Seaspan Corporation announced today that it accepted delivery of the COSCO Prince Rupert, an 8500 TEU containership. The new containership, which was constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., is Seaspan’s third delivery in 2011 and expands the Company’s operating fleet to 58 vessels.
The COSCO Prince Rupert is on charter to COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd. (“COSCON”) under a twelve-year, fixed-rate time charter with options to COSCON to extend the charter term up to an additional three years. The vessel is the seventh of eight 8500 TEU sister ships and the ninth of a total of eighteen vessels to be chartered by Seaspan to COSCON.
About Seaspan
Seaspan is a leading independent charter owner of containerships, which it charters primarily pursuant to long-term fixed-rate time charters to major container liner companies. Seaspan’s contracted fleet of 69 containerships consists of 58 containerships in operation and 11 containerships scheduled for delivery through March 2012. Seaspan’s operating fleet of 58 vessels has an average age of approximately five years and an average remaining charter period of approximately seven years. All of the 11 vessels to be delivered to Seaspan are already committed to fixed-rate time charters of 12 years in duration from delivery. Seaspan’s customer base consists of eight of the world’s largest liner companies, including A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, China Shipping Container Lines (Asia) Co., Ltd., Compania Sud Americana de Vapores S.A., COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd., Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., and United Arab Shipping Company (S.A.G.).