Israeli shipping firm ZIM charters LNG-fuelled containerships
Israeli shipping company ZIM said September 1 that it exercised an option to charter another five container vessels from Seaspan Corp. that are powered by LNG.
ZIM was granted the option to charter the five additional vessels as part of a July agreement to charter 10 vessels from Seaspan of the same class.
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“Seaspan will enter into agreements with a major shipyard to construct the LNG containerships, which are anticipated to be delivered during the third and fourth quarters of 2024,” Seaspan explained. “The LNG containerships are anticipated to be financed from existing liquidity, cash flow from operations, and additional borrowings.”
Seaspan put the aggregate purchase price at around $530mn.
Shippers are obligated to reduce their emissions in order to comply with a protocol from the International Maritime Organisation, dubbed IMO 2020. Ship operators are turning to low-sulphur fuels, LNG and other cleaner fuels to address that.
“We continue to invest the resources necessary to be an industry leader and to prepare ourselves for the cleaner future of our industry,” said ZIM CEO Eli Glickman.
The LNG-powered vessels procured by ZIM have capacities of 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent.