Lomar Shipping has emerged as the buyer of five handymax boxships from Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd.

The UK-based company has acquired five 3,237-teu vessels that trade between the US and northern Europe in a $40m sale-and-purchase deal.

The ships have been immediately chartered back to the German liner operator for between one and four years.

Periods run annually with optional extensions each year according to terms negotiated earlier in 2021, TradeWinds understands.