SINGAPORE's Pacific International Lines (PIL) has placed newbuilding orders for the first time in seven years after seeing its fortunes revived as freight rates soared in the Covid crisis, reported London's Loadstar.
pil ordered two 13,000-TEU LNG-powered ships for US$160 million each, with options on another two, said sources at Jiangnan Shipyard, part of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
PIL's last newbuilding orders were in October 2015, when it commissioned seven 11,923-TEUers from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. Of these, PIL still has two, having since sold five.
According to Alphaliner, its current fleet is 84 vessels with a combined capacity of just over 268,000 TEU - 57 of these, amounting to 136,600 TEU, are PIL-owned, with the remaining 27 on charter. The new orders represent 9.5 per cent of its current capacity.
In March last year, PIL, which suffered consecutive net losses from 2018 to 2020, was given a lifeline when Heliconia Capital, a unit of the Singapore government's investment company Temasek Holdings, acquired a 75 per cent stake, involving a $600 million investment, including loans.
PIL's restructuring also involved converting $45 million of bonds into perpetual securities, while cash payments to the bond holders were to be accrued for five years before being released.
SeaNews Turkey
pil ordered two 13,000-TEU LNG-powered ships for US$160 million each, with options on another two, said sources at Jiangnan Shipyard, part of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
PIL's last newbuilding orders were in October 2015, when it commissioned seven 11,923-TEUers from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. Of these, PIL still has two, having since sold five.
According to Alphaliner, its current fleet is 84 vessels with a combined capacity of just over 268,000 TEU - 57 of these, amounting to 136,600 TEU, are PIL-owned, with the remaining 27 on charter. The new orders represent 9.5 per cent of its current capacity.
In March last year, PIL, which suffered consecutive net losses from 2018 to 2020, was given a lifeline when Heliconia Capital, a unit of the Singapore government's investment company Temasek Holdings, acquired a 75 per cent stake, involving a $600 million investment, including loans.
PIL's restructuring also involved converting $45 million of bonds into perpetual securities, while cash payments to the bond holders were to be accrued for five years before being released.
SeaNews Turkey
