SEASPAN CORPORATION SIGNS CONTRACTS TO BUILD FOUR NEW 4250 TEU VESSELS
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
__________________________
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FORM
6-K
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__________________________
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REPORT
OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16
UNDER
THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date
of Report: April 12, 2007
Commission
File Number 1-32591
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
Unit
2, 7th
Floor, Bupa Centre,
141
Connaught Road West,
Hong
Kong
China
(Address
of principal executive offices)
[Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.]
[Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted
by Regulation S-I Rule 101 (b)(1).]
[Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as
permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b)(7).]
[Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in
this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission
pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.]
If
“Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
82- .
Item
1 - Information Contained in this Form 6-K Report
Attached
as Exhibit I is a copy of an announcement of Seaspan Corporation dated April
12,
2007.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized.
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SEASPAN
CORPORATION
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Date: April
12, 2007 |
By: |
/s/ Kevin
M.
Kennedy |
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Kevin
M. Kennedy |
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Chief
Financial Officer |
Exhibit
I
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Seaspan
Corporation
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Unit 2, 7th
Floor, Bupa Centre |
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141 Connaught Road West |
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Hong
Kong, China
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c/o 2600 - 200 Granville Street |
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Vancouver, BC |
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Canada
V6C 1S4 |
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Tel:
604-638-2575 |
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Fax:
604-648-9782 |
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www.seaspancorp.com |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEASPAN
CORPORATION SIGNS CONTRACTS TO BUILD
FOUR
NEW 4250 TEU VESSELS
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Six-Year Charters Arranged with CSAV -
Hong
Kong, China, April 12, 2007 - Seaspan Corporation (“Seaspan”) (NYSE: SSW) today
announced that it has signed contracts to build four 4250 TEU vessels at Jiangsu
New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (“Jiangsu”) in China. These new orders are in
addition to the ten 2500 TEU vessels Seaspan previously ordered from Jiangsu
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a shipyard affiliated with Jiangsu. The
four
newbuilding vessels are scheduled to be delivered between March and September,
2009. The total delivered cost is expected to be approximately $66.1 million
per
vessel, subject to certain pre-delivery expenses remaining at budgeted levels.
Seaspan
also announced that it has arranged simultaneous six-year charter agreements
for
these four vessels with Compañía SudAmerica de Vapores SA (“CSAV”) of Chile at a
rate of $25,925 per day. CSAV is the largest liner shipping company in South
America and is ranked 16th
in the
world by TEU capacity.
Each
new
vessel is expected to contribute between $7.5 million and $7.9 million in
incremental EBITDA per annum upon delivery. For this purpose, EBITDA shall
mean
net earnings before interest, undrawn credit facility fees, taxes, depreciation
and amortization of deferred financing fees. This should result in an increase
in distributable cash when the vessels are delivered and operating.
-more-
“Adding
the premier South American shipping line to our customer portfolio is another
significant step in the geographic diversification of our customer portfolio,”
said Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan. “While these time charters
are shorter in duration than our typical charter parties for new vessels, the
expiry dates in 2015 fit well into the balanced charter maturity profile of
our
fleet.”
Seaspan
Management Services Limited will supervise the construction of the new vessels
and operate the ships for Seaspan at an estimated fixed rate of $4,725 per
day
through 2011.
The
company will use an existing credit facility to fund the down payments for
these
vessels. Permanent financing will be arranged in the coming months.
About
Seaspan
Seaspan
owns containerships and charters them pursuant to long-term fixed-rate charters.
Seaspan’s fleet of 47 containerships consists of 26 existing containerships and
21 to be delivered over approximately the next three years. The 21 vessels
that
Seaspan has contracted to purchase are already committed to long-term time
charters averaging approximately 10.6 years in duration from delivery. Seaspan’s
operating fleet of 26 vessels has an average age of approximately five years
with an average remaining charter period of approximately eight years. Seaspan’s
customer base consists of seven of the largest liner companies, including China
Shipping Container Lines, A.P. Møller-Mærsk, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Hapag-Lloyd,
COSCO Container Lines, K-Line and CSAV.
Seaspan’s
common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol
“SSW”.
STATEMENT
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
release contains certain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined
in
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning
future events and our operations, performance and financial condition,
including, in particular, the likelihood of our success in developing and
expanding our business. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend
upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as
“expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,”
“projects,” “forecasts,” “will,” “may,” “potential,” “should,” and similar
expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
reflect management’s current views only as of the date of this presentation and
are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. As a result, you
are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements appear in a number of places in this release. Although these
statements are based upon assumptions we believe to be reasonable based upon
available information, including operating margins, earnings, cash flow, working
capital and capital expenditures, they are subject to risks and
-more-
uncertainties.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating
or financial results; our expectations relating to dividend payments and
forecasts of our ability to make such payments; pending acquisitions, business
strategy and expected capital spending; operating expenses, availability of
crew, number of off-hire days, drydocking requirements and insurance costs;
general market conditions and shipping market trends, including charter rates
and factors affecting supply and demand; our financial condition and liquidity,
including our ability to obtain additional financing in the future to fund
capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate activities;
estimated future capital expenditures needed to preserve our capital base;
our
expectations about the availability of ships to purchase, the time that it
may
take to construct new ships, or the useful lives of our ships; our continued
ability to enter into long-term, fixed-rate time charters with our customers;
our ability to leverage to our advantage Seaspan Management Services Limited’s
relationships and reputation in the containership industry; changes in
governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities;
changes in worldwide container demand; changes in trading patterns; competitive
factors in the markets in which we operate; potential inability to implement
our
growth strategy; potential for early termination of long-term contracts and
our
potential inability to renew or replace long-term contracts; ability of our
customers to make charter payments; potential liability from future litigation;
conditions in the public equity markets; and other factors detailed from time
to
time in our periodic reports. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update
or
revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future
events, new information, a change in our views or expectations, or otherwise.
We
make no prediction or statement about the performance of our common and
subordinated shares.
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For
Investor Relations
Inquiries:
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Mr.
Kevin M. Kennedy
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Chief
Financial Officer
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Seaspan
Corporation
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Tel.
604-638-2575
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For
Media
Inquiries
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Mr.
Leon Berman
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The
IBG Group
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Tel.
212-477-8438
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-end-
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