Danaos invests $509 million in five new methanol-ready containerships

Greek shipowner Danaos Corporation has ordered five new methanol-ready containerships for $509 million at Chinese shipyards. The company has also secured multi-year charters for all the vessels in its orderbook.

The new order includes one additional 8,258 TEU containership to be built at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shipyard in China with delivery set for 2027 and four 9,200 TEU containerships to be built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC), three of which have expected deliveries in 2027 and one vessel in 2028.

According to Danaos, all five vessels are designed to incorporate the latest eco characteristics, will be methanol fuel ready, fitted with open-loop scrubbers and Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) units. The ships 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.

With the latest order, the Greek company has 16 container vessels under construction with an aggregate capacity of 129,819 TEU.

In addition to commissioning the five new containerships, Danaos has added $616 million to its contracted revenue backlog.

The additions include approximately $203 million of forward two-year charter fixtures for nine of its existing vessels and roughly $413 million of charter fixtures for the five new newbuilding orders with an average charter duration of 4.8 years weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire.

During the second quarter of 2024, Danaos took delivery of the first three newbuilding vessels, namely two 8,010 TEU vessels and one 7,165 TEU vessel. The company anticipates delivery of three newbuild vessels by the end of 2024, two in 2025, three in 2026, seven in 2027, and one in 2028.

John Coustas, CEO of Danaos, said: “We are very pleased to announce the commissioning of a further five containerships that are at the forefront of new technology. With this new order, Danaos continues to solidify its position as one of the major players in the containership market worldwide and makes yet another solid step towards fleet modernization.

“At the same time, we are also pleased to report the results of our recent chartering activity. We have now secured multi-year charters for all the vessels in our orderbook while we have also made significant additions to the contracted revenue backlog of our existing fleet and have further improved earnings and cash flow visibility.

“We will continue to work to maximize our profitability and secure more accretive transactions with a focus on creating value for our shareholders.”