News / CMA CGM purchases chartered Seatrade feeder quintet

Photo: VesselFinder

French carrier CMA CGM has acquired all five of the 2,300 teu feeder ships it had been chartering from Dutch specialist Seatrade Groningen.

According to shipbrokers, Seatrade Blue, Seatrade Green, Seatrade Orange, Seatrade Red and Seatrade White were a`ll acquired last week and, although the sales price was not disclosed, VesselsValue estimates each has a market value of around $30m.

CMA CGM began chartering the ships in mid-2020 for five years, paying $20,000 a day, with all five assigned to its Panama Direct Line, which calls at ports in Australia, New Zealand, the US east coast, Jamaica, Panama and northern Europe.

Seatrade had constructor the-then Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding (now Zhejiang East Coast Shipbuilding) $26m for each, marking its entry into the fully cellular boxship market. The order was financed through leasing agreements, four with ICBC Financial Leasing (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and one with Japanese tonnage provider Hyuga Kaiun.

CMA CGM has been emulating MSC in fleet expansion, with newbuildings and secondhand purchases, and the French operator has also been acquiring ships  it had on long-term charter.

In July, CMA CGM bought the 2016-built 9,448 teu CMA CGM Missouri, chartered from Italian owner D’Amato Fratelli since April 2020 for four years and five months. The purchase price was not disclosed, although the ship had a value of $107m at the time. It had cost $88.15m, meaning it could have achieved a profit of nearly $20m from the sale. In May, CMA CGM had acquired 2009-built 3,534 teu CMA CGM Guild  and its 2008-built sister, CMA CGM Diamond, from Northern Shipping Holding.

CMA CGM now has an active fleet of nearly 3.8m teu, including 1.72m teu of 286 owned ships. Its orderbook stands at 76 vessels, of 1.05m teu.