Danaos Corporation, one of the world’s largest independent owners of containerships, announced that (i) it has added $616 million to its contracted revenue backlog and (ii) has added an extra five newbuilding containerships to its orderbook.

The contract revenue backlog additions include (i) approximately $203 million of forward two-year charter fixtures for nine of its existing vessels and (ii) approximately $413 million of charter fixtures for the new five newbuilding orders with an average charter duration of 4.8 years weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire.

The five newbuilding orders with an aggregate contract price of $509 million comprise of one additional 8,258 container vessel to be built at Yangzijiang shipyard in China expected to be delivered in 2027 and four 9,200 TEU container vessels to be built at Dalian shipyard in China, three of which have expected deliveries in 2027 and one vessel in 2028. All five vessels are designed with the latest eco characteristics, will be methanol fuel ready, fitted with open loop scrubbers and Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) units and will be built in accordance with the latest requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in relation to Tier III emission standards and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase III.

As a result of the recent activity, total contracted cash operating revenues, on the basis of concluded charter contracts through the date of this release, currently stand at $2.9 billion. The remaining average contracted charter duration is 3.1 years, weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire.

Contracted operating days charter coverage for the container vessel fleet is currently 99% for 2024 and 80% for 2025. This includes newbuildings based on their scheduled delivery dates.

During the second quarter of 2024 we have taken delivery of the first three newbuilding vessels, namely two 8,010 TEU vessels and one 7,165 TEU vessel. As a result, as of the date of this press release, we currently have 16 container vessels under construction with an aggregate capacity of 129,819 TEU. We anticipate delivery of three newbuilding vessels in the remainder of 2024, two vessels in 2025, three vessels in 2026, seven vessels in 2027 and one vessel in 2028.

The Company’s CEO, Dr. John Coustas, commented:

“We are very pleased to announce the commissioning of a further five containerships that are at the forefront of new technology. With this new order, Danaos continues to solidify its position as one of the major players in the containership market worldwide and makes yet another solid step towards fleet modernization.

At the same time, we are also pleased to report the results of our recent chartering activity. We have now secured multi-year charters for all the vessels in our orderbook while we have also made significant additions to the contracted revenue backlog of our existing fleet and have further improved earnings and cash flow visibility.

We will continue to work to maximize our profitability and secure more accretive transactions with a focus on creating value for our shareholders.”