[221120.EN.SEA] Danaos Capitalises On The 'Phenomenal' Uptick In Box Ship Charter Rates

 

WITH freight rates soaring, ocean carriers are prepared to pay more than double previous daily hire rates for chartered ships to secure tonnage and grab market share.

Greek-based containership non-operating owner Danaos Corporation's CEO, John Coustas, described the current market rates as "phenomenal", adding that the company had recently refixed seven vessels with carriers for 12-month periods or longer at considerably higher rates than last done.

"Ships coming off charters in the range of US$8,000-$10,000 a day are being re chartered at $16,000-$20,000-plus," said Dr Coustas.

The NYSE-listed shipowner reported adjusted net income of $47 million for the third quarter, against $38 million the year before, and $123 million for the nine-month period, compared with $111 million in the previous year. The company believes returns will improve significantly in the coming quarters as the higher charter rates are locked in for a year or more.

Danaos operates a fleet of 63 containerships, ranging from 2,200 TEU to 13,100 TEU, and has recently agreed to purchase two 9,000 TEU vessels that will take its total capacity to over 400,000 TEU.

They are expected to be delivered between December and January and come with two-year charters "with a major liner company".

Dr Coustas said the purchases had been completed prior to a big escalation in asset prices, and Danaos was not looking at any further orders.

The strong Q3 performance and positive outlook is a far cry from the situation Danaos and its containership owning peers were in just seven months ago, when charter rates had slumped by 40 per cent since the beginning of the year and carriers rushed to off-hire surplus tonnage in expectation of a contraction in global demand of up to 25 per cent, due to the pandemic.

And shipowners were also coming under increased pressure then to adjust charter party daily hire rates, in a repeat of the discounts seen before the 2016 Hanjin bankruptcy. Danaos suffered a loss of some $2 billion from ships on long-term charter to the South Korean carrier, reports gCaptain, Ventura, California, US.

Source : HKSG / Photo : Seatrade Maritime.