Israeli container shipping line Zim has announced long-term charters for a series of ten new 11,500 teu dual-fuel LNG box ships.
The carrier added that the deal would entail a “total charter hire consideration of approximately $2.3bn” over the course of the charter lengths – typically, in Zim’s case, 10 years – of the vessels, which would “serve across Zim’s various global trades”.
However, it also revealed that the ships – seven of which will by owned by TMS Group-subsidiary Container Ventures Holdings, linked with Greek shipowner George Economou, while the other three will belong to Israeli shipowner Kenon Holdings – will be constructed at Zhoushan Changhong Shipyard in China, with deliveries expected between 2027 and 2028.
The news of the deal comes despite the looming threat of the US Trade Representative’s proposed 301 action on Chinese-built vessels, which could see fees of up to $1.5m payable per US port call, contingent on how many Chinese-built vessels the operator deploys.
A further USTR proposal would see another $1m per call fee on shipping lines having “50% or greater of their vessel orders in Chinese shipyards, or vessels expected to be delivered by Chinese shipyards over the next 24 months”.
However, Eli Glickman, Zim president and CEO, yesterday framed the order as part of the carrier’s long-term fleet replenishment programme, despite it having largely exited the liquid time-charter market as a source of its tonnage.
“After having received all 46 newbuilds we contracted in 2021 and 2022, which significantly improved the efficiency of our operated capacity, we are pleased to further advance our fleet strategy by securing long-term charters for these 11,500 teu newbuild LNG dual-fuel containerships,” he said.
“These agreements ensure access to an important vessel segment and further strengthen our core LNG fleet, which is a critical commercial differentiator. Importantly, this versatile capacity is ideally suited for Zim’s various global trades, enhancing our commercial agility and growth potential,” added Mr Glickman.
