Israeli shipping company ZIM has announced a strategic chartering agreement with Seaspan for the long-term charter of ten 15,000 TEU capacity LNG-fueled containerships.
ZIM says the newbuilding vessels, will have their trade route established between Asia and the U.S. East Coast, where ZIM claims a 9% market share.
“This is a landmark deal for ZIM, valued at more than $1 billion, which allows us to achieve two important strategic objectives,” said Eli Glickman, ZIM’s president and CEO. “First, these advanced premium vessels will enable us to meet growing market demand in the Asia-U.S. East Coast trade and provide high-level, reliable service to our customers in this important trade lane. Second, in keeping with our core values of sustainability, investing in “green” LNG-fueled vessels demonstrates our continued commitment and leadership in addressing environmental issues related to our industry, meeting customer demand to reduce CO2 emissions, helping to preserve clean air and reducing our carbon footprint. We are delighted to partner with industry leaders like Seaspan and Samsung Heavy Industries on this operation.”
Seaspan has commissioned South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries to build the vessels.
“We are very pleased to partner with ZIM to facilitate our client’s industry-leading environmental initiative,” said Bing Chen, president and CEO of Seaspan. “This transaction signifies both ZIM and Seaspan’s commitment to ESG principles, carbon reduction and determination to contribute to a greener business community in the future.”
Zim is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
ZIM used its strategy to post a $157.8 million profit in the first nine months of 2020, a jump from the $14.2 million profit calculated for the same period in 2019.
Its profit margins were among the best in an industry that last year began struggling to respond to business disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
ZIM recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ZIM) and raised $217.5 million. After the initial decline, the company’s stock price has risen more than 60% to over $19 per share on Friday.
