A.     Selected Financial Data

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

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B.     Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C.     Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

D.     Risk Factors

Some of the following risks relate principally to the industry in which we operate and to our business in general.  Other risks relate principally to the securities market and to ownership of our shares or our 6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2019 (the “2019 Notes”), our 7.125% senior unsecured notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”), our 5.50% senior notes due 2025 (the “2025 Notes”) and our 5.50% senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”) or collectively our “Notes”.  The occurrence of any of the events described in this section could significantly and negatively affect our business, financial condition, operating results, ability to pay dividends on our shares, ability to

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pay interest and principal on our Notes, ability to redeem our preferred shares, or the trading price of our shares or Notes.

Risk Related to Macroeconomic Conditions and Our Industry Which May Impact Our Company

The business and activity levels of many of our customers, shipbuilders and third parties with which we do business and their respective abilities to fulfill their obligations under agreements with us, including payments for the chartering of our vessels, may be hindered by any deterioration in the industry, credit markets or other negative developments.

Our current vessels are primarily chartered to customers under long-term time charters and payments to us under those charters account for the vast majority of our revenue.  Many of our customers finance their activities through cash flow from operations, the incurrence of debt or the issuance of equity. An over-supply of containership capacity and historically low freight rates resulted in many liner companies (including some of our customers) incurring losses in the recent past. During the financial and economic crises, commencing in 2007 and 2008, there occurred a significant decline in the credit markets and the availability of credit and other forms of financing. Additionally, the equity value of many of our customers substantially declined during that period. A reduction in cash flow resulting from low freight rates, a reduction in borrowing bases under reserve-based credit facilities, the limited or lack of availability of debt or equity financing, or a combination of such events, may reduce the ability of our customers to make charter payments to us. Any significant financial and economic disruption, or any other negative developments affecting our customers, or other third parties with which we do business, generally or specifically (such as the bankruptcy of a customer, decline in global trade, industry over-capacity of containerships, low freight rates, asset write-downs or incurring losses) could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Similarly, shipbuilders that we engage to construct newbuilding vessels may be affected by future instability of the financial markets and other market conditions or developments, including the fluctuating price of commodities and currency exchange rates. In addition, the refund guarantors under future shipbuilding contracts (which are banks, financial institutions and other credit agencies that guarantee, under certain circumstances, the repayment of installment payments we make to the shipbuilders), may also be negatively affected by adverse market conditions and, as a result, may be unable or unwilling to meet their obligations to us due to their own financial condition. If our shipbuilders or refund guarantors are unable or unwilling to meet their obligations to us, this may harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

As of March 1, 2019, newbuilding containerships with an aggregate capacity of 2.7 million TEUs, representing approximately 12.2% of the total worldwide containership fleet capacity as of that date, were under construction, and the global containership fleet is expected to grow based on various estimates. Global fleet capacity growth exceeded containership throughput growth in 2018, if this continues, it may lead to a reduction in charter hire rates for containership vessels.  If such a reduction occurs or exists when we seek to charter newbuilding vessels, our growth opportunities may be diminished. If such a reduction occurs or exists upon the expiration or termination of our containerships’ current time charters, we may only be able to re-charter our containerships at unprofitable rates, if at all.

A decrease in the level of export of goods or an increase in trade protectionism will harm our customers’ business and, in turn, harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Most of our customers’ containership business revenue is derived from the shipment of goods from the Asia Pacific region, primarily China, to various overseas export markets, including the United States and Europe. Any reduction in or hindrance to the output of China-based exporters could negatively affect the growth rate of China’s exports and our customers’ business. For instance, the government of China has implemented economic policies aimed at increasing domestic consumption of Chinese-made goods. This may reduce the supply of goods available for export and may, in turn, result in a decrease in shipping demand.

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Our operations expose us to the risk that increased trade protectionism will harm our business. If global economic challenges exist, governments may turn to trade barriers to protect their domestic industries against foreign imports, thereby depressing shipping demand. In 2016, the United Kingdom resolved to leave the European Union, and it is not yet clear how it plans to approach international trade with the European Union and other trade partners.  In the United States, the current U.S. administration rejects multilateral trade agreements in favor of bilateral relations and purports to seek more favorable terms in its dealings with its trade partners.  For example, on January 23, 2017, the President of the United States signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a global trade agreement intended to include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru and a number of Asian countries. On June 1, 2018, the U.S. Government began imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. In response to these tariffs, several major U.S. trading partners have imposed, or announced their intention to impose, tariffs on U.S. goods. On July 6, 2018, the United States and China began imposing tariffs on approximately $34 billion of each other's exports. Subsequently, the United States imposed tariffs on an additional $216 billion in Chinese goods, and China imposed tariffs on an additional $76 billion worth of U.S goods. On December 1, 2018, the United States and China agreed to a 90-day timetable to negotiate a resolution to the trade dispute. On February 24, 2019, the President of the United States announced that, considering progress in trade talks with China, the United States will delay the additional tariffs that were scheduled to begin on March 1, 2019. We cannot predict what actions may ultimately be taken with respect to tariffs or trade relations between the United States and other countries, what products may be subject to such actions, or what actions may be taken by the other countries in retaliation. We continue to monitor the potential for any disruption and adverse revenue and/or cost impacts that may result from these actions or future geopolitical economic developments.

Increasing trade protectionism in the markets that our customers serve has caused and may continue to cause an increase in (1) the cost of goods exported from Asia Pacific, (2) the length of time required to deliver goods from the region and (3) the risks associated with exporting goods from the region. Such increases may also affect the quantity of goods to be shipped, shipping time schedules, voyage costs and other associated costs.

Any increased trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, especially trade with China, would harm our customers’ business, results of operations and financial condition and could thereby affect their ability to make timely charter hire payments to us and to renew and increase the number of their time charters with us. This could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

Adverse economic conditions, especially in the Asia Pacific region, the European Union or the United States, could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

A significant number of port calls made by our vessels involves the loading or discharging of containerships in ports in the Asia Pacific region, economic turmoil in that region may exacerbate the effect of any economic slowdown on us. China has been one of the world’s fastest growing economies in terms of gross domestic product (“GDP”), which has increased the demand for shipping. As described in the risk factor above, the President of the United States has sought to implement more protectionist trade measures to protect and enhance the U.S. domestic economy. Additionally, the European Union (the “EU”), and certain of its member states are facing significant economic and political challenges, including a risk of increased protectionist policies. Our business, results of operations and financial condition will likely be harmed by any significant global economic downturn or increase in protectionist trade policies, both of which would likely lead to a reduction in global trade and demand for containerships. Any deterioration in the global economy may cause a decrease in worldwide demand for certain goods and shipping, and economic instability could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our growth in part, depends upon continued growth in demand for containerships.

Our growth will generally depend on continued growth and renewal in world and regional demand for containership chartering. The ocean-going shipping container industry is both cyclical and volatile in terms of charter hire rates and profitability. Containership charter rates have fluctuated significantly in the past, and are expected to continue to fluctuate in the future. Fluctuations in containership charter rates result from changes in the supply and demand for vessel capacity, which are driven by global fleet capacity and utilization and changes in the supply and demand for the major products internationally transported by containerships. The factors affecting the supply and demand for containerships, and the nature, timing and degree of changes in industry conditions are unpredictable.

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Factors that influence demand for containership capacity include, among others:

Factors that influence the supply of containership capacity include, among others:

Our ability to re-charter our containerships upon the expiration or termination of their current time charters and the charter rates under any renewal or replacement charters will depend upon, among other things, the then current state of the containership market. If charter rates are low when our existing time charters expire, we may not be able to re-charter our vessels at profitable rates or at all, which would harm our results of operations. The same issues will exist if we acquire additional vessels and seek to charter them under short-term or long-term time charter arrangements as part of our growth strategy.

Over time, containership values and charter rates may fluctuate substantially, which could adversely affect our results of operations, our ability to access or raise capital or our ability to pay interest or principal on our Notes or dividends on our shares.

