On July 8, SFL Corporation, a diversified shipowner under the Norwegian ship king John Fredriksen, released on its official website, saying that four of the company’s 8,700 TEU medium-sized containerships have reached a new five-year time charter contract valued at $240 million.
The company said that the vessels have been on charter to A.P. Moller – Maersk (“Maersk”) since they were new and the current charters were due to expire in 2025. The vessels were built in 2014-2015 with a modern, wide-beam design and fuel-efficient electronic engines. In connection with the new charters, SFL will make certain investments in the vessels, including increasing the cargo capacity to 9,500 TEU. The Company will also add new energy efficiency features, and the total upgrade investment is estimated to be approximately $20 million in aggregate.
Although SFL Corporation did not disclose specific ship information in the press release, the only container ships owned by SFL Corporation and chartered by Maersk that meet the stated specifications are the San Francisca, the San Fernando, the San Felix and the San Felipe.
Fleet inventory data show that the San Felipe will end its charter as early as the fourth quarter of 2029; the San Felix and San Fernando will end in the first quarter of 2030; and the San Francisca will end in the second quarter of 2030.
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said in a comment: «The new charters on four existing container vessels demonstrate the benefit of a customer focused approach, where we in close cooperation with Maersk have analyzed how to optimize the vessels’ operational performance and reduce emissions. This benefits both our customer and us during the charter period, whilst we will have more attractive vessels when the new charters expire in 2030. With the acquisitions and charter extensions announced so far this year, we have added approximately $2 billion to our fixed rate charter backlog.
Last week (July 3), SFL Corporation announced that it plans to build five liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel-powered 16,800 TEU large containerships to be constructed by the Chinese shipyard New Times Shipbuilding, with an order value of approximately US$1 billion, which are expected to be delivered in 2028. Meanwhile, the company has entered into a 10-year charter contract with an undisclosed liner company for these five newbuild LNG dual-fuel-powered large containerships, with a two-year extension and an option.
