Rickmers Maritime signs a two - ship charter with Maersk Line
Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd. (“RTM”), the Trustee - Manager of Mainboard - listed Rickmers Maritime (the “Trust”) , today announced that it has successfully secured new employment for two of its vessels, the company said in its press release.
The vessels, Henry Rickmers (formerly Ital Fastosa) and Richard Rickmers (formerly Ital Festosa) , both 3,450 TEU panamax container vessels, have been chartered to Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company. Henry Rickmers will be deliver ed to Maersk Line this week and Richard Rickmers two weeks later.
The vessels have each been chartered for a n initial minimum period of 12 months , up to a maximum o f 24 months. The two vessels will be chartered at a floating rate based on an index agreed upon by both Maersk Line and RTM. The charters are expected to generate revenue for the Trust amounting to an estimated US$ 5 million over the initial 12 months .
Mr Thomas Preben Hansen, the Chief Executive Officer of RTM, commented, “ We are proud to reintroduce Maersk Line to our portfolio of premier liner companies. Whilst the charter market continue s to be under tremendous pressure, it gives us confidence knowing that our modern and well - maintained ships remain competitive to the extent that the world’s leading liner company has chosen to charter our ships ahead of the many competing candidates. ”
With the addition of Maersk Line, Rickmers Maritime’s portfolio of counterparties will comprise six of the world’s ten largest container shipping companies – Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA CGM, Evergreen Group (through Italia Marittima) , Hanjin Shipping, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
Rickmers Maritime is a Singapore business trust formed to own and operate containerships mainly under long - term, fixed - rate time charters to leading container liner companies including CMA CGM, Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd., Italia Marittima S.p.A., Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. Its objectives are to offer f irst class services to its customers, generate stable and growing cash flows and maximise value for its unitholders. Managed by Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd., Rickmers Maritime aims to provide its unitholders with regular quarterly distributions, wh ile reinvesting a portion of its operating cash flow to ensure the long - term growth and sustainability of Rickmers Maritime. Rickmers Maritime is sponsored by Rickmers Group, which has head offices in Hamburg, Germany and Singapore . Rickmers Group was founded and is controlled by Mr. Bertram R.C. Rickmers, whose family has been in the shipping industry for 180 years. Rickmers Maritime is listed on the Mainboard of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited and is a constituent of the FTSE ST Maritime Index.