Ship Finance International Limited, today announced that the Company has agreed to build four 4,800 TEU newbuilding container vessels at a state-owned shipyard in China with scheduled delivery in 2013. The aggregate construction cost will be approximately $230 million, with a majority of the payment due on delivery of the vessels, and we expect to secure bank financing for up to 80% of the purchase price.
The vessels will be chartered on time-charter basis to a large, European-based container line for seven years from delivery, and the charter rate will be approximately $26,250 net per day per vessel. The vessels are high specification, so-called wide-beam container vessels, optimized for higher cargo intake and very efficient speed/consumption economics compared to existing vessels of similar size.
Ole B. Hjertaker , CEO of Ship Finance Management AS, said in a comment: “ We are very pleased to further expand our presence in the container market with these state-of-the-art containerships with long term charters to a reputable international container line. It demonstrates our ambition to continue building and renewing our fleet, expanding our presence in the container market with modern assets and high-quality counterparts. This project will add approximately $270 million to our charter backlog, which currently stands at more than $7 billion.”
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Source: ShipFinance, April 11, 2011.