CMB buys containerships

CMB, an Antwerp, Belgium-based cargo vessel and aircraft operator, will acquire a fleet of 14 containerships from Delphis.    CMB, an Antwerp, Belgium-based cargo vessel and aircraft operator, will acquire a fleet of containerships from Delphis.
   Currently, Delphis operates a fleet of 14 containerships of which seven are fully owned; the remaining are owned in a joint venture. Of the seven joint-venture vessels, six are on long-term charter to Maersk and are considered to the be the biggest ice-classed ships in the world.
   With the acquisition of the Delphis containerships, CMB will acquire a stake of the partner in the seven joint-venture ships.
   CMB said the value of the transaction is $2.2 million, based on current market value of the vessels and the time-charter contracts. The company plans to close the deal in early 2015.
   Also, in early December, CMB ordered the construction of two new 2,000-TEU containerships from Korean shipyard Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction. These vessels will be the largest containerships to navigate the Kiel Canal in Germany, and will be delivered in May and June 2016.
   “Taking advantage of extremely low second-hand prices,” CMB acquired two panamax containerships at the beginning of the month, it said. The two 4,100-TEU vessels were built in Korea in 2004 and 2006. They will join CMB’s fleet during the first quarter of 2015.