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HONG
KONG—Seaspan Corp., Canada’s top marine transporter,
will lease eight container vessels to a unit of China
Cosco Holdings Co.for $1.9 billion as demand for cargo
haulers surges in the world’s fastest-growing major
economy.
Cosco
Container Lines Co.,
Asia’s biggest
container-shipping line, will pay a daily fee of $55,000
a vessel during the 12-year contract, Vancouver-based
Seaspan, which also runs an office in Hong Kong, said in
a statement Tuesday.
“We are
pleased to further strengthen this strategic
relationship,” the statement quoted chief executive
officer Gerry Wang as saying.
Cosco
Container, A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest
shipping line, and their rivals are ordering more ships
as manufacturers import raw materials into China and
ship finished goods to the US and Europe. Shipping lines
worldwide have spent $95.2 billion in new vessels in the
first seven months this year, 33 percent more than last
year, according to London-based Clarkson Plc, the
world’s biggest shipbroker.
The
vessels, being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. for
as much as $181 million each, are among the largest
container ships to be built and will be delivered in
2011. The lease will contribute more than $17 million in
incremental earnings before interest tax, depreciation
and amortization for Seaspan annually, the company said.
Five of
the super-sized vessels, which can each carry 13,100
standard containers measuring 20 feet in length, will be
built by Hyundai Heavy, the world’s largest shipyard.
The remaining three will be made by a unit of Ulsan,
South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy.
Rising
cargo traffic is helping shipbuilders such as Hyundai
Heavy of South Korea, the world’s biggest shipbuilding
nation, secure orders at record prices.
A.P.
Moeller operates six of the world’s largest container
vessels, which can each carry 12,508 boxes, according to
Containerisation International, which tracks the
industry.
Hyundai
Heavy fell as much as 3.5 percent to 355,000 won and
traded at 359,000, down 2.5 percent, as of 12:03 p.m. in
Seoul.
The
stock has almost tripled this year, the best performer
among the top 50 companies on Kospi index. Seaspan
dropped 2.6 percent to close at $30.94 Monday in New
York. (Bloomberg)
****
Speculation
hikes coal transport fees
LONDON—Shipping
costs for iron ore and coal are at a record because of
speculation by hedge funds and don’t reflect supply and
demand, said Sempra Metals Ltd.
There
has been a breakdown in the “traditional correlation”
between shipping delays at Newcastle, the world’s
biggest coal harbor, and freight rates, John Kemp, a
London-based analyst for Sempra, said by telephone
Tuesday.
Freight
markets normally fall when congestion eases at
Newcastle, Kemp said. There are 47 ships waiting to load
at the facility Tuesday, compared with a peak of 79 in
July.
“There
must be a suspicion that one or more hedge funds has
found a way to enter the market and is now bidding the
market sharply higher,” Kemp said in an e-mailed note.
Sempra Metals is a unit of San Diego-based utility
Sempra Energy and trades on the London Metal Exchange.
The
Baltic Dry Index climbed to a record 8,477 points
Tuesday and has gained 21 percent in the past month.
Analysts including Glenn Lodden and Henrik With at DNB
Nor Markets and Jonathan Chappell at JPMorgan Chase &
Co. have said Chinese raw-material demand has boosted
shipping costs.
“Nothing
has changed in terms of market fundamentals recently” to
justify current freight rates, Kemp said. “If anything
the fundamentals have eased slightly.”
Freight
rates may also be soaring because traders who bet the
market would decline in June are being forced to unwind
their unprofitable so-called short positions,
effectively increasing demand for freight derivatives
contracts, Kemp said. (Bloomberg) |
