In the two years of the pandemic (2021-2022), when the containership market was also at an all-time high, Greek shipowners carefully ensured the operation of their fleet in the long term and they won.
Costamare
Costamare, Navios Partners, Global Ship Lease and Euroseas have signed long-term contracts and they have guaranteed the profitable operation of their ships, despite the turnaround of the market.
The time charter market of containerships is 29% down compared to the corresponding period of 2022 and has reached 70 points in the Clarksons Sea Index.
Moreover, Costamare, a company that traditionally managed containerships, has made a dynamic opening to bulk carriers over the last years. Currently, it has 68 containerships in its fleet.
Danaos
The strategy of Danaos, which has a fleet of 68 containerships, is similar while it also expanded to the market of bulk carriers in 2023. Fleet coverage in charters reaches 100% for the rest of 2023, but also 90.3% for the whole of 2024.
“The durability of our business model is confirmed by the strong results despite the significant drop in the freight market,” emphasized the CEO of the company, Dr. Yiannis Koustas.
The company’s revenue has grown to 2.5 billion dollars, while the average remaining length of deals is 3.2 years. It is noted that the company controls 68 containerships, with a total capacity of 421,293 TEUs, while it has another 10 under construction, with a capacity of 74,914 TEUs.
Navios Maritime Partners
Navios Maritime Partners, which has a diversified fleet of tankers, bulk carriers and containerships, has chosen a similar strategy.
The company has a fleet of 80 bulk carriers, 53 tankers and 47 containerships. Its revenues for the coming years reach 3.3 billion dollars, most of which (1.9 billion dollars) concern containerships.
Global Ship Lease
At the end of September the company, which also operates a fleet of 68 containerships, had revenue of 1.8 billion dollars, with an average charter duration of 2.1 years.
Euroseas
On its part, Euroseas, with 19 containerships in the water and seven under construction, has an outstanding balance of charter agreements amounting to 400 million dollars. “Based on the outstanding contract balance of more than 400 million euros in revenue during 2021 and 2022, we believe we are largely protected from developments in the charter market during 2024.
In addition, we have a significant secured revenue base for 2025, having covered more than 25% of our operating days at highly profitable levels,” said its president Aristidis Pittas, who believes that the biggest issue in the market today is the absorption of new containerships, which still amount to approximately 26.6% of the existing fleet.
