Ten 15,000 TEU LNG container ships for ZIM

Israeli public international transport company ZIM has signed a contract with freight ship operator Seaspan Corporation for the long-term charter of ten 15,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG container ships. The agreement, defined as strategic, will increase ZIM's growth activities on routes between Asia and the east coast of the United States, where it already covers an estimated market share of 9% according to market analyst PIERS.

Seaspan has outsourced shipbuilding to Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industries, one of the world's largest shipyards and a leader in high-tech shipbuilding, with extensive experience in LNG-powered ships. The delivery of the ships to ZIM is expected between February 2023 and January 2024.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., commonly known as ZIM, is one of the top 20 global shipping carriers. The company is headquartered in Haifa with also a North American office in Norfolk, Virginia. The choice of LNG fueling for the new ships was motivated by the lower environmental impact of this fuel.

Seaspan, a company of Atlas Corp., is one of the leading independent owners and operators of container ships with ship management services, chartering primarily on a long-term, fixed-rate and time-based charter basis. As of 30 September 2020, the Seaspan fleet consists of 127 container ships, for a total capacity of approximately 1,073,000 TEU. The fleet has an average age of around 7 years and an average residual lease period of around 4 years.

Atlas Corporation is a leading global wealth management company, differentiated by its position as owner and operator. Atlas aims for risk-adjusted long-term returns on high-quality infrastructure assets in the maritime, energy and other infrastructure verticals. In addition to Seaspan, Atlas controls APR Energy which is active globally in the development of energy infrastructures.

Eli Glickman, President and CEO of ZIM, said: “This is a key agreement for ZIM, worth more than a billion dollars, which allows us to meet the growing market growth and confirm the fundamental values ​​of sustainability, satisfying the customer demand for the reduction of CO2 emissions. We are delighted to partner with industry leaders such as Seaspan and Samsung Heavy Industries on this transaction. "

Bing Chen, Seaspan President and CEO, added: "We are very pleased to partner with ZIM to facilitate our customers' environmental commitment. This agreement represents ZIM and Seaspan's commitment to ESG principles, carbon reduction. and a determination to contribute to a greener business community in the future."