Costamare buys old ship for near scrap prices, charters it to Evergreen

COSTAMARE Inc has agreed to purchase the 1997-built, 2,458-TEU container vessel Messini (formerly the Pembroke) for US$6.8 million, which has been entirely financed with equity.

"The purchase price for the Messini, which is close to her estimated scrap value, together with the time charter arranged, allows us to generate healthy returns and eliminate residual value risk," said Costamare CFO Gregory Zikos.

The vessel, which was delivered at the beginning of August, will be chartered by Evergreen for a period of 18 months at a daily rate of $8,100. The vessel is expected to be delivered to her charterers by September 23.

The company has also agreed to charter to Evergreen an existing vessel in its fleet, the Konstantina, which is a 1992-built, 3,351-TEU containership, for one year at a daily rate of $7,550. The vessel is expected to be delivered to her charterers in October 2012.

Said Mr Zikos: "At the same time we fixed two vessels at favourable rates, considering previous fixtures and the current market environment. We have reduced our re-chartering risk for the coming years. The charters for the vessels coming out of employment during the remainder of 2012 and 2013 account for 1.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent of our 2012 and 2013 contracted revenues respectively."