George Youroukos-led Global Ship Lease cashes in on liner operators hunger to secure multi-year charters at high rates.

The New York-listed boxship owner is capitalizing on this to lock in as much charter coverage as possible, on both a prompt and forward basis, as its Executive Chairman Youroukos reveals.

The shipowner between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024, added $402.7m of contracted revenue to forward charter cover, calculated on the basis of the median firm periods of the respective charters, on a total of 24 new charters or extensions.

Twenty four new charters or extensions were secured during this period: eight for ships between 2,200 and 3,500 TEU, 11 for ships between 5,000 TEU and 6,100 TEU, and five for ships between 6,500 TEU and 8,000 TEU.

The durations of these new charters and extensions for the median firm periods range between nine months and 40 months.

A number of the vessels were forward fixed several months ahead of their expected availability in the market.

As far as the time charter and voyage expenses, those were $5.4m for the second quarter of 2024, compared to $6.7m in the prior year period.

George Youroukos, Global Ship Lease executive chairman, highlighted the fact that liner operators have been increasingly willing to secure multi-year charters at high rates, and the company is capitalizing on this to lock in as much charter coverage as possible, on both a prompt and forward basis.

“Reflecting this highly supportive environment and our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders, we have introduced a supplemental dividend alongside our fixed quarterly dividend, thereby increasing our total quarterly dividend payments by 20%,” he said.

The executive chairman also noted that the demand for high-quality, mid-sized and smaller containerships such as those in the GSL fleet was further strengthened by continued disruptions in the Red Sea.

Almost all of the containerships carrying the 20% of global container freight volumes that previously transited the Red Sea and Suez are now being re-routed for a longer, less efficient voyage around the Cape of Good Hope.

“The direct impact of these longer voyages and the increased congestion and delays throughout the supply chain are adding a further layer of demand, absorbing effective supply, and driving charter rates and asset values upward,” Youroukos added.