News Release:
(i)
the
purchase and time charter of two secondhand vessels
(ii)
time
charter extensions for six existing vessels and
(iii) the
disposal of two older vessels which the Company agreed to sell for demolition.
In addition, the Company has
finalized the financing arrangements for its new-building Program.
(A) Vessel Acquisitions with Time
Charters in Place
The Company has reached an agreement
to acquire -
1) the 6,724 TEU, 2003-built
container ship MSC Viviana (to be renamed MSC Messinia) for a purchase price of
$60 million. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of October 2011
and immediately upon delivery it will commence a time charter with MSC for a
duration of approximately 10 years, at a daily rate of $29,000; and
2) subject to final documentation,
the 4,132 TEU, 2002-built MSC Ulsan for a purchase price of $30 million. The
vessel is expected to be delivered within the first quarter of 2012 and
immediately upon delivery it will commence a time charter with MSC for a
duration of approximately 63 months, at a daily rate of $16,500.
Both acquisitions will be financed
by cash from operations and the use of a committed credit line.
(B) Time Charter Extensions
The Company has entered into
agreements to extend the time charters for the following 6 existing vessels:
1) The time charter agreement with
MSC for the 1991-built, 2,023 TEU c/v MSC Sierra II, has been extended as from
July 1, 2012, for a further period of approximately 2 years, at a daily rate
of $11,500.
2) The time charter agreement with
MSC for the 1991-built, 2,023 TEU c/v MSC Namibia II, has been extended as from
August 2, 2012, for a further period of approximately two years, at a daily
rate of $11,500.
3) The time charter agreement with
MSC for the 1992-built, 2,024 TEU c/v MSC Sudan II, has been extended as from
July 27, 2012, for a further period of approximately 2 years, at a daily rate
of $11,500.
4) The time charter agreement with
MSC for the 1991-built, 2,020 TEU c/v MSC Pylos, has been extended as from
February 28, 2012, for a further period of approximately 2 years, at a daily
rate of $11,500.
5) The time charter agreement with
MSC for the 1986-built, 2,633 TEU c/v MSC Challenger, has been extended as from
October 13, 2012, for a further period until approximately August 30, 2015, at
a daily rate of $10,000.
6) The time charter agreement with
MSC for the 1984-built, 3,584 TEU c/v MSC Austria, has been extended as from
December 1, 2012, for a further period until approximately October 1, 2018, at
a minimum daily rate of $13,500 plus 50% of the amount by which the market rate
exceeds the minimum daily rate. The market rate is to be determined annually
during the extension period, based on the Hamburg Contex 3500 TEU index.
(C) Vessel Disposals
The Company has agreed to sell the
1978-built vessels MSC Tuscany and MSC Fado for demolition, with delivery due
to the buyers by mid-December 2011, for a total sale price of approximately
$8.8 million.
(D) Financing Arrangements for New
build Vessels
The Company has finalized the
financing arrangements for three out of the five new build vessels ordered from
Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. of Korea , with a consortium of European and US
The Company has also accepted a
firm offer from a consortium of European and Asian banks, which is subject to
documentation, but not subject to further credit approval, for the financing of
the remaining two new build vessels.
All 5 new build container ships,
each of approximately 8,800 TEU capacity, have been time chartered to members
of the Evergreen Group and are expected to be delivered between the 1st and the
3rd quarters of 2013.
Management Commentary
Gregory Zikos, Chief Financial
Officer of the Company, said: "We are pleased to announce the agreement to
acquire 2 more 2ndhand vessels backed by attractive time charters to MSC.
Concurrently, we have reached agreements to extend on a forward basis the time
charters for 6 existing vessels at favorable rates, while at the same time we
are disposing of the oldest vessels in our fleet at a very attractive price. We
expect to realize capital gains of approximately $5 million from these
disposals.
"In total, these latest
chartering agreements amount to approximately $207 million of contracted
revenues with a TEU-weighted average duration of more than 5 years. The recent
fixtures on a forward basis have minimized our re-chartering risk, and further
enhanced our financial stability.
"With regards to financing our
contracted new builds, we have finalized the loan agreement for three of our
new build vessels with some of the most respected European and US
"The most recent financing
arrangements, discussed above, provide for 80% leverage, enhancing our equity
returns.
"Concurrently, we take
advantage of the current low interest rate environment by hedging, on a forward
basis, our interest rate obligations, thus increasing our cash flow
visibility."
For more information, contact:
Costamare Inc.
60, Zephyrou Street Syngrou Avenue , Athens , Greece
Phone: + 30-210-9490050 +30
210-949-0000
Fax: + 30-210-9406454
Source: Maritime Global Net. 20 September 2011
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