Maersk sells, charters back four ships to Seaspan

Maersk sells, charters back four ships to Seaspan    Seaspan Corp. has signed a deal to acquire four 4,800-TEU container ships from A.P. Moller-Maersk for a total of $160 million.
   The ships will be chartered back to Maersk for five years at a rate of $23,500 per day. Maersk will have the option to extend the charters for $22,400 per day the sixth year and $20,400 per day the seventh year.
   The four ships, the 'Mette Maersk,' 'Mathilde Maersk,' 'Maren Maersk' and 'Margrethe Maersk,' were built by Maerk’s Odense Steel Shipyard affiliate in 1989.
   They will be delivered to Seaspan between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, and increase Seaspan’s total fleet to 41 vessels.
   Gerry Wang, Seaspan’s chief executive officer, said the deal was significant both because it is Seaspan’s first purchase of secondhand ships and because it is the company’s first deal with Maersk, the world’s largest containership company.