Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis is taking a 36-containership platform to the public market in Athens, with Capital Maritime Finance targeting up to €200m ($226m) from an initial public offering.

The listing, exclusive to Euronext Athens, will float the company's entire share capital — a first for a shipping IPO in the Greek market. Proceeds are earmarked for the newbuilding programme and working capital.

What sits behind the float?

The platform controls 36 containerships: 13 already trading and 23 under construction. The fleet splits into two distinct segments:

• 26 gearless feeders in the 1,800 teu to 2,900 teu range
• Ten LNG dual-fuel neo-panamax ships of about 8,800 teu

Every ship is spoken for. Charter coverage runs through 2034, the average remaining charter duration stands at 9.5 years, and the contracted revenue backlog sits at around $3.9bn.

Two charterers dominate the book. CMA CGM accounts for close to $3bn of the contracts, while Unifeeder — the DP World-controlled feeder operator — represents almost $1bn. For a fleet that is more than 60% still on order, that concentration gives underwriters an unusually long visibility runway and gives the carriers a dedicated, locked-in tonnage pipeline through the end of the decade.

Where are the ships being built?

The newbuilding book straddles South Korea and China, with deliveries running through October 2028:

• 13 feeder newbuildings at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries
• Six 8,770 teu LNG-capable ships at HD Hyundai Samho
• Four 8,776 teu LNG-capable vessels at New Times Shipbuilding in China, for employment with CMA CGM

The orderbook carries real financial weight. Capital Maritime Finance has about $1.9bn of capital expenditure remaining through 2028, of which $1.6bn is already covered by bank financing. Operating cash flow and the IPO proceeds are expected to bridge the balance.

How did the fleet come together?

The platform consolidates much of a boxship ordering drive tracked over the past 18 months. In April 2025, Marinakis-controlled Capital placed 18 containerships across HD Hyundai yards in a programme worth around $1.26bn — a mix of 1,800 teu feeders, 2,800 teu ships and 8,800 teu LNG dual-fuel tonnage.

Two further 8,800 teu options were firmed that June, lifting the round to 20 ships worth nearly $1.6bn.

For feeders and mid-size tonnage, the listing crystallises a strategy that has played out across the charter market since 2023: owners who ordered early and locked charters to deep-pocketed liner operators and feeder networks are now monetising those backlogs in the capital markets rather than selling ships piecemeal.

A second market debut this year

The Athens float marks Marinakis' second major shipping market debut in 2025. In March, Capital Tankers raised about $500m in a heavily oversubscribed placement before listing on Euronext Growth Oslo — a deal Euronext described as the largest western shipping listing in two decades.

The containership listing also lands amid a broader wave of interest in Athens as a listing venue. Star Bulk Carriers, led by Petros Pappas, arrived on Euronext Athens last month, raising $124.5m in an offering on September 16 while keeping its US listing intact.

Unlike Star Bulk's dual-listing structure, Capital Maritime Finance is going all-in on Athens — a bet that a $3.9bn contracted revenue stream and near-decade charter duration can anchor an exclusively Greek-listed shipping equity story.

If the €200m raise completes as planned, the proceeds will feed directly into a yard pipeline that keeps delivering LNG-capable neo-panamaxes and feeders into CMA CGM and Unifeeder employment through October 2028.