Seacon overhauls orderbook with six ultramax bulker takeovers

Hong Kong-listed Seacon Shipping has reconfigured its newbuilding strategy by stepping into contracts for six ultramax bulk carriers and securing long-tenor leaseback financing to fund the acquisition.

The company said it has signed novation agreements to assume all rights and obligations under existing shipbuilding contracts for six 63,800-dwt vessels under construction at Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. Delivery of the ships is scheduled between January 30 and November 30, 2027.

Seacon will acquire the vessels for a combined consideration of $198.6m. The contracts were transferred at no cost by the original buyer, which had not made any instalment payments under the shipbuilding agreements.

The seller is a Marshall Islands-registered joint venture owned equally by Seacon and Aurora Ships, the latter ultimately controlled by Liu Renchuan.

To finance the deal, Seacon has arranged 15-year sale-and-leaseback facilities with Minsheng Financial Leasing. The finance leases will run for 180 months from delivery, with proceeds earmarked to meet the construction payments.

Under the structure, Seacon’s chartering subsidiaries will hold purchase options for each vessel during the lease period and are required to repurchase the ships at pre-agreed prices upon lease expiry.

The move comes shortly after Seacon decided to exit another newbuilding programme involving six 5,200-dwt multipurpose vessels, transferring those contracts to German owner Gerdecon as part of a broader reshaping of its fleet pipeline.