FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEASPAN
CORPORATION ARRANGES TWELVE-YEAR TIME CHARTERS WITH
COSCO
CONTAINER LINES FOR TWO NEW 3,500 TEU VESSELS
Acquisition
is Incremental to Original Contracted Fleet and
Accretive
to Distributable Cash Flow Upon Vessel Delivery
Hong
Kong, China, February 14, 2006 - Seaspan Corporation (“Seaspan”) (NYSE: SSW)
today announced that it has agreed to purchase two newbuilding vessels
from
affiliates of Conti Holding GmbH & Co. KG (“Conti”) of Germany. This
acquisition is incremental to Seaspan’s original contracted fleet, and will
increase the company’s total fleet to 25 vessels. Seaspan will acquire the two
3,500 TEU vessels upon their delivery in February and July 2007 respectively
from Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in China. The total delivered
cost is
expected to be approximately $50 million per vessel, subject to certain
pre-delivery expenses remaining at budgeted levels.
Seaspan
also announced that it has arranged simultaneous twelve-year charter
agreements
for these vessels with Cosco Container Lines Co., Ltd. (“Coscon”) at $19,000 per
day. Coscon is a subsidiary of China Cosco Holdings Co. Ltd., a major
publicly
traded container transport company. Coscon is the world’s ninth-largest liner
shipping company in terms of capacity. Seaspan Management Services
Limited
(“SMSL”) will supervise the construction of the new vessels and operate
both
ships for Seaspan at an initial fixed rate of $4,200 per day.
“The
acquisition of these two newbuilding contracts is consistent with
Seaspan’s
strategy as it allows us to deliver incremental growth to our shareholders
through the expansion of our fleet,” said Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer of
Seaspan. “Additionally, the long-term charters agreed with Coscon will
contribute to Seaspan’s strong and stable cash flows for distribution to our
shareholders. Finally, we are very pleased that this acquisition
will diversify
our customer base by adding a major and rapidly growing player in
China, with
the potential to deliver further business in the future. It also
allows us to
establish a relationship with a growing Chinese shipbuilder.”
Each
new
vessel is expected to contribute between $5 million and $5.5 million
in
incremental EBITDA per annum upon delivery. This will result in an
increase in
distributable cash when the vessels are delivered and operating.
The
3,500
TEU vessel size will complement Seaspan’s existing fleet of 9,600 TEU, 8,500 TEU
and 4,250 TEU vessels. The smaller sized 3,500 TEU vessel is in demand
among
major charterers, including Seaspan’s existing customer base. Construction of
the ships has just begun, which will allow the SMSL technical team
to influence
ship design and ensure greater uniformity with the existing fleet.
This
transaction will bring the size of Seaspan’s fleet to 25 ships, the last of
which are anticipated to be delivered by the end of August 2007.
“Seaspan
believes that acquisitions will be key drivers of our growth strategy,
but has
put in place specific acquisition criteria which require that all
acquisitions
be accretive to distributable cash flow; include agreements with
a high quality
charterer; and meet our careful assessment of credit and residual
risk,”
continued Mr. Wang. “The acquisition of these two vessel contracts meets all of
these criteria.”
Seaspan
paid Conti a $4 million deposit upon signing of the transaction,
which was
financed from cash on hand. The company is in the process of arranging
long-term
debt financing for this transaction, which is expected to be in place
within six
weeks. The board of directors of Seaspan Corporation has unanimously
approved
the terms of this transaction.
Zhejiang
Shipbuilding, which is building the two new vessels, is located near
Ningbo,
China. The yard is one of the largest private shipyards in China
and is owned by
Sino-Pacific Heavy Industries, which also operates the Dayang shipyard
in
Yangzhou.
About
Seaspan
Seaspan
owns containerships and charters them pursuant to long-term fixed-rate
charters.
Seaspan currently owns a fleet of 14 containerships consisting of
twelve 4250
TEU vessels and two 8500 TEU vessels. Over approximately the next
19 months,
Seaspan will acquire nine additional vessels consisting of eight
4250 TEU
vessels and two 9600 TEU vessels. Today’s transaction will add two 3500 TEU
vessels to the fleet.
Seaspan’s
common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol
“SSW.”
For
Investor Relations and Media Inquiries:
Seaspan
Corporation
Mr.
Kevin
M. Kennedy
Chief
Financial Officer
(604)
482-8777
Fax:
(604) 648-9782
www.seaspancorp.com
OR
Brunswick
Group LLP
Ms.
Nina
Devlin or Ms. Erin Moore
(212)
333-3810
-end-