Norway: SFL Announces Construction of Four 4.800 TEU Container Vessels in China

Ship Finance International Limited, today announced that the Company has agreed to build four 4,800 TEU newbuilding container vessels at a state-owned shipyard in China with scheduled delivery in 2013. The aggregate construction cost will be approximately $230 million, with a majority of the payment due on delivery of the vessels, and we expect to secure bank financing for up to 80% of the purchase price.

The vessels will be chartered on time-charter basis to a large, European-based container line for seven years from delivery, and the charter rate will be approximately $26,250 net per day per vessel. The vessels are high specification, so-called wide-beam container vessels, optimized for higher cargo intake and very efficient speed/consumption economics compared to existing vessels of similar size.

Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management AS, said in a comment: “We are very pleased to further expand our presence in the container market with these state-of-the-art containerships with long term charters to a reputable international container line. It demonstrates our ambition to continue building and renewing our fleet, expanding our presence in the container market with modern assets and high-quality counterparts. This project will add approximately $270 million to our charter backlog, which currently stands at more than $7 billion.”

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Source: ShipFinance, April 11, 2011.