Global Ship Lease (GSL) has announced an agreement to purchase three 8,600 TEU containerships for an aggregate price of $90 million. The vessels, built in South Korea between 2010 and 2011, will come with attached charters to an unnamed liner company.
The acquired vessels are expected to be delivered around the end of 2025. The attached charters have flexible durations with the latest redelivery dates in mid-2030.
While the charter rates are described as below market levels, GSL projects that if the contracts run to their full terms, they will generate aggregate revenues of approximately $88 million.
The company also noted that the combined scrap value of the ships would be approximately $40 million, based on a through-cycle scrap price of $400 per LWT.
GSL intends to fund the initial acquisition using cash on hand to facilitate execution, with the potential to add financing at a later stage. Following the delivery of these units, the company noted its fleet will expand to 71 vessels with a total capacity of 422,567 TEU.
George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, stated, “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of these three high-spec, operationally flexible and commercially attractive ships on terms that materially de-risk the transaction on the front end while offering attractive upside earnings potential in the years ahead.”
He added that the en bloc charter-attached price is, "close to the market value of a single charter-free ship today." This move follows the company's earlier sale of four older, smaller vessels for a similar aggregate value.