Singapore Corporate News - 17 Aug 2007

SIA to get first Airbus A380 on Oct 15

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) will finally take delivery of the world's first commercially ready Airbus A380 superjumbo eight weeks from now, on Oct 15, after two years of costly delays.

SIA confirmed yesterday European plane-maker Airbus will deliver its first A380 at a ceremony in Toulouse, France on that date.

And 10 days later, the plane will take off from Changi Airport on a world-first commercial flight, bound for Sydney.

The aircraft will have a total of 471 seats in three classes: the economy and business, and new suites which SIA says will redefine 'luxury in the sky'.

Changi has spent $68 million on infrastructure to handle giant aircraft, and will be the first airport to do so commercially. The plane's arrival here will be followed by a brief period of crew and ground-staff familiarisation, after which it will make its maiden commercial flight to Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport on Oct 25, then return to Singapore on Oct 26.

Rickmers Maritime to double fleet capacity with 4 new ships

RICKMERS Maritime said yesterday its trustee-manager has signed a preliminary agreement to buy four vessels that will more than double the shipping trust's contracted fleet capacity when they are completed in the second half of 2010.

The four 13,100 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containerships are among the largest built - each is 366 metres long, or about 86 metres taller than Singapore's tallest building, Republic Plaza.

Rickmers will buy the vessels from Polaris Shipmanagement Company for more than US$700 million.

They are scheduled to be delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea between August and November 2010, and will up Rickmers' contracted fleet capacity 128 per cent to 93,310 TEUs.

Each vessel will be on a 10-year fixed-rate time charter to AP Moller-Maersk, for Maersk Line.
After the 10 years, the charterer has two consecutive options to extend the charter period for an additional 30 months each.

Rickmers declined to reveal the charter rates for competitive reasons but said they are 'attractive'.

Financing for the acquisition of the vessels is now being arranged, with RTM saying it will give an update in due course.

At 66 metres or 16 storeys tall, the ships can each carry more than 140,000 tonnes of cargo.

At its initial public offering (IPO) in April, Rickmers promised investors a minimum distribution per unit of 2.14 US cents per quarter until 2009.

Its current fleet comprises six vessels that can carry between 3,450 and 5,060 TEUs.

In line with its IPO prospectus, it expects delivery of another four ships between now and March 2008.

And it has the right of first refusal for nine other vessels to be delivered in 2008 and 2009.