Containership values can fluctuate substantially over time due to a number of different factors, including, but not limited to:

If a charter terminates, we may be unable to re-deploy the vessel at attractive rates, or at all and, rather than continue to incur costs to maintain and finance the vessel, may seek to dispose of it. Our inability to dispose of the containership at a reasonable price, or at all, could result in a loss on its sale and harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. As of March 1, 2019, 31 vessels are subject to short-term charter market rates. For our vessels that are or will be off-charter, there is no assurance that replacement charters will be secured and if secured, at what rates or for what duration.

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A reduction in our net assets could result in a breach of certain financial covenants applicable to our credit and lease facilities, our Notes and our preferred shares, which could limit our ability to borrow additional funds under our credit facilities or require us to repay outstanding amounts. Further, declining containership values could affect our ability to raise cash by limiting our ability to refinance vessels or use unencumbered vessels as collateral for new loans or result in mandatory prepayments under certain of our credit facilities or our Notes. This could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition, ability to raise capital or ability to pay obligations under our Notes or dividends on our equity securities.

If a more active short-term or spot containership market develops, we may have more difficulty entering into long-term, fixed-rate time charters and our existing customers may begin to pressure us to reduce our charter rates.

One of our principal strategies is to enter into long-term, fixed-rate time charters. As more vessels become available for the short-term or spot market, we may have difficulty entering into additional long-term, fixed-rate time charters for our vessels due to the increased supply of vessels. As a result, our cash flow may be subject to instability in the long-term.

A more active short-term or spot containership market may require us to enter into charters based on changing market prices, as opposed to contracts based on a long term fixed rate, which could result in a decrease in our cash flow in periods when the market price for containerships is depressed or insufficient funds are available to cover our financing costs for related vessels. In recent years, the rates in the short term or spot market have been lower than the rates we have obtained under our long-term, fixed rate charters due to oversupply. In addition, the development of an active short-term or spot containership market could affect rates under our existing time charters as our current customers may begin to pressure us to reduce our rates.

As a result of these changes, we may be more active in the short-term or spot market, which could involve purchasing existing ships on short term charters or without charters. This may result in additional variability in our cash flow and earnings, which could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Future disruptions in global capital markets and economic conditions or changes in lending practices may harm our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms, which could hinder or prevent us from meeting our capital needs.

We rely on the global capital markets, including the credit markets, to satisfy a significant portion our capital requirements. Significant instability or disruptions of the capital markets or deterioration of our financial position due to internal or external factors could restrict or eliminate our access to, and/or significantly increase the cost of, various financing sources, including bank credit facilities and issuance of corporate bonds. This could occur because our lenders could become unwilling or unable to meet their funding obligations or we may not be able to obtain funds at the interest rate agreed to in our credit facilities due to market disruption events or increased funding costs. Such instability or disruptions in the capital markets may also cause lenders to be unwilling to provide us with new financing to the extent needed to fund our ongoing operations and growth. In recent years, the number of lenders for shipping companies has decreased and ship-funding lenders have generally lowered their loan-to-value ratios, shortened loan terms and accelerated repayment schedules. These factors may hinder our ability to access financing.  

Instability or disruptions of the capital markets and deterioration of our financial position, alone or in combination, could also result in a reduction in our credit rating, which could prohibit or restrict us from accessing external sources of short and long-term debt financing and/or significantly increase the associated costs.

If financing or refinancing is not available when needed, or is available only on unfavorable terms, we may be unable to meet our obligations as they come due or we may be unable to implement our growth strategy, complete acquisitions or otherwise take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

Increased technological innovation in competing vessels could reduce our charter hire rates and the value of our vessels.

The charter hire rates and the value and operational life of a vessel are determined by a number of factors, including the vessel’s efficiency, operational flexibility and physical life. Efficiency includes speed, fuel economy and the ability to be loaded and unloaded quickly. Flexibility includes the ability to enter harbors, utilize related docking facilities and pass through canals and straits. Physical life is related to the original design and construction,

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maintenance and the impact of the stress of operations. If new containerships are built that are more efficient or flexible or have longer physical lives than our vessels, competition from these more technologically advanced containerships could adversely affect the amount of charter hire payments we receive for our vessels once their initial charters end and the resale value of our vessels. As a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.

Risks inherent in the operation of ocean-going vessels could harm our reputation, business, results of operation and financial condition.

The operation of ocean-going vessels carries inherent risks. These risks include the possibility of:

Piracy is an inherent risk in the operation of ocean-going vessels and has historically affected vessels trading in certain regions of the world, including, among other areas, the South China Sea and the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia and, in recent years, certain locations off of the West Coast of Africa. We may not be adequately insured to cover losses from these incidents, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, crew costs, including for employing onboard security guards, could increase in such circumstances. Any of these events, or the loss of use of a vessel due to piracy, may harm our customers, impairing their ability to make payments to us under our charters, which would harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Such occurrences could result in death or injury to persons, loss of property or environmental damage, delays in the delivery of cargo, loss of revenue from or termination of charter contracts, governmental fines, penalties or restrictions on conducting business, higher insurance rates, and damage to our reputation and customer relationships generally. The involvement of our vessels in an environmental disaster could harm our reputation as a safe and reliable vessel owner and operator. Any of these circumstances or events could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to regulation and liability under environmental laws that could require significant expenditures and affect our operations.

Our business and the operation of our containerships are materially affected by environmental regulation in the form of international conventions, national, state and local laws and regulations in force in the jurisdictions in which our containerships operate, as well as in the countries of their registration, including those governing the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the cleanup of oil spills and other contamination, air emissions, water discharges, ballast water management and vessel recycling. Because such conventions, laws and regulations are often revised, we cannot predict the ultimate cost or effect of complying with such requirements or the effect thereof on the resale price or useful life of our containerships. Additional conventions, laws and regulations may be adopted that could limit our ability to do business or increase the cost of our doing business, which may harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Environmental requirements can also affect the resale value or useful lives of our vessels, require a reduction in cargo capacity, ship modifications or operational changes or restrictions, lead to decreased availability of insurance coverage for environmental matters or result in substantial penalties, fines or other sanctions, including the denial of access to certain jurisdictional waters or ports or detention in certain ports. Under local, national and foreign laws, as well as international treaties and conventions, we could incur material liabilities, including cleanup obligations and natural resource damages, if there is a release of petroleum or other hazardous materials from our vessels or otherwise in connection with our operations. We could also become subject to personal injury or property damage claims relating to the release of hazardous materials associated with our operations.

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In addition, in complying with existing environmental laws and regulations and those that may be adopted, we may incur significant costs in meeting new maintenance and inspection requirements and new restrictions on air emissions from our containerships, in managing ballast water, in developing contingency arrangements for potential spills and in obtaining insurance coverage. Government regulation of vessels, particularly in the areas of safety, security and environmental requirements, can be expected to become stricter in the future and require us to incur significant capital expenditures on our vessels to keep them in compliance, or even to scrap or sell certain vessels altogether. Substantial violations of applicable requirements or a catastrophic release of bunker fuel from one or more of our containerships could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. For additional information about the environmental regulations to which we are subject, please read “Item 4 information on the Company — B. Business Overview — Environmental and Other Regulations”.

Compliance with safety and other vessel requirements imposed by flag states may be costly and could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The hull and machinery of every commercial vessel must be classed by a classification society authorized by its country of registry. The classification society certifies that a vessel is safe and seaworthy in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the country of registry of the vessel and the IMO, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (“SOLAS”).  In addition, a vessel generally must undergo annual, intermediate and special surveys to maintain classification society certification. If any vessel does not maintain its class or fails any annual, intermediate or special survey, the vessel will be unable to trade between ports and will be unemployable and we could be in violation of certain covenants in our credit facilities and our lease agreements. This could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our ability to grow may be reduced by the introduction of new accounting rules for leasing.

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” which has the effect of bringing most off-balance sheet leases onto a lessee’s balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than 12 months. This change could affect our customers and potential customers and may cause them to breach certain financial covenants, under their own financing arrangements, which may make them less likely to enter into time charters for our containerships and could reduce our growth opportunities. This new standard will become effective for us in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. Please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — D. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.”

Increased inspection procedures, tighter import and export controls and new security regulations could cause disruption of our business.

International containership traffic is subject to security and customs inspection and related procedures in countries of origin, destination and trans-shipment points. These inspections can result in cargo seizure, delays in the loading, offloading, trans-shipment or delivery of containers and the levying of customs duties, fines or other penalties against exporters or importers and, in some cases, customers.

U.S. and Canadian authorities have increased container inspection rates. Government investment in non-intrusive container scanning technology has grown and there is interest in electronic monitoring technology that would enable remote, centralized monitoring of containers during shipment to identify tampering with or opening of the containers. Also, additional vessel security requirements have been imposed, including the installation of security alert and automatic identification systems on board vessels. Following a number of recent terrorist attacks in cities across the globe, there has been a heightened level of security and new security procedures could be introduced.

It is unclear what changes, if any, to the existing inspection procedures will ultimately be proposed or implemented, or how any such changes will affect the industry. Such changes may impose additional financial and legal obligation on carriers and may render the shipment of certain types of goods by container uneconomical or impractical. Additional costs that may arise from current or future inspection procedures may not be fully recoverable from customers through higher rates or security surcharges. Any of these effects could harm our business, results of operation and financial condition.

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We face challenges with respect to the uncertainty around “Brexit”.

In June 2016, the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”), held a referendum in which British citizens approved an exit from the European Union (the “E.U.”), which is commonly referred to as “Brexit”. The withdrawal negotiations began in 2017, and remain ongoing. The date of the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. is currently scheduled to occur on April 12, 2019, if the U.K. Parliament rejects the withdrawal agreement, and on May 22, 2019, if the U.K. Parliament approves the withdrawal agreement. The U.K.’s stated intention is to leave the E.U.'s Single Market and Customs Union.  Leaving the Single Market means that free movement of goods, services, people and capital between the U.K. and the E.U. will come to an end. In its place will likely be a trade agreement between the U.K. and E.U., which will provide for more restricted reciprocal access. Leaving the Customs Union means that the U.K. will have its own independent trade policy, but a trade border between the U.K. and the E.U. may arise for the first time in forty or so years, and with that comes the possibility of tariffs and the certainty of customs clearance requirements. The U.K. is preparing for Brexit by passing new legislation to: replace and to an extent replicate all E.U. law; to install new customs rules and procedures; to establish an independent trade policy; and to establish a new immigration policy.

Volatility in foreign currencies and interest rates is expected to continue as the United Kingdom executes its exit from the E.U. If the U.K.’s membership in the E.U. terminates without an agreement, a potential scenario known as a “hard Brexit,” there could be increased costs to shippers from re-imposition of tariffs on trade between the U.K. and E.U. and shipping delays because of the need for customs inspections and procedures and shortages of certain goods. In that event, disruptions in trade due to the imposition of tariffs and volatility in foreign currencies and interest rates and potential material changes to the regulatory regime applicable to our business or global trading parties could result in a material impact to our consolidated revenue, earnings and cash flow.

Terrorist attacks and international hostilities could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Terrorist attacks and the continuing response to these attacks, as well as the threat of future terrorist attacks, continue to cause uncertainty in the world financial markets. Conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, the Middle East and other regions and periodic tensions between North and South Korea (where many shipbuilders are located) may lead to additional acts of terrorism, regional conflict and other armed conflict around the world, which may contribute to further economic instability in the global financial markets or in regions where our customers do business or, in the case of countries in which our shipbuilders are located, affect our access to new vessels. These uncertainties or events could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our ability to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, terrorist attacks targeted at sea vessels in the future may negatively affect our operations and financial condition and directly affect our containerships or customers.

Governments could requisition our containerships during a period of war or emergency, resulting in loss of earnings.

All of our vessels are registered and flagged in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government could requisition for title or seize our containerships. Requisition for title occurs when a government takes control of a ship and becomes the owner. Also, a government could requisition our containerships for hire. Requisition for hire occurs when a government takes control of a ship and effectively becomes the charterer at dictated charter rates. Generally, requisitions occur during a period of war or emergency. Government requisition of one or more of our containerships could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Risk Related to Our Company

We derive our revenue from a limited number of customers, and the loss of any of our long-term charters, further increases in the number of vessels on short-term charters or any material decrease in payments under our customer contracts could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

As at December 31, 2018, we had 11 customers and the following table shows the number of vessels in our operating fleet that were chartered to such customers and the percentage of our total revenue attributable to the charters with such customers for the year ended December 31, 2018:

Under some circumstances, we could lose a time charter or payments under the charter if:

The majority of our vessels are chartered under long-term charters, and customer payments are the source of nearly all of our operating cash flow. As the long-term charters terminate, an increasing number of our vessels have been fixed on short-term charters at prevailing spot market rates, which are substantially lower than the rates on our existing long-term charters. In addition, as liner companies (including our existing customers) consolidate through merger, joint ventures or alliances, our risk relative to the concentration of our customers may increase and they may also seek to renegotiate the rates payable for the remaining terms of their charters.  The loss of any of these long-term charters, further increases in the number of vessels on short-term charters or any material decrease in payments under our customer contracts could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may not be able to timely pay, or be able to refinance, amounts owed under our credit facilities, our Notes and/or capital and operating lease arrangements.

We have financed a substantial portion of our fleet and acquisitions with indebtedness incurred under our existing credit facilities, our Notes, as well as capital and operating lease arrangements. We have significant normal course payment obligations under our credit facilities, our Notes and capital and vessel operating lease arrangements, both prior to and at maturity, of approximately $931.5 million in 2019 and an additional $4.5 billion through to maturity, which extends to 2035. In addition, under our credit facilities and capital and operating lease arrangements, a payment may be required in certain circumstances as a result of events such as the sale or loss of a vessel, a termination or expiration of a charter (where we do not enter into a replacement charter acceptable to the lenders within a required period of time) or termination of a shipbuilding contract. The amount that must be paid may be calculated based on the loan to market value ratio or some other ratio that takes into account the market value of the relevant vessel (with the repayment amount increasing if vessel values decrease), or may be the entire amount of the financing in regard to a credit facility or a pre-determined termination sum in the case of a capital or operating lease.

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Our ability to make payments on our debt and lease arrangements will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive and other factors that are beyond our control. Our business may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our debt and lease arrangements, or to fund our other liquidity needs. We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity. The market values of our vessels, which fluctuate with market conditions, will affect our ability to obtain financing or refinancing, as our vessels serve as collateral for secured loans. Lower vessel values at the time of any financing or refinancing may reduce the amounts of funds we may borrow.  

However, we may not be able to complete such refinancing on commercially reasonable terms or at all.   If we are not able to refinance outstanding amounts at interest rates and other terms acceptable to us, or at all, we will have to dedicate a significant portion of our cash flow from operations to repay such amounts, which could reduce our ability to satisfy payment obligations related to our credit facilities, our Notes and capital and operating lease arrangements and our equity securities or may require us to delay certain business activities or capital expenditures or investments or cease paying dividends.  If we are not able to satisfy these obligations (whether or not refinanced) under our debt and lease arrangements with cash flow from operations, we may have to seek to restructure our debt and lease arrangements, undertake alternative financing plans (such as additional debt or equity capital) or sell assets, which may not be available on terms attractive to us or at all.

If we are unable to meet our debt or lease obligations, or if we otherwise default under our debt and lease arrangements, the holders of our debt or our lessors could declare all outstanding indebtedness to be immediately due and payable.  Holders of our secured debt would also have the right to proceed against the collateral granted to them that secures the indebtedness, as follows: (i) in the case of our credit facilities or capital or operating lease arrangements, the vessels securing such indebtedness; and (ii) in the case of the 2025 Notes and 2026 Notes (collectively, the “Fairfax Notes”), the equity of Greater China Intermodal LLC and its subsidiaries (“GCI”), which entity is an intermediate holding company that owns the equity of a number of our indirect vessel-owning subsidiaries. Additionally, most of our debt instruments contain cross-default provisions, which generally cause a default or event of default under each instrument upon a qualifying default or event of default under any other debt instrument.

