According to TradeWinds, German ship management company BF Shipmanagement is planning to acquire more large container ships after purchasing its highest-tonnage container ship to date.
“This is our future development plan,” said Bijan Foroohari, the company’s Executive Ship Owner. “While it’s uncertain if it can be achieved, this is undoubtedly our strategic direction.”
The company (also known as Reederei Foroohari) recently drew industry attention for acquiring the 13,312 TEU New Panamax container ship “Manzanillo Express” (built in 2022). This acquisition move is quite remarkable, as Foroohari had previously focused primarily on much lower-cost smaller vessels. It is reported that the “Manzanillo Express” is valued at $120 million, equivalent to three to four times the price of vessels previously purchased by this shipowner.
Currently, most container ships in the company’s fleet have a capacity of less than half that of the “Manzanillo Express”. The second-largest vessel in the fleet is the Japanese-built 6,494 TEU “BF Humberg” (built in 2009), purchased in 2023 for $32 million.
It is reported that Foroohari and its partners have jointly explored a modern ship acquisition model. According to brokers, the “Manzanillo Express” was acquired with a time charter contract extending to 2032, with German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd as the charterer, at a daily rate of $39,000, and includes an option to extend the charter for another six years.
The ship was sold in August this year by the US-listed company Capital Clean Energy Carriers, but the buyer was not disclosed at the time. The vessel was built by South Korea’s HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
Notably, this marks the third consecutive time Foroohari has purchased a ship from the Greek shipowner Capital Group. In May of this year, the company also acquired two 5,500 TEU container ships from a company under Marinakis for approximately $13 million each; these ships are also time-chartered to Hapag-Lloyd.
Currently, BF Shipmanagement is focusing on deploying high-tech, environmentally friendly ships through partnerships with companies like Hapag-Lloyd and German multi-purpose vessel operator dship Carriers. Foroohari emphasized that this transition is crucial, and given the high construction costs of such vessels, it is necessary to establish a “solid financial foundation.”
“To achieve this stability,” he said, “we have decided to expand the scale of our modern, high-tech fleet together with strong partners.”
BF Shipmanagement was founded by Captain Bijan Foroohari in 1995 and has grown from a small operator into a well-known enterprise in the international shipping community. Today, the company manages over 20 multi-functional vessels, including container ships, multi-purpose cargo ships, and general cargo ships.
