On July 8, Greek shipping company Danaos Corporation announced on its official website that it has signed contracts with two Chinese shipbuilders for the construction of five medium-sized containerships, with a total order value of $509 million (about RMB 3.702 billion).
The five newbuilding orders comprise of one additional 8,258 container vessel to be built at Yangzijiang shipbuilding in China expected to be delivered in 2027 and four 9,200 TEU container vessels to be built at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) in China, three of which have expected deliveries in 2027 and one vessel in 2028.
All five vessels are designed with the latest eco characteristics, will be methanol fuel ready, fitted with open loop scrubbers and Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) units and will be built in accordance with the latest requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in relation to Tier III emission standards and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase III.
In addition to the newbuilding projects, Danaos Corporation announced on the same day that it had been awarded chartering contracts valued at $616 million, including forward two-year fixed charters of about US$203 million for nine existing vessels; and about $413 million for five newbuildings, with an average charter period of 4.8 years weighted by the total contractual hire rate.
The company said during the second quarter of 2024 it has taken delivery of the first three newbuilding vessels, namely two 8,010 TEU vessels and one 7,165 TEU vessel. As a result, as of the date of this press release, it currently has 16 container vessels under construction with an aggregate capacity of 129,819 TEU. The company anticipates delivery of three newbuilding vessels in the remainder of 2024, two vessels in 2025, three vessels in 2026, seven vessels in 2027 and one vessel in 2028.
Danaos Corporation announced that as of July 8 of this year, its total contractual cash operating revenues, based on signed charters, are currently $2.9 billion; the remaining average contractual charter period, weighted by total contractual charter hire, is 3.1 years. The company’s containership fleet’s contracted operating days charter rate is currently 99% in 2024 and 80% in 2025, which includes new ships built according to scheduled delivery dates.
Notably, back in February this year, Danaos Corporation has ordered two 8,258 TEU methanol-ready containerships from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which are scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, respectively, with a total order value of $188.4 million.
The official website shows that Danaos Corporation is one of the largest independent owners of modern, large-size container vessels. Our current fleet of 70 containerships aggregating 442,278 TEUs and 16 under construction container vessels aggregating 129,819 TEUs ranks Danaos among the largest container vessels charter owners in the world based on total TEU capacity. Danaos has also recently invested in the drybulk sector with the acquisition of 10 Capesize drybulk vessels aggregating 1,760,861 DWT.