We may not be able to repurchase the Fairfax Notes upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the indenture governing those securities) or in connection with the exercise by the holders of such securities of their right to call for early redemption

Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the indenture under which the Fairfax Notes were issued), we will be required to offer to purchase all of the Fairfax Notes then outstanding at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest. If a Change of Control were to occur, we may not have sufficient funds to pay the purchase price for the outstanding Fairfax Notes tendered, and expect that we would require third-party financing; however, we may not be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms, if at all. In addition, the occurrence of a Change of Control may result in an event of default under, or require us to purchase, our other existing or future senior indebtedness. Moreover, the exercise by the holders of their right to require us to purchase the Fairfax Notes could cause a default under our existing or future senior indebtedness, even if the occurrence of a Change of Control itself does not, due to the financial effect of such purchase on us and our subsidiaries. Our failure to purchase tendered Fairfax Notes at a time when the purchase is required by the indenture would constitute an event of default under the indenture, which, in turn, may constitute an event of default under future debt.

In addition, each holder of the Fairfax Notes will have the right once a year, at its option, to require us to purchase all of the Fairfax Notes held by such holder at a purchase price of 100% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest.  On September 26, 2018, Fairfax waived its right to call for early redemption of the 2025 Notes on the February 2019 anniversary date; and on February 20, 2019, Fairfax waived its right to call for early redemption of the 2025 Notes on the February 2020 anniversary date and of the 2026 Notes on the January 2020 anniversary date.  We may not have sufficient funds to pay the purchase price for any part of the Fairfax Notes tendered in connection with an exercise of this option, and may require third-party financing; however, we may not be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms, if at all. Moreover, the exercise by the holders of their right to require us to purchase the Fairfax Notes could cause a default under our existing or future senior indebtedness, even if the exercise of that right itself does not, due to the financial effect of such purchase on us and our subsidiaries. Our failure to purchase tendered the Fairfax Notes at a time when the purchase is required by the indenture would

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constitute an event of default under the indenture, which, in turn, may constitute an event of default under future debt.

Our substantial debt levels and vessel lease obligations may limit our flexibility in obtaining additional financing and in pursuing other business opportunities.

As of December 31, 2018, we had $3.6 billion in aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding under our credit facilities and Notes, and capital lease obligations of approximately $647.7 million.  Upon adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-12, Leases, it is expected that approximately $1.1 billion of lease liabilities related to the operating leases will be recorded.

In January 2019, we issued $250 million of our 2026 Notes in a private placement with Fairfax.

We have been actively pursuing other sources of financing, including debt financing.

Our level of debt and vessel lease obligations could have important consequences to us, including the following:

Our ability to service our debt and vessel lease obligations will depend upon, among other things, our financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic, financial, business and regulatory conditions, as well as other factors, some of which are beyond our control. If our results of operations are not sufficient to service our current or future indebtedness and vessel lease obligations, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing or delaying our business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our debt, or seeking additional equity capital or bankruptcy protection. We may not be able to effect any of these remedies on satisfactory terms, or at all.

We may be required to make substantial capital expenditures to complete the acquisition of businesses or assets, which may result in increased financial leverage, dilution of our equity holders’ interests or decreased ability to redeem our preferred shares.

We have increased, and intend to further grow, the size of our business over time through acquisitions. We are regularly evaluating opportunities within the containership sector, as well as in the broader maritime and industrial transportation sectors and other sectors, and the acquisition of future businesses or assets will require significant additional capital expenditures.

To fund existing and future capital expenditures, we intend to use cash from operations, incur borrowings, raise capital through the sale of additional securities, enter into other sale-leaseback or financing arrangements, or use a combination of these methods. Use of cash from operations may reduce cash available to pay obligations under our Notes, dividends to our shareholders, including holders of our preferred shares, or to redeem our preferred shares. Incurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and under certain of our debt facilities there are maximum loan to value ratios at time of advance that may restrict our ability to borrow. Issuing additional equity securities may result in significant shareholder dilution, which, subject to the relative priority of our equity securities, could negatively affect our ability to pay dividends. Our ability to obtain or access bank financing or to access the capital markets for future debt or equity financings may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing and covenants in our credit facilities, as well as by adverse market conditions. To the extent that we enter into newbuilding or other vessel acquisition contracts prior to entering into charters for such vessels, our ability to obtain new financing for such vessels may be limited and we may be required to fund all or a portion of the cost of such acquisitions with our existing capital resources.  Our failure to

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obtain funds for our capital expenditures at attractive rates, if at all, could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

Exposure to currency exchange rate or interest rate fluctuations may result in fluctuations in our results of operations and financial condition.

All of our charter revenues are earned in U.S. dollars. Although a significant portion of our operating and general and administrative costs are incurred in U.S. dollars, we have some exposure to currencies other than U.S. dollars, including Canadian dollars, Indian Rupees, Euros and other foreign currencies.  Although we monitor exchange rate fluctuations on a continuous basis, and seek to reduce our exposure in certain circumstances by denominating charter-hire revenue, ship building contracts, purchase contracts and debt obligations in U.S. dollars when practical to do so, we do not currently fully hedge movements in currency exchange rates.  As a result, currency fluctuations may have a negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

As of December 31, 2018, we had an aggregate of approximately $3.6 billion outstanding under our credit facilities and our Notes, and capital lease obligations of approximately $647.7 million. The majority of our credit facilities, capital leases and operating leases are variable rate facilities and leases, under which our payment obligations will increase as interest rates increase. While we have entered into interest rate swaps to manage some of our interest rate risk, interest rate fluctuations and their impact on the fair value of our interest rate swaps may have a negative effect on the results of our operations and financial condition. Please read “Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Interest Rate Risk.”

Our ability to obtain additional financing for future acquisitions of vessels or for general corporate purposes may depend upon the performance of our then existing charters and the creditworthiness of our customers.

The actual or perceived credit quality of our customers, and any defaults by them, may materially affect our ability to obtain funds we may require to purchase vessels in the future or for general corporate purposes, or may significantly increase our costs of obtaining such funds. Our inability to obtain additional financing on terms satisfactory to us, if at all, could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Restrictive covenants applicable to our financing and lease arrangements and our preferred shares impose financial and other restrictions on us, which may limit, among other things, our ability to borrow funds under such financing and lease arrangements and our ability to pay dividends on our shares or redeem our preferred shares.

To borrow funds under our existing debt facilities and capital and operating lease arrangements, we must, among other things, meet specified financial covenants. For example, we are prohibited under certain of our existing credit facilities and capital and operating lease arrangements from incurring total borrowings in an amount greater than 65% of our total assets (as defined in the applicable agreement), and we must also ensure that certain interest coverage, and interest and principal coverage ratios are met. Total borrowings and total assets are terms defined in our credit agreements and capital and operating lease agreements and differ from those used in preparing our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent we are unable to satisfy the requirements in our credit agreements and capital and operating lease agreements, we may be unable to borrow additional funds under our credit facilities and lease agreements. If we are not in compliance with specified financial ratios or other requirements in our credit facilities, Notes or lease arrangements, we may be in breach, which could require us to repay outstanding borrowings. We may also be required to prepay amounts borrowed under our credit facilities, Notes and lease agreements if we experience a change of control. These events may result in financial penalties to us under our leases.

In addition, our financing and lease arrangements limit our ability to, among other things:

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Our ability to pay a cash dividend on our common shares that is greater than $0.50 per share annually, when aggregated with all other cash dividends paid per share of our common stock in the preceding 360 days, may be limited under a restricted payments covenant included in the indenture governing the Fairfax Notes.

Accordingly, we may need to seek consent from our lenders, lessors or holders of our Notes in order to engage in some corporate actions. The interests of our lenders, lessors and Note holders may be different from ours, and we may be unable to obtain our lenders’, lessors’ or Note holders’ consent when and if needed. In addition, we are subject to covenants applicable to our preferred shares.  If we do not comply with the restrictions and covenants applicable to our credit facilities, capital and operating lease arrangements, our Notes or in our preferred shares, our business, results of operations and financial condition and ability to pay dividends on or redeem our preferred shares will be negatively impacted.

