Danaos: Other routes compensate for weak U.S. trades

Danaos: Other routes compensate for weak U.S. trades Danaos Corp., a large owner and charterer of containerships, reported third quarter net income of $25.5 million, up from $20.6 million in the same 2006 period.
   Operating revenues for the quarter were $62.6 million versus $51.5 million a year earlier.
   During the quarter ended Sept. 30, Danaos had an average of 31.1 containerships as opposed to 26.3 containerships for the same period of 2006.
   John Coustas, Danaos' chief executive officer, noted that during the quarter the company completed the acquisition of five secondhand 2,200-TEU containerships, all chartered for 10 years, and took delivery of two more Panamax containerships chartered for 12 years each.
   Coustas said that during the third quarter, “the containership market further improved spurred by strong demand in the Far East/Europe and Middle East/India/Far East trades. The lack of available vessels for new charters, especially in the 3,000-TEU and above sizes, is likely to result in further market strengthening through the spring of 2008.”
   He said, “weakness in the U.S. housing market contributed to slow growth in the transatlantic and transpacific trades, which was more than compensated for by growth in the other routes.”