There is no upper limit on container ship rent! Maersk sets the highest charter price to compete with MSC
Shipping companies increasingly believe that freight rates will remain high in the next few years, the charter period has been extended in terms of chartering ships, and the daily rent has also risen to unprecedented heights.
According to a report from shipping consulting agency Alphaliner, Maersk has just chartered three classic Panamax vessels of 4,600 teu with a charter period of 24 to 27 months. The daily rent reached an astonishing US$35,000, which once again set a new high charter price.
The three container ships built in 2009-2010: Northern Priority, Northern Promotion and Northern Precision, had been struggling to reach USD 5,000 in daily rent five years ago.
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The consulting agency pointed out that the last time Panamax container ships reached this level was in 2005. At that time, Maersk signed a 60-month lease with HS Caribe of 4367 teu, with a daily rent of 35,000 US dollars.
The Danish shipping company already has 4,586 teu's "Northern Priority" priority charter, and has extended the charter period to the end of this month. The daily rent is US$10,450, but now it has to pay more than three times the rent to maintain Lease a ship.
Alphaliner stated that Maersk has joined its 2M partner and competitor MSC’s "buying frenzy", noting that Maersk has just agreed to lease two other Panamax vessels from the British shipowner Zodiac Maritime, namely 4,253 teu Xiamen and 4,252 teu. The Nagoya Tower has a lease term of 30 months and a daily rent of US$32,000.
The "Xiamen" vessel was previously leased by another shipping company with a daily rent of only US$9,100, while the "Nagoya Tower" leased by Maersk in July last year had a lease term of two months and a daily rent of US$8,950.
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"The container ship leasing market has become crazy." As a source from a ship broker in London said.
"This is crazy," he added: "We have carrier brokers who have offered a much higher offer than any other offer to get a ship, and we are ready to set a contract for more than three years at this price."
He said: "Shipowners would rather choose top companies such as Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM to cooperate. They will get approval before smaller companies, but they are not prepared to give too much concessions on prices and terms."
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Ship rents skyrocketed (Source: ConTex)
Alphaliner stated that “there is no cap on container ship charter fees.”
"In the face of tight supply and continued strong demand, non-operating shipowners still have the upper hand in the chartering market, which shows no signs of abating in the short term."
At the same time, MSC expands its fleet capacity in three aspects: its new ship order volume is 451,000 teu, which is 10 times that of Maersk, second only to Evergreen Shipping's 719,000 teu newbuilding order; it is in the chartering and second-hand market. The most active shipping company; after deploying the largest ships, it is now turning its attention to the feeder market.
London-based ship broker Braemar ACM stated that MSC has snapped up the sister ships "Perseus" and "Pictor" built by Federmax in 2008, and has held many other discussions on the final stage, and reports are expected soon.