Charter party-related defaults under certain of our secured credit facilities, capital lease facilities and our operating leases could permit the counterparties to those arrangements to accelerate our obligations and terminate such facilities or leases, which could subject us to termination penalties.

Most of our vessel financing credit facilities and capital lease facilities, as well as our operating leases, are secured by, among other things, payments from the charter parties for the applicable vessels and contain default provisions relating to non-payment. The prolonged failure of the charterer to pay in full under the charter party agreement or the termination or repudiation of the charter party without our entering into a replacement charter contract within a specified period of time constitutes an event of default under certain of our financing agreements. If such a default were to occur, our outstanding obligations under the applicable financing agreements may become immediately due and payable, and the lenders’ commitments under the financing agreements to provide additional financing, if any, may terminate. This could also lead to cross-defaults under other financing agreements and result in obligations becoming due and commitments being terminated under such agreements. A default under any financing agreement could also result in foreclosure on certain applicable vessels and other assets securing related loans or financings.

The international nature of our operations may make the outcome of any bankruptcy proceedings difficult to predict.

We are incorporated under the laws of the Marshall Islands, our principal executive offices are located outside of the United States, a majority of our directors and officers reside outside of the United States, and we conduct operations in countries around the world. In addition, all of our assets and a substantial portion of the assets of our directors, officers and experts are located outside of the United States. Consequently, in the event of any bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or similar proceeding involving us or any of our subsidiaries, bankruptcy laws other than those of the United States could apply. If we become a debtor under U.S. bankruptcy law, bankruptcy courts in the United States may seek to assert jurisdiction over all of our assets, wherever located, including property situated in other countries. There can be no assurance, however, that we would become a debtor in the United States, or that a U.S. bankruptcy court would be entitled to, or accept, jurisdiction over such a bankruptcy case, or that courts in other countries that have jurisdiction over us and our operations would recognize a U.S. bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction if any other bankruptcy court would determine it had jurisdiction.

In the past we have recognized, and in the future we may be required to recognize, significant impairment charges.

We are required to review our containership assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable, which occurs when the assets’ carrying value is greater than the undiscounted future cash flows the asset is expected to generate over the asset’s remaining useful life. Examples of such events or changes in circumstances related to our long-lived assets include:

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If the estimated undiscounted future cash flows of an asset, excluding interest charges, expected to be generated by the use of the asset over its useful life exceeds the asset’s carrying value, no impairment is recognized even though the fair value of the asset may be lower than its carrying value.  If the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than its carrying amount, an impairment charge is recorded for the amount by which the net book value of the asset exceeds its fair value.  

In our experience, certain assumptions relating to our estimates of future cash flows are more predictable by their nature, including, estimated revenue under existing contract terms and remaining vessel life. Certain assumptions relating to our estimates of future cash flows require more judgment and are inherently less predictable, such as future charter rates beyond the firm period of existing contracts, the amount of time a vessel is off-charter, ongoing operating costs and vessel residual values; this volatility is, in part, due to factors such as the volatility in vessel charter rates and vessel values. We believe that the assumptions used to estimate future cash flows of our vessels are reasonable at the time they are made. We can provide no assurances, however, as to whether our estimates of future cash flows, particularly future vessel charter revenues or vessel values, will be accurate.

The determination of the fair value of vessels depends on various market factors, including charter and discount rates, ship operating costs and vessel trading values, and our reasonable assumptions at that time. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we recorded non-cash vessel impairments of $285.2 million for 16 vessels held for use, consisting of four 4250 TEU, two 3500 TEU and ten 2500 TEU vessels. We performed an impairment test of our vessels at December 31, 2017 and determined that the undiscounted future cash flows of each vessel was expected to be greater than its carrying value and therefore took no impairment charge. At December 31, 2018, we noted that no events or conditions exist that would indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. Therefore, we concluded that no impairment charge was required. The amount, if any, and timing of any impairment charges we may recognize in the future (which may be as early as 2019) will depend upon then current and expected future charter rates, vessel utilization, operating and dry-docking expenditures, vessel residual values, inflation and the remaining expected useful lives of our vessels, which may differ from period to period.  Any future impairment charges may be material and would harm our earnings and net asset values. Please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—D. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Impairment of Long-lived Assets.”

Damage to our reputation or industry relationships could harm our business.

Our operational success and our ability to grow depends significantly upon our satisfactory performance of technical services (including vessel maintenance, crewing, purchasing, shipyard supervision, insurance, assistance with regulatory compliance and financial services). Our business will be harmed if we fail to perform these services satisfactorily. Our ability to compete for and to enter into new charters and expand our relationships with our customers depends upon our reputation and relationships in the shipping industry. If we suffer material damage to our reputation or relationships, it may harm our ability to, among other things:

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If our ability to do any of the things described above is impaired, it could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our growth and our ability to re-charter our vessels depends on our ability to expand relationships with existing customers and develop relationships with new customers, for which we will face substantial competition.

We intend to acquire additional containerships as market conditions allow in conjunction with entering primarily into additional fixed-rate time charters for such ships, and to re-charter our existing vessels following the expiration of their current long-term time charters to the extent we retain those vessels in our fleet. The process of obtaining new time charters is highly competitive and generally involves an intensive screening process and competitive bids, and often extends for several months in regard to newbuilding containerships. Containership charters are awarded based upon a variety of factors relating to the vessel operator, including, among others:

Competition for providing new containerships for chartering purposes comes from a number of experienced shipping companies, including direct competition from other independent charter owners and indirect competition from state-sponsored and other major entities with their own or leased fleets. Some of our peers have significantly greater financial resources than we do and may be able to offer better charter rates. Some of our peers have entered into joint ventures to charter their containerships, and may be able to better satisfy customer demands. An increasing number of marine transportation companies have entered the containership sector, including many with strong brand recognition and extensive resources and experience in the marine transportation industry. This increased competition may cause greater price competition for time charters. As a result of these factors, we may be unable to expand our relationships with existing customers or develop relationships with new customers on a profitable basis, if at all, which would harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. These risks will be heightened to the extent that we enter into newbuilding or other vessel acquisition contracts prior to entering into charters for such vessels.

We may be unable to make or realize expected benefits from acquisitions or investments, and implementing our growth strategy through acquisitions of existing businesses or vessels or investments in other containership businesses may harm our business, results of operation, financial condition and ability to pay dividends on our shares or redeem our preferred shares.

Our growth strategy includes selectively acquiring new containerships, existing containerships, containership-related assets and containership businesses as market conditions allow. We may also invest in other containership businesses. Factors that may limit the number of acquisition or investment opportunities in the containership industry include the ability to access capital to fund such transactions, the overall economic environment and the status of global trade and the ability to secure long-term, fixed-rate charters.

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Any acquisition of, or investment in, a vessel or business may not be profitable to us at or after the time we acquire or make such acquisition or investment and may not generate cash flow sufficient to justify our investment. In addition, our acquisition growth strategy exposes us to risks that may harm our business, financial condition and results of operations, including risks that we may:

Due to our lack of diversification, adverse developments in our containership transportation business could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our articles of incorporation currently limit our business to the chartering or re-chartering of containerships to others and other related activities, unless otherwise approved by our board of directors.

Nearly all of our cash flow is generated from our charters that operate in the containership transportation business. Due to our lack of diversification, an adverse development in the containership industry may more significantly harm our business, results of operations and financial condition than if we maintained more diverse assets or lines of business.

We may be unable to attract and retain qualified, skilled crew on our behalf necessary to operate our business or may pay rising crew and other vessel operating costs.

Acquiring and renewing long-term time charters with leading liner companies depends on a number of factors, including our ability to man our containerships with suitably experienced, high-quality masters, officers and crews. Our success will depend in large part on our ability to attract, hire, train and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel. In recent years, the limited supply of and the increased demand for well-qualified crew, due to the increase in the size of the global shipping fleet, has created upward pressure on crewing costs, which we bear under our time charters. Changing conditions in the home country of our seafarers, such as increases in the local general living standards or changes in taxation, may make serving at sea less appealing and thus further reduce the supply of crew and/or increase the cost of hiring competent crew. Unless we are able to increase our hire rates to compensate for increases in crew costs and other vessel operating costs such as insurance, repairs and maintenance, and lubricants, our business, results of operations, financial condition and our profitability may be adversely affected. In addition, any inability we experience in the future to attract, hire, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees could impair our ability to manage, maintain and grow our business. If we cannot attract and retain sufficient numbers of quality onboard seafaring personnel, our fleet utilization will decrease, which could also have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for dividends to our stockholders.

