forefront of new technology. With this new order, Danaos continues to solidify its position as one of the major players in the containership market worldwide and makes yet another solid step towards fleet modernization.
“At the same time, we are also pleased to report the results of our recent chartering activity. We have now secured multi-year charters for all the vessels in our orderbook, while we have also made significant additions to the contracted revenue backlog of our existing fleet and have further improved earnings and cash flow visibility.
“We will continue to work to maximize our profitability and secure more accretive transactions with a focus on creating value for our shareholders.”
