Containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) announced that it has signed time charter extensions with CMA CGM for two 2,207 TEU containerships, the 2002-built Julie Delmas and the 2003-built Delmas Keta.
The vessels will be chartered for a period of 12 months (plus or minus 45 days at charterer’s option) at a fixed rate of $7,800 per vessel per day, commencing immediately upon expiration of the current time charters on September 11 and 20, 2017, respectively.
Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, said: “These agreements are consistent with our strategy of operating our 18-vessel fleet on fixed-rate contracts and our track record of maintaining fleet-wide utilization near 100%, thus enabling us to benefit from a predictable and stable cashflow stream. As of August 31, 2017, our fleet has an average remaining charter term of 3.1 years, or 3.3 years weighted by TEU capacity, representing $530 million of contracted revenue.”
Concluding, Mr. Webber expressed hopes that an improving supply/demand balance for mid-sized and smaller containerships may lead to continued market strengthening, enhancing the rechartering prospects and economic value of GSL fleet.
