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Seaspan falls into the red in Q3 due to $202.8m in vessel impairments

Seaspan falls into the red in Q3 due to $202.8m in vessel impairments
Containership owner Seaspan Corp plunged into the red in the third quarter as it took $202.8m in impairments vessel values.

Seaspan reported a net loss of $184m for the third quarter of 2016 compared to $20.5m profit in the same period a year earlier. The company reported revenues of $224.8m for the third quarter up from $212.9m a year earlier.

The loss resulted from a $202.8m in impairments on the values of 10 vessels in the sub-5,000 teu category. The panamax sector has been particularly hard hit with the expansion of the Panama Canal. According to Alphaliner 101 vessels in the 3,000 to 5,099 teu class are currently idle.

In August Seaspan sold the 4,600 teu vessel Seaspan Excellence for scrap for $5.8m, booking a $16.5m loss on the sale.

The 2003-built 4,600 teu Seaspan Efficiency, formerly on chartered to bankrupt Hanjin Shipping, was sold for scrap for $6.4m in October. Three 10,000 teu vessels on charter to Hanjin have been returned to Seaspan. The containership owner has outstanding claims of $41.6m against Hanjin.

Despite the tough market for container shipping Seaspan, ceo, co-chairman and co-founder Jerry Wang remained upbeat on the company’s prospects.   "Seaspan has grown through periods of adversity to become the world's largest independent containership owner and lessor.  With future contracted revenue of over $5bn and over $500m in liquidity, we believe that Seaspan is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities that may arise due to industry challenges,” he said.