2 November 2023 (Lloyd's List) - MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Co has purchased a 20-year-old containership it operates under time charter to bring its tally of secondhand purchases in the past three years to almost 330 vessels.
The 3,091 teu Polonia (IMO: 9219379) is reported by brokers to have been purchased for $15m. The 2003-built vessel has been bought from German tonnage provider Peter Doehle and is deployed in MSC’s west coast of South America coastal services.
It is part of a large series of ‘B178’-type boxships built by the now defunct Szczecinska shipyard in Poland, the majority of which were built for Peter Doehle for the charter market.
According to Alphaliner, the Polonia represents the 328th secondhand containership to have been purchased by MSC since August 2020.
MSC has been reducing its exposure to the charter market by spending considerable profits built up during the freight market boom from 2020 to 2022, to invest in more owned newbuildings and secondhand units.
German non-operating owner Schiffahrts Oltmann is said to have sold a sister vessel of Polonia in the past week. According to a broker contacted by Lloyd’s List the 3,091 teu Independent Quest (IMO: 9246700) has been sold on private terms, but details of the buyer and price paid for the 2005-built ship are not yet available.
Shipbroker Braemar said that the boxship sale and purchase market is “a little lacklustre,” however there has been a notable increase in enquiries in the smaller vessel segments, of below 3,000 teu, with buyers expecting prices to fall.
Such sentiment should hardly be surprising given that both charter and freight rates are under pressure from limited cargo growth and an oversupply of vessel capacity, with the markets expected to be over-tonnaged until at least 2025, as an avalanche of newbuildings enter the sector.
Nevertheless, while values of older ships have dropped of late, prices for modern containerships with good carbon intensity indicator ratings appear to be holding firm.
Other recent containership sales included two early 2000s-built, 2,500 teu, vessels said to have been sold by Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines to a Chinese shipowner for $7.5m each.
Two containerships were confirmed as sold for recycling in the past fortnight and included the 1,100 teu CMA CGM Tanger (IMO: 9259836), which was sold by CMA CGM to a European Union Ship Recycling-approved yard in Türkiye.
Data tracked by Lloyd’s List shows that 71 boxships with a combined capacity of some 138,000 teu have been sold for recycling since the fourth quarter of 2022.
Following a flurry of activity in September and October only one containership is being circulated for recycling sale. A broker contacted by Lloyd’s List said that the 1,228 teu Ocean Silkway (IMO: 9117131), which is due for special survey, is inviting offers for demolition.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data this 25-year-old vessel is owned by Hong Kong-based owners and is currently deployed in Middle East to Russia service.
