Seaspan adds 2,500-TEU vessel to fleet

Seaspan Corp., the New York-listed container ship charterer, last week accepted delivery of its 31st vessel, the 2,500-TEU CSCL Sao Paulo.

The new boxship is the second in a series of eight 2,500-TEU vessels being built by Chinese yard Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for charter to China Shipping Container Lines (Asia) Co. Ltd. The delivery date of Aug. 7 was some 16 weeks ahead of the original delivery schedule and the ship will now go on a 12-year time charter with CSCL (Asia), who will be responsible for fuel costs and all cargo operating and related expenses.

With the delivery of the CSCL Sao Paulo, we have further diversified our high-quality vessel portfolio and strengthened our fixed revenue and cash flow streams, said Gerry Wang, chief executive officer of Seaspan. We remain on track to take delivery of 37 remaining newbuildings over the next three years, including four additional 2,500-TEU vessels in 2008. In the meantime, we are continuing to look for opportunities to execute our growth strategy and take advantage of the $850 million available to us in immediate liquidity.

Source: American Shipper