TradeWinds: Greek owner Contships swoops on MPC Container Ships quintet

Nikolas Pateras acquires some of the biggest and youngest vessels in his fleet

Fresh from raising $100m on the Nordic bond market two months ago, Greek boxship owner Contships Logistics announced late on Tuesday the acquisition of five units from Oslo-listed peer MPC Container Ships (MPCC).

The quintet includes a pair of 1,992-teu vessels — the biggest ever to be bought by Greek owner Nikolas Pateras, who sees his fleet expanding to 45 vessels, bolstering Contships’ role as one of the world’s biggest independent owners of feeder container ships.

“These developments support our long-term growth and reinforce our position as a leading container feeder tonnage provider,” Pateras said in a statement.

The quintet, which changed hands at an undisclosed price, are understood to consist of the 1,992-teu AS Alexandria and AS Anita (both built 2010), the 1,338-teu AS Filippa (built 2008), as well as the 1,296-teu AS Fabrizia and AS Floriana (both built 2008).

A price for the five ships was not disclosed.

It is known, however, that Contships expects to finance them with cash on hand and that they were sold with their ongoing charters attached — ranging from $11,000 per day to $23,650 per day with major liners MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA CGM, as well as Diamond Line, King Ocean and CFS.

According to Contships, the five ships due to be delivered between April and June boost its charter backlog by about $43m over the firm charter period.

Including charter extensions of three separate, existing Contships vessels with MSC and CMA CGM confirmed by the company on Tuesday, the backlog increases to $62m and contract coverage of available days in 2025 to 78%.

Pateras has been a busy and skillful player on the secondhand market even before setting up Contships about a decade ago.

His boxship venture had been mostly on the selling side since October, raising about $65m from the divestment of eight smaller and older units to peers Medkon Lines and Safesea Group.

At the same time, Contships acquired a younger and bigger ship from Marlow Navigation.

According to Pateras’s statement on Tuesday, his latest acquisitions “mark a significant step in our ongoing fleet renewal strategy” and increase Contships’ market share in the feeder containership segment.

New guidance

MPCC described the sales to Contships in strategic terms as well.

“These transactions are highly accretive on a per share basis and follow our strategy to enhance the fleet composition and build the company for years to come,” said in a separate statement on Tuesday Moritz Fuhrmann, who is the company’s co-chief
executive officer and chief financial officer.

MPCC also confirmed divesting a further pair of boxships that TradeWinds already reported earlier this month — the 1,341-teu AS Franziska (built 2005) and 1,296-teu AS Fabiana (built 2007), which were reported sold to a major European liner.

This is most likely MSC, the world’s largest liner operator, which acquired six of the nine feeder boxships sold by MPCC in 2024.

As a result of its latest divestments, MPCC revised downwards its guidance for 2025 revenue by $30m to between $485m and $500m. The company also lowered its Ebitda guidance by $15m, to a new range of between $305m and $325m.

“We are committed to continued renewal of the fleet with a focus on optimisation and sustainability,” Fuhrmann said on Tuesday.

This strategy also includes a $75m liquidity boost in a bond tap issue the company completed last week to refinance debt and potential vessel acquisitions.

Following up on the bond tap, MPCC announced on Tuesday it completed its first Japanese financing transaction to refinance of one of its eco vessels.

“This is MPCC’s first facility in the highly competitive Japanese financing market which ideally positions the company for further accretive fleet optimisation measures,” Fuhrmann said.

MPCC has a fleet of nearly 60 small to mid-size container ships. The company’s backer MPC Capital was taken over by Petros Panagiotidis’ Castor Maritime in December.

Source: TradeWinds