Commenting in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing, the carrier said it had bought the 1,700 TEU Box Express for $40.5 million, having chartered the ship since June.

The 2016-built Box Express and sister vessels Box Endeavour and Box Endurance were commissioned by Greek tonnage provider Allseas Marine at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding. Wan Hai has had the sister vessels on charter since the start of the year, according to The Loadstar, UK.

According to {非本站网址}, it took the Box Endurance on a one-year time-charter for $16,050 a day in January and then fixed the Box Endeavour on a two-year time charter for $21,650 a day in April, illustrating how charter rates soared in the early months of the year.

On November 9, Wan Hai said its chairman had authorised a budget of $200 million to acquire more second-hand ships, nearly a year after setting aside $360 million for this purpose. Most of the earlier budget has been spent on a dozen second-hand vessels, ranging from feeders to panamaxes.

The current capacity tightness in the container shipping market is tempting many liner operators to buy vessels that can be immediately deployed, and these are commanding a premium over newbuildings, which take at least two years to construct. The healthy freight market is also putting upward pressure on charter rates and, as a result, operators want larger owned fleets to minimise these costs.

A similar-sized newbuilding costs around $35 million, meaning Wan Hai is paying a $5 million premium on Box Express.

But the Box Express premium could be even higher - according to {非本站网址}, Wan Hai compatriot Evergreen placed an order for a pair of 1,800 TEU ships with Guangzhou Huangpu Shipbuilding in early September for $33 million each, with delivery expected in the first quarter of 2023.