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Disruptions and security threats to our technology systems could negatively impact our business.

In the ordinary course of business, we rely on the security of information and operational technology systems, including those of our business partners and other third parties, to manage or support a variety of business activities including operating and navigating our fleet; tracking container contents and delivery; maintaining vessel infrastructure; communicating with personnel, management, customers and business partners; collecting, processing, transmitting and storing electronic information, including personal, employee, business, financial and operational data; facilitating business and financial transactions; and providing services to our customers. A cyber-attack on us, or our business partners, could significantly disrupt these and other commercial activities and business functions resulting in a loss of revenue and customer relationships. For operational technology in particular, a cyber-attack could result in physical damage to assets and infrastructure, injury or loss of life and environmental harm.

Our global technology network faces many threats from criminal hackers and competitors who may use phishing emails, unauthorized network intrusions, electronic communications or portable electronic devices to distribute computer viruses and ransomware, enable fraudulent transactions, or otherwise alter the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our information and information systems. Despite our continuing efforts to secure our technology network infrastructure, protect our critical data and systems, and ensure operational resiliency, cyber-attacks may occur that could have a material impact on our financial performance, reputation and continuous operations. Further, as the methods of cyber-attacks continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to enhance and supplement our existing protective measures. A successful cyber-attack could also result in significant costs associated with the investigation and remediation of our technology systems, as well as increased regulatory and legal liability.

A significant number of our vessels are chartered to Chinese customers and certain of our shipbuilders are based in China. The legal system in China is not fully developed and has inherent uncertainties that could limit the legal protections available to us, and the geopolitical risks associated with chartering vessels to Chinese customers and constructing vessels in China could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We conducted a substantial amount of business in China or with Chinese counterparties. As of March 1, 2019, a total of 34 of the 112 vessels in our current fleet were chartered to Chinese customers and our revenues in 2018 from Chinese customers represented 37.6% of our total revenue in 2018. Many of our vessels regularly call to ports in China. Additionally, we have entered into financing arrangements with certain Chinese financial institutions.

The Chinese legal system is based on written statutes and their legal interpretation by the standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, the Chinese government has been developing a comprehensive system of laws and regulations dealing with economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation and trade. However, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published cases and their non-binding nature, interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties.

Our vessels that are chartered to Chinese customers are subject to various risks as a result of uncertainties in Chinese law, including (1) the risk of loss of revenues, property or equipment as a result of expropriation, nationalization, changes in laws, exchange controls, war, insurrection, civil unrest, strikes or other political risks and (2) being subject to foreign laws and legal systems and the exclusive jurisdiction of Chinese courts and tribunals.

Although our charter parties and many of our financing arrangements are governed by English law, if we are required to commence legal proceedings against a customer, a charter guarantor or a lender based in China with respect to the provisions of a time charter, a time charter guarantee or a credit agreement, we may have difficulties in enforcing any judgment rendered by an English court (or other non-Chinese court) in China. Similarly, our shipbuilders based in China provide warranties against certain defects for the vessels that they will construct for us and we have refund guarantees from a Chinese financial institution for installment payments that we will make to the shipbuilders. Although the shipbuilding contracts and refund guarantees are governed by English law, if we are required to commence legal proceedings against these shipbuilders or against the refund guarantor, we may have difficulties enforcing in China any judgment obtained in such proceeding.

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Such charters, shipbuilding agreements and financing agreements, and any additional agreements that we enter into with Chinese counterparties, may be subject to new regulations in China that may require us to incur new or additional compliance or other administrative costs and pay new taxes or other fees to the Chinese government. In addition, China has enacted a recent tax for non-resident international transportation enterprises engaged in the provision of services of passengers or cargo, among other items, in and out of China using their own, chartered or leased vessels, including any stevedore, warehousing and other services connected with the transportation. The recent law and relevant regulations broaden the range of international transportation companies which may find themselves liable for Chinese enterprise income tax on profits generated from international transportation services passing through Chinese ports. This tax or similar regulations by China may reduce our operating results and may also result in an increase in the cost of goods exported from China and the risks associated with exporting goods from China, as well as a decrease in the quantity of goods to be shipped from or through China, which would have an adverse impact on our charterers’ business, operating results and financial condition and could thereby affect their ability to make timely charter hire payments to us and to renew and increase the number of their time charters with us.

Changes in laws and regulations, including with regards to tax matters, and their implementation by local authorities could affect our vessels chartered to Chinese customers as well as our vessels calling to Chinese ports, our vessels being built at Chinese shipyards and the financial institutions with whom we have entered into financing agreements, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for dividends to our shareholders.

We depend on our key personnel and changes in our management team may adversely affect our operations.

Over the last two years, we have experienced turnover or changes in our senior management. In January 2018, Bing Chen was appointed as our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), replacing Gerry Wang who had resigned in November 2017; in May 2018, Ryan Courson was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), replacing David Spivak, who had resigned that same month; in July 2018, Tina Lai was appointed as our Chief Human Resources Officer; in August 2018, Mark Chu resigned as our General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer; in October 2018, Torsten Holst Pedersen was appointed as Executive Vice-President, Ship Management and Ted Chang was appointed as General Counsel; and in February 2019 Ted Chang stepped down as our General Counsel. While we expect to engage in an orderly transition process as we integrate newly appointed personnel, we face a variety of risks and uncertainties relating to this transition, including diversion of management attention from business concerns, failure to retain other key personnel and loss of institutional knowledge. These risks and uncertainties could result in operational and administrative inefficiencies and added costs, which could adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Our future success depends to a significant extent upon our ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain key personnel, including our senior management and skilled employees. Competition for highly-qualified professionals is intense. If key employees depart, it could prevent or delay the implementation and completion of our strategic objectives, divert management’s attention to seek certain qualified replacements or adversely affect our ability to manage our business effectively and, as a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

Over the long-term, we will be required to make substantial capital expenditures to preserve the operating capacity of our fleet.

We must make substantial capital expenditures over the long-term to preserve the operating capacity of our fleet including, among other things, to meet future environmental regulatory standards. If we do not retain funds in our business in amounts necessary to preserve the operating capacity of our fleet, over the long-term, our fleet and related charter revenues may diminish, and we will not be able to continue to refinance our indebtedness. As our fleet ages, we will likely need to retain additional funds, on an annual basis, to provide reasonable assurance of maintaining the operating capacity of our fleet over the long-term. To the extent we use or retain available funds to make capital expenditures to preserve the operating capacity of our fleet, there will be less funds available to pay interest and principal on our Notes, pay dividends on our equity securities or redeem our preferred shares.

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We may seek acquisition or investment opportunities in business adjacent to the ownership and operation of containerships, which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.

As part of our capital allocation strategy, we will consider acquisition or investment opportunities in businesses adjacent to the ownership and operation of containerships (which businesses may or may not be within our management’s areas of expertise) if an acquisition or investment opportunity is presented to us and we determine that it enhances the long-term value of our company and offers attractive risk-adjusted returns.

For example, in October 2018, we entered into a binding term sheet to invest up to $200.0 million in Swiber Holdings Limited (“Swiber”), a Singaporean offshore engineering, procurement and construction business that owns five maritime vessels. Subject to the terms and conditions to be set forth in the definitive transaction agreement, upon closing, Seaspan anticipates acquiring an 80% post-restructured equity interest in Swiber for $10.0 million and, if certain milestones are met, an additional $190.0 million would be invested in Swiber’s LNG-to-power project in Vietnam, in exchange for economic interests in the project. Discussions with Swiber, its judicial managers and secured creditors around the terms of our investment have been ongoing. We anticipate entering into a definitive transaction agreement in the near future.

Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular acquisition or investment opportunity we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an acquisition or investment opportunity.

