The Japanese shipowners based in Shikoku Island are likely to be hit by the merger of the country’s three main container lines.

NYK, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and K Line are merging their container line businesses as Ocean Network Express (ONE) from April next year as they seek to both rationalise and make their boxshipping services consistently profitable.

As result of this SS Teo, md of Pacific International Lines, believes that the big three Japanese lines will seek to end some of their charters Shikoku Island owners who have traditionally been tonnage providers.

Asked at Marine Money Asia about sources of finance for containership owners Teo highlighted sale and leaseback the potential deals with Japanese shipowners as well as the leasing arms of Chinese banks.

“Time we are also talking to the Japanese owners because I believe that with the merger of the three Japanese liner companies into one many of the traditional charters with the Shikoku owners will be terminated,” he explained.

“So I think it’s also good that some of the shipowners are coming out looking for sales and leaseback.”

Restructuring its container line business in early 2016, prior to the announcement of the merger to form ONE, MOL said that it would undertake fleet reductions focused on mid-sized boxships.

Source:seatrade-maritime.com