Danaos orders five 6,500-TEU ships worth $500 million

Danaos orders five 6,500-TEU ships worth $500 million Greek shipowner Danaos Corp. has ordered five 6,500-TEU vessels from Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd. worth about $500 million.
   The ships are due to be delivered to the Athens-based company from late 2009 through June 2010. Danaos said it would finance the purchases through its existing credit facilities and own funds. It has also arranged 15-year charters for three of the vessels with the Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming at a rate of $34,325 per day, or $563.8 million over the period of the contract.
   John Coustas, chief executive officer of Danaos, said the delivery schedule of the ships is crucial, as they will arrive “at a time when building berths for large containerships around the world are becoming increasingly hard to find.”
   Danaos has a fleet of 31 containerships aggregating 138,931 TEUs. This new order increases its total orderbook to 23 containerships with a total carrying capacity of 130,524 TEUs or 94 percent of its current fleet.