Under the charters for most of our vessels, if a vessel is off-hire for an extended period then the customer has a right to terminate the charter agreement for that vessel.

Under most of our time charter agreements, if a vessel is not available for service, or off-hire, for an extended period, the customer has a right to terminate the charter agreement for that vessel. If a time charter is terminated, we may be unable to re-deploy the related vessel on terms as favorable to us, if at all. We may not receive any revenue from that vessel, but may be required to continue to pay financing costs for the vessel and expenses necessary to maintain the vessel in proper operating condition.  

An increase in the price of bunkers may adversely affect profits.

While we generally do not bear the cost of bunkers for vessels operating on time charters, fuel is a significant factor in negotiating charter rates. As a result, an increase in the price of bunkers beyond our expectations may adversely affect our profitability at the time of charter negotiation. The price and supply of bunkers are unpredictable and fluctuates based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments, supply of and demand for oil and gas, actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil producing countries and regions, regional production patterns and environmental concerns and regulations. Fuel may become much more expensive in the future, including as a result of the imposition of sulfur oxide emissions limits in 2020 under new regulations adopted by the IMO, which may reduce the profitability and competitiveness of our business versus other forms of transportation, such as truck or rail.

The aging of our fleet may result in increased operating costs in the future, which could adversely affect our earnings.

In general, the cost of maintaining a vessel in good operating condition increases with the age of the vessel. Our current fleet of 112 containerships as of March 1, 2019, had an average age (weighted by TEU capacity) of six years. As our fleet ages, we will incur increased costs. Older vessels may require longer and more expensive dry-dockings, resulting in more off-hire days and reduced revenue. Older vessels are typically less fuel efficient and more costly to maintain than more recently constructed vessels due to improvements in engine technology. In addition, older vessels are often less desirable to charterers. Governmental regulations and safety or other equipment standards related to the age of a vessel may also require expenditures for alterations or the addition of new equipment to our vessels and may restrict the type of activities in which our containerships may engage.

We cannot assure you that, as our vessels age, market conditions will justify such expenditures or will enable us to profitably operate our older vessels.

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Our insurance may be insufficient to cover losses that may occur to our property or result from the inherent operational risks of the shipping industry.

We maintain insurance for our fleet against risks commonly insured against by vessel owners and operators. Our insurance includes hull and machinery insurance, war risks insurance and protection and indemnity insurance (which includes environmental damage and pollution insurance). We may not be adequately insured against all risks and our insurers may not pay a particular claim. Even if our insurance coverage is adequate to cover any vessel loss, we may not be able to obtain a replacement vessel on a timely basis. Our credit facilities and lease arrangements restrict our use of any proceeds we may receive from claims under our insurance policies. In addition, in the future we may not be able to obtain adequate insurance coverage at reasonable rates for our fleet. We may also be subject to supplementary or additional calls, or premiums, in amounts based not only on our own claim records but also the claim records of all other members of the protection and indemnity associations, as an industry group, through which we receive indemnity insurance coverage for statutory, contractual and tort liability, due to the sharing and reinsurance arrangements stated in the insurance rules. Our insurance policies also contain deductibles, limitations and exclusions which, although we believe they are standard in the shipping industry, may directly or indirectly increase our costs.

In addition, we do not carry loss-of-hire insurance, which covers the loss of revenue during extended vessel off-hire periods, such as those that occur during an unscheduled dry-docking due to damage to the vessel from accidents. Accordingly, any loss of a vessel or extended vessel off-hire, due to an accident or otherwise, could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

Our vessels’ mortgagees or other maritime claimants could arrest our vessels, which could interrupt our charterers’ or our cash flow.

If we default under our credit facilities that are secured by mortgages on our vessels, the lenders that hold those mortgages could arrest some or all of the vessels encumbered by those mortgages and cause them to be sold. We would not receive any proceeds of such sales unless all amounts outstanding under such indebtedness had been repaid in full.  In addition, crew members, suppliers of goods and services to a vessel, shippers of cargo and other parties may be entitled to a maritime lien against the applicable vessel for unsatisfied debts, claims or damages. In many jurisdictions, a maritime lienholder may enforce its lien by arresting a vessel through foreclosure proceedings. In addition, in some jurisdictions, such as South Africa, under the “sister ship” theory of liability, a claimant may arrest both the vessel that is subject to the claimant’s maritime lien and any “associated” vessel, which is any vessel owned or controlled by the same owner. Claimants could try to assert “sister ship” liability against one vessel in our fleet for claims relating to another of our ships. The arrest or attachment of one or more of our vessels could interrupt our charterers’ or our business and cash flow and require the charterers or us or our insurance to pay significant amounts to have the arrest lifted, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The smuggling of drugs or other contraband onto our vessels may lead to governmental claims against us.

We expect that our vessels will call in ports in South America and other areas where smugglers attempt to hide drugs and other contraband on vessels, with or without the knowledge of crew members. To the extent our vessels are found with contraband, whether inside or attached to the hull of our vessel and whether with or without the knowledge of any of our crew, we may face governmental or other regulatory claims, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends.

Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could result in fines, criminal penalties, charter terminations and an adverse effect on our business.

We may operate in a number of countries throughout the world, including countries known to have a reputation for corruption. We are committed to doing business in accordance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics which is consistent and in full compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the “FCPA”). We are subject, however, to the risk that we, our affiliated entities or our or their respective officers, directors, employees and agents may take actions determined to be in violation of such anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA. Any such violation could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties and curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions, and might adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, actual or alleged violations could

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damage our reputation and ability to do business. Furthermore, detecting, investigating, and resolving actual or alleged violations is expensive and can consume significant time and attention of our senior management.

We, or any of our subsidiaries, may become subject to income tax in jurisdictions in which we are organized or operate, including the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China which would reduce our earnings and potentially cause certain shareholders to be subject to tax in such jurisdictions.

We intend that our affairs and the business of each of our subsidiaries will be conducted and operated in a manner that minimizes income taxes imposed upon us and our subsidiaries. However, there is a risk that we will be subject to income tax in one or more jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”), if under the laws of any such jurisdiction, we or such subsidiary is considered to be carrying on a trade or business there or earn income that is considered to be sourced there and we do not or such subsidiary does not qualify for an exemption or reduced taxation under local taxation rules or applicable tax treaties. Please read “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Taxation of the Company.” In addition, while we do not believe that we are, nor do we expect to be, resident in Canada, in the event that we were treated as a resident of Canada, shareholders who are non-residents of Canada may be or become subject to tax in Canada. Please read “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Taxation of the Company—Canadian Taxation” and “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation.”

U.S. tax authorities could treat us as a “passive foreign investment company,” which could have adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. shareholders.

A non-U.S. corporation will be treated as a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”), for such purposes in any taxable year for which either (1) at least 75% of its gross income consists of “passive income” or (2) at least 50% of the average value of the corporation’s assets is attributable to assets that produce, or are held for the production of, “passive income.” For purposes of these tests, “passive income” includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property, and rents and royalties (other than rents and royalties that are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business) but does not include income derived from the performance of services.

There are legal uncertainties involved in determining whether the income derived from our time chartering activities constitutes rental income or income derived from the performance of services, including the decision in Tidewater Inc. v. United States , 565 F.3d 299 (5th Cir. 2009), which held that income derived from certain time chartering activities should be treated as rental income rather than services income for purposes of a foreign sales corporation provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). However, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), stated in an Action on Decision (AOD 2010-01) that it disagrees with, and will not acquiesce to, the way that the rental versus services framework was applied to the facts in the Tidewater decision, and in its discussion stated that the time charters at issue in Tidewater would be treated as producing services income for PFIC purposes. The IRS’s statement with respect to Tidewater cannot be relied upon or otherwise cited as precedent by taxpayers. Consequently, in the absence of any binding legal authority specifically relating to the statutory provisions governing PFICs, there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court would not follow the Tidewater decision in interpreting the PFIC provisions of the Code. Nevertheless, based on the current composition of our assets and operations (and those of our subsidiaries), we intend to take the position that we are not now and have never been a PFIC. No assurance can be given, however, that this position would be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS, or that we would not constitute a PFIC for any future taxable year if there were to be changes in our assets, income or operations.

