Seaspan Corporation announced that it accepted delivery of the CSCL Lima, a 2,500 TEU newbuilding. The new containership, which was constructed by Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., expands Seaspan's current operating fleet to 33 vessels with 35 remaining newbuildings to be delivered over approximately the next three years. The CSCL Lima was delivered approximately 20 weeks ahead of the original contracted delivery date.
The CSCL Lima is subject to a time charter with China Shipping Container Lines (Asia) Co., Ltd. for a twelve-year period. CSCL Asia is a subsidiary of China Shipping Container Lines Co., Ltd., the world's eighth largest liner company in terms of shipping capacity. Under the terms of the fixed-rate time charter, CSCL Asia is responsible for fuel costs and all cargo operating and related expenses.
Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan, commented, "We are pleased to have accepted delivery of our fourth newbuilding this year and to have commenced another long-term time charter. We continue to provide modern tonnage chartered to leading liner companies at a price point we believe is beneficial for both the charterer and Seaspan over the long-term. We believe Seaspan's business model remains resilient and well suited to withstand near and medium-term volatility and to support our dividend policy. Despite a challenging economic and credit environment, we continue to grow our sizeable contracted revenue stream with revenue from high credit quality counterparties."