ZIM buys 7 ships in move from charters to owning vessels

In a clear move away from chartering to owning ships, Israeli carrier ZIM Integrated Shipping Services announced the acquisition of seven secondhand vessels – five 4,250 TEU vessels and two 1,100 TEU vessels – for a consideration of approximately $320 million.

“Since going public our focus has been to allocate capital to strengthen our commercial prospects and create long-term shareholder value,” Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO, said. “With the opportunistic acquisition of these much-needed vessels, we have drawn on our strong cash position and our agile approach to maintain and expand our operating fleet to meet growing customer demand, while remaining committed to delivering industry superior profitability.”

Glickman said ZIM will continue to complement the primary strategy of chartering in the vast majority of vessels by selectively acquiring second-hand tonnage.

ZIM had earlier this month announced the launch of Ship4wd, a digital freight forwarding platform to offer end-to-end shipping solutions.

NYSE-listed ZIM had reported a revenue of $4.1 billion for the first half of 2021, an increase of over 150 percent from $1.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2020. Net income had zoomed to $1.5 billion from $13 million.

For the second quarter, ZIM had reported a revenue of $2.4 billion and net income of $888 million. ZIM carried 921,000 TEUs in the second quarter of 2021, a year-over-year increase of 44 percent. Average freight rate ($/TEU) more than doubled in Q2 to $2,341 from $1,071. For the first half of the year, the average freight rate ($/TEU) nearly doubled to $2,145 from 1,081.

“Our outlook for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022 is very positive and we are excited about our strategy to further enhance our position as an innovative digital leader of seaborne transportation and logistics services,” Glickman had said while announcing the results.

ZIM is expecting second-half 2021 results to exceed first-half results.