EUROSEAS has clinched a new three-year charter for a 20 year-old intermediate-size containership that is reflective of a current shortage of available capacity in the sector, according to the owner.

The 4,250 teu, 2005-built Emmanuel P (IMO: 9290127), has secured employment for 36-38 months at a gross rate of $38,000 per day.

The counterparty was not immediately identified but described as a “top-tier charterer” by Nasdaq-listed Euroseas.

The vessel has been earning a daily rate of $21,000 under its current employment, which expires in August.

“Amidst a shortage of tonnage, this fixture sets a higher rate level than ‘last done’ and serves as a strong testament to the continued strength of the containership market,” said chief executive Aristides Pittas in a statement.

He said it also reflected “the trust main market players place on Euroseas’s commercial, technical and commercial management”.

The charter is expected to generate more than $32m in earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation, and it increases the company’s charter coverage to about 97% for 2025, 67% for 2026 and 40% for 2027.

According to Pittas, it lifts the average contracted rate for the fleet to about $28,700 per day for the remainder of 2025.

This is estimated to further increase to more than $31,000 per day in 2026 — and more than $33,000 per day in 2027.

Euroseas said the new charter is expected to start in September after the vessel completes a scheduled drydocking, as well as installation of energy-saving devices.

Emmanuel P will become one of the highest-earning units in the Euroseas fleet of 22 on-the-water containerships, behind only Gregos (IMO: 9955533) and Terataki (IMO: 9955545), a pair of newbuilding feeders delivered in 2023 that are earning $48,000 per day under three-year charters expiring next year; and the 2009-built intermediate boxship Synergy Oakland (IMO: 9450583), which has a contract paying $42,000 daily until May next year.

Greece-based Euroseas has taken delivery of nine feeder newbuildings in the past two years and it has a pair of new 4,300 teu boxships on order for the fourth quarter of 2027.

The largest vessel in the existing fleet, the 20-year-old Marcos V (IMO: 9307059), which has a capacity of 6,350 teu, has been sold for $50m but is not scheduled for delivery to the buyer until October.

Euroseas will book a gain of $8.5m on the sale but, said Pittas, the vessel had generated “exceptional returns” of “more than five times our original equity investment”.

Acquired in the fourth quarter of 2021 for $40m, it was chartered for three years at $42,000 per day and is in a fourth year that was optioned by the charterer at $15,000 daily.