Global Ship Lease has made its first move into the newbuilding market， ordering 10 containerships in a deal worth about $917m as the New York-listed owner looks to reshape its fleet for the next generation of liner trades.

The Athens-based company said it has signed individual contracts for 10 mid-sized， ultra-high-reefer， wide-beam boxships， with deliveries scheduled between the fourth quarter of 2028 and the first quarter of 2030.

All vessels have already secured multi-year charter employment upon delivery. Global Ship Lease said the charters carry a teu-weighted average duration of 6.7 years and are expected to generate about $665m in aggregate adjusted EBITDA over their initial terms.

The order represents a strategic shift for the George Youroukos-led owner， which has built its business around acquiring secondhand tonnage rather than commissioning vessels directly from shipyards.

While the company did not disclose the builders or vessel specifications， multiple shipbuilding sources told Splash in May that Global Ship Lease had commissioned China’s Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering to construct eight conventionally fuelled 6，200-teu vessels.

Executive chairman Youroukos said the ships had been designed to meet the evolving requirements of liner operators while providing flexibility across changing trade routes.

“We are pleased to have agreed attractive terms for these best-in-class vessels， which we expect to be the workhorses of global container shipping for many years to come， ensuring that our existing ‘cash cows’ are successfully replaced as they begin to age out，” he said.

Youroukos added that fixing all 10 vessels on multi-year charters from delivery was consistent with the company’s long-standing strategy of limiting downside risk while retaining upside potential.

Global Ship Lease currently controls a fleet of about 70 containerships and has traditionally focused on buying and chartering out existing vessels rather than ordering new tonnage. The company said the newbuilding programme was supported by its balance sheet strength and charter backlog， which currently stands at approximately $2.1bn spread across an average remaining charter duration of 2.6 years.