ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Israeli shipping firm ZIM announced a new partnership with the Atlas Corp. subsidiary Seaspan on a new long-term charter worth over $1.5 billion for 10 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel container vessels to serve ZIM's global-niche trades.

ZIM has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since February 2021 and ships to countries all over the world. The firm was once on the verge of collapse, but a dramatic upheaval under CEO Eli Glickman kept the shipping firm from being a veritable sinking ship.
The company itself was founded in 1945 and was operated by the Jewish Agency, Israel Maritime League and the Histadrut labor union. While once heavily under these government bodies, the company became fully privatized in the early 2000s, though it is now a public company.In 2018, it had joined with 2M Alliance, one of the world’s largest shipping groups, to open trade lines between the east coast of the United States and Asia.

The company brings with it 76 years of service in the shipping industry, and its partnership with Seaspan, which already boasts a fleet of 131 vessels and 55 more under construction, can help bring together the best of these two shipping giants.

It also follows a prior partnership between the two companies announced in February 2021, which saw the two agree to a long-term charter for 10 15,000 TEU LNG-fueled vessels.

"We are very pleased to once again partner with Seaspan as we strategically enhance our operating fleet to further facilitate our long-term strategy. With this second long-term chartering agreement, we are securing access to our core fleet, while maintaining operational agility with respect to the total number of vessels we operate," Glickman said in a statement.

"Since going public, and further evidenced by this transaction, we remain committed to deploying capital prudently and enhancing shareholder value. Keeping with our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and preserving our oceans, we are investing in state-of-the-art 'green' vessels that use the cleanest technology currently available. We are proud that this transaction will further improve our carbon intensity standing among the global liners."

"We are very proud to further ZIM's leading environmental initiatives with advanced designs, competitive pricing, and valuable deliveries," Seaspan president, chairman and CEO Bing Chen said.

"Together, our teams developed a creative and competitive solution by leveraging Seaspan's decades of environmental expertise, newbuild experience, integrated platform, and trusted partnerships with shipyards. Our growing partnership and the 20 LNG-fueled newbuilds to date signify both ZIM's and Seaspan's commitment to carbon reduction and sustainable growth for our industry."Zev Stub contributed to this report.