John Fredriksen’s SFL Corporation has locked in fresh revenue with Maersk, agreeing to five-year charter extensions for three 9,500 teu container ships, starting in 2026. The renewed deals will add around $225m to the company’s contracted backlog.
The vessels will remain with the Danish liner through to 2031, the New York-listed owner said in its latest quarterly report.
SFL currently has a fleet of 30 container vessels, including five under construction, all fixed to top-tier liners MSC, Maersk, and Hapag-Lloyd.
The container segment brought in about $82.3m in charter hire during the second quarter, which included profit-sharing from fuel savings.
In addition to the Maersk extensions, SFL continued its fleet renewal strategy. The 2005-built 1,700 teu Asian Ace was sold, generating a gain of $4.3m. Meanwhile, six 2002-built feeders on bareboat charter to MSC were redelivered at the end of Q2, with a seventh handed back after the quarter closed.
In related fleet movers, on the dry bulk side, the company has exited its exposure to older supramax tonnage operating in the spot market. All units have been sold, with one still to be delivered in Q3. These sales are expected to bring in around $45m. Also, after the quarter, SFL redelivered eight older capesize bulkers to Golden Ocean, as part of a previously agreed charter arrangement. Golden Ocean paid $115m in July for the vessels, which were debt-free at the time of redelivery.
The combined impact of these divestments and redeliveries represents over $200m in proceeds, as SFL continues to modernise its fleet.
source:splash247.com
