UK-incorporated containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) is to expand its fleet with three 2004-built, 7,849 TEU vessels.
Under an agreement signed with an undisclosed party, the containerships will be bought for an aggregate price of USD 48.5 million.
Upon delivery during the second quarter of 2019, the first vessel will commence a five-year charter with Danish shipping major Maersk Line. The two other vessels are expected to be delivered during the third quarter and will commence three-year charters also with Maersk Line, with two consecutive one-year extensions at the charterer’s option.
The three vessels are expected to generate Adjusted EBITDA of approximately USD 32 million in aggregate for the median firm period, and a total of USD 47 million if all options are exercised, GSL said.
As informed, the company has secured new senior secured bank debt to finance a portion of the purchase price. The new debt is on market terms with a maturity of late 2024.
“These acquisitions represent attractive additions to the GSL fleet, extending our collaboration with the world’s largest container liner company and meaningfully expanding our long-term charter coverage,” George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of GSL, commented.
“Already during 2019, we have added almost USD 130 million of contracted EBITDA to our extensive backlog, ensuring that the company will experience multiple years of benefit from the strong market for mid-sized and smaller vessels,” Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, said.
“We intend to continue pursuing additional opportunities to expand our fleet, increase our contracted revenue stream, optimize our balance sheet, and opportunistically lower our cost of capital,” he added.
With the three new additions, GSL’s fleet will comprise 41 vessels with a total capacity of 224,162 TEU.
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