New York-listed owner of containerships Global Ship Lease has confirmed sale-and-purchase deals for seven ships. The shipowner, with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships, sold three older ships, consistent with the company’s fleet renewal strategy.
The 2000-built Tasman, 5,900 TEU, the 2002-built Akiteta, 2,200 TEU, and the 2003-built Keta, 2,200 TEU, are contracted for sale for an aggregate price of $54.5m, compared to an aggregate book value on December 31 of $24.9m, the company said.
As disclosed, the sale of Tasman was agreed in December 2024, while those of Keta and Akiteta were agreed in February 2025. Akiteta was delivered to her new owners on February 19 and the remaining two ships are scheduled for delivery to their new owners in first half 2025.
Meanwhile, the company purchased four high-reefer, eco-9,000 TEU containerships, with charters attached, for an aggregate price of $274m, and agreed 10-year financing priced at SOFR + 2.50%.
Three of these vessels were delivered to the company in December 2024 and the fourth in January 2025.
The company’s fleet of 71 vessels as of December 31 had an average age weighted by TEU capacity of 17.6 years. 40 ships are wide-beam post-panamax.
George Youroukos, Global Ship Lease executive chairman, stated: “Demand for our well-specified, fuel-efficient vessels was very firm throughout 2024, and remains so today. We have taken advantage of these tailwinds to secure extended charter coverage across our fleet, adding $885 million of contracted revenues to our already-substantial backlog. In many cases, we have been able to secure attractive, multi-year coverage even for our oldest ships.
“Additionally, in December, our financial strength and industry position enabled us to move quickly to acquire four highly specified younger vessels, on charter to Hapag-Lloyd, further increasing our revenue backlog and lowering our average fleet age, with terms and financing that de-risked the transaction upfront.
“We are also rotating out three of our older ships, all of which are contracted to be sold on attractive terms. In a highly volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment, we benefit from the optionality and deployment flexibility represented by our fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships.”
