GENEVA's Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is to charter four Maersk laid-up vessels, the 4,500-TEU Maersk Beaumont, the Maersk Boston, the Maersk Bentonville and the Maersk Brooklyn which will be deployed for 12-months on MSC's Cheetah service.

The vessels boast the fastest speed of containerships at 30 knots and will be in direct competition with the Danish carrier's subsidiary Safmarine service linking South Africa to Asia.

A daily rate for the Swiss carrier's 12-month time charter is double the rate of the market six months ago at US$$24,000 according to a report from London's Containerisation International.
(Source:www.schednet.com)