[101013.EN.SEA] CSAV Renews Capacity Increase With Re-deliveries, Newbuild Orders

CHILE's Compania Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV) has started a process that will bring about its first net increase in capacity expansion since 2010, reports Alphaliner.

It begins with taking back the first of seven same-size ships chartered to Maersk in 2011-2012, reassigning the 8,004-TEU Tolten to the Far East-east coast South America services jointly run by Maersk, CMA CGM, Hamburg Sud, CSAV, CSCL and Hanjin.

These, together with the delivery of the new 9,300-TEU ships at the end of 2014, will bring 155,000 TEU of new capacity, replacing 4,000 to 6,500 TEU chartered vessels scheduled to be redelivered.

Fitted with 1,500 reefer plugs, the returning ships were ordered in August 2009 from Samsung Heavy Industries to replace an order for four 12,600 TEUers for US$161 million a piece in May 2007.

Delivery was planned for 2010 and 2011 and the five ships were priced at $125 million each, bringing the total cost to $625 million against $644 million for the four 12,600 TEU units.

An order for two additional ships was placed in December 2010 at a price of $90 million each for delivery in June and July 2012, with options for four more units which were not exercised eventually.

CSAV placed an order for seven ships of 9,300 TEU from Samsung in April 2013 with an option for seven more. These ships will be delivered from December 2014 onwards and replace smaller chartered-in tonnage, which will be re-delivered.

The return of the 8,000-TEU ships also coincides with the delivery of four high reefer capacity wide-beam neo-panamaxes of 8,600-TEU chartered by CSAV from Zodiac Maritime for eight years.

Source : HKSG.