China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) has announced a move to bareboat charter up to 11 units of 21,000 teu ultra-large containerships via its wholly-owned subsidiary.
The plan is to bareboat charter six of the mega-sized ships with options for five more similar vessels, the Chinese shipowner announced to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
CSCL will decide on whether to build or purchase the five options after six months of the charter agreement on the six vessels. The shipbuilder and the owner for the 11 vessels were not disclosed.
CSCL said the deal will allow the company to “uphold its low carbon emission operations, follow the market trend of operating larger containerships, further optimise its fleet structure, and raise competitiveness.”
Meanwhile, CSCL has been hit by a third quarter loss of RMB1.05bn ($165.2m) as against a profit of RMB 203.25m in the same period of last year, as operating profit plunged. Revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2015 was recorded at RMB7.86 bn, a decline of 14.6% year-on-year.
The shares trading of CSCL on the Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses remained suspended since 10 August pending a major announcement that may involve asset reorganisation.
China Shipping Group (CSG), parent of CSCL is rumoured to be planning a merger with China Cosco, resulting in the shares trading suspension on the listed units of both the state-owned shipping conglomerates.
Source: shippingherald.com