If the IRS were to determine that we are or have been a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined below under “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations”) held shares, such U.S. Holder would face adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. For a more comprehensive discussion regarding our status as a PFIC and the tax consequences to U.S. Holders if we are treated as a PFIC, please read “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Taxation of U.S. Holders—PFIC Status and Significant Tax Consequences.”

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Risk Related to Our Securities

Following its recent investment in us, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and its affiliates (“Fairfax”) will have significant influence over our policies and business.

During 2018 and in January 2019, Fairfax completed a series of investments in our company. For more information about these investments, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Developments in 2018 – 2019 Fairfax Investment.”

If the 25,000,000 warrants that were issued to Fairfax in July 2018 were exercised in full, as of March 1, 2019, Fairfax’s shareholdings in our Company including common shares owned by V. Prem Watsa (the chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited) that he acquired in the open market, would have represented approximately 42.7% of our outstanding common shares on such date after taking into account the issuance of the shares to Fairfax upon exercise of those warrants.

The indenture relating to the 2025 Notes provided Fairfax with the right to designate (and Fairfax has so designated) (1) two members of our board of directors if at least $125.0 million aggregate principal amount of the 2025 Notes remains outstanding or (2) one member of the board of directors if at least $50.0 million but less than $125.0 million aggregate principal amount of the 2025 Notes remains outstanding. Lawrence Chin and Stephen Wallace serve as Fairfax’s designees to our board of directors. The combination of Fairfax’s board representation and positions as a significant debt and equity holder gives Fairfax significant influence over our policies and business, and Fairfax’s objectives may conflict with those of other security holders and stakeholders of us.

We may not have sufficient cash from our operations to enable us to pay dividends on our shares or redeem our preferred shares following the payment of expenses.

We pay quarterly dividends on our shares from funds legally available for such purpose when, as and if declared by and in the discretion of our board of directors. We may not have sufficient cash available each quarter to pay dividends. In addition, we may have insufficient cash available to redeem our preferred shares. The amount of dividends we can pay or the amount we can use to redeem the preferred shares depends upon the amount of cash we generate from and use in our operations, which may fluctuate significantly based on, among other things:

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We have recently paid quarterly dividends of $0.125 per common share; for additional information, please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—C. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Ongoing Capital Expenditures and Dividends”. Any increase in such dividend (1) will result in an upward adjustment of the number of our common shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants we issued to Fairfax in July 2018 and (2) may be prohibited by the covenants relating to the Fairfax Notes issued to Fairfax, subject to a restricted payments basket included in the indenture for the notes.  For additional information about the Fairfax investment, please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. General: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Developments—Fairfax Investment.”

The amount of cash we have available to pay dividends on our shares or to redeem our preferred shares will not depend solely on our profitability, as our board of directors may determine to retain cash rather than to use it to pay dividends.

The actual amount of cash we will have available to pay dividends on our shares or to redeem our preferred shares depends on many factors, including, among others:

The amount of cash we generate from our operations may differ materially from our net income or loss for the period, which is affected by non-cash items, and our board of directors in its discretion may elect not to declare any dividends. As a result of these and the other factors mentioned above, we may pay dividends during periods when we record losses and may not pay dividends during periods when we record net income.

Our board of directors periodically assesses our need to retain funds rather than pay them out as dividends.  Our board of directors may decide to further reduce, or possibly eliminate, our dividend in order to retain funds necessary to preserve our capital base.

Substantial future sales of our preferred or common shares in the public market could cause the price of such shares to fall.

The market price of our preferred and common shares could decline due to sales of a large number of shares in the market, including sales of shares by our large shareholders, or the perception that these sales could occur. These sales could also make it more difficult or impossible for us to sell equity securities at a time and price that we deem appropriate to raise funds. Since the time of our initial public offering, we have granted registration rights to the holders of certain of our securities, including common shares or securities convertible into common shares and preferred shares. Please refer to our discussion of these registration rights agreements at “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Registration Rights Agreements”.  These shareholders, which include Fairfax and affiliates of the Washington family, have the right, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering the sale of such common shares or preferred shares. Following their sale under an applicable registration statement, any such common shares will become freely tradable. By exercising their registration rights and selling a large number of common shares or preferred shares, these shareholders could cause the price of our common shares or preferred shares to decline.

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We are a “foreign private issuer” under the NYSE rules, and as such we are entitled to exemption from certain NYSE corporate governance standards, and you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

We are a “foreign private issuer” under the securities laws of the United States and the rules of the NYSE. Under the securities laws of the United States, “foreign private issuers” are subject to different disclosure requirements than U.S. domiciled registrants, as well as different financial reporting requirements. Under the NYSE rules, a “foreign private issuer” is subject to less stringent corporate governance requirements. Subject to certain exceptions, the rules of the NYSE permit a “foreign private issuer” to follow its home country practice in lieu of the listing requirements of the NYSE. As permitted by the exemption, as well as by our bylaws and the laws of the Marshall Islands, we currently have a board of directors with a majority of independent directors, an audit committee comprised solely of three independent directors and a combined corporate governance, nominating and compensation committee comprised of independent directors. It is possible that, in the future, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents could make it difficult for our shareholders to replace or remove our current board of directors or have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a merger or acquisition, which could adversely affect the market price of our securities.

Several provisions of our articles of incorporation and our bylaws could make it more difficult for our shareholders to change the composition of our board of directors, preventing them from changing the composition of management. In addition, the same provisions may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition that shareholders may consider favorable.

These provisions include:

These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede a potential change in control and, as a result, may adversely affect the market price of our securities.

Uncertainty relating to the LIBOR calculation process and potential phasing out of LIBOR after 2021 may adversely affect the value of our credit facilities, lease facilities and preferred shares.

On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR to the administrator of LIBOR after 2021 (“FCA Announcement”). The FCA Announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis is not guaranteed after 2021.

The majority of our credit and lease facilities bear interest costs at a floating rate based on LIBOR. Uncertainties surrounding changes to the basis of which LIBOR is calculated or the phase-out of LIBOR which may cause a sudden and prolonged increase or decrease in LIBOR could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for dividends to our shareholders. While we use interest swaps to reduce our exposure to interest rate risk and to hedge a portion of our outstanding indebtedness, there is no assurance that our derivative contracts will provide adequate protection against adverse changes in interest rates or that our bank counter parties will be able to perform their obligations.

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If a three-month LIBOR rate is not available, the terms of our various credit and lease facilities, and to the extent applicable, our series of preferred shares will require alternative determination procedures which may result in an interest and/or a dividend rate differing from expectations and could materially affect the value of the such instruments.

We are incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which does not have a well-developed body of corporate law.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of incorporation and bylaws and by the Marshall Islands Business Corporations Act (“BCA”). The provisions of the BCA resemble provisions of the corporation laws of some states in the United States. However, there have been few judicial cases in the Republic of the Marshall Islands interpreting the BCA. The rights and fiduciary responsibilities of directors under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands are not as clearly established as the rights and fiduciary responsibilities of directors under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in certain United States jurisdictions. Shareholder rights may differ as well. While the BCA does specifically incorporate non-statutory law, or judicial case law, of the State of Delaware and other states with substantially similar legislative provisions, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions by management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a U.S. jurisdiction.

Because we are organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, it may be difficult to serve us with legal process or enforce judgments against us, our directors or our management.

We are organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. Our principal executive offices are located in Hong Kong and a majority of our directors and officers are residents outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against our directors or our officers in the United States if you believe that your rights have been infringed under securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Marshall Islands and of other jurisdictions may prevent or restrict you from enforcing a judgment against our assets or our directors and officers.

Our ability to pay dividends on our shares and redeem our preferred shares is limited by the requirements of Marshall Islands law.

Marshall Islands law provides that we may pay dividends on our shares and redeem our preferred shares only to the extent that assets are legally available for such purposes. Legally available assets generally are limited to our surplus, which essentially represents our retained earnings and the excess of consideration received by us for the sale of shares above the par value of such shares. In addition, under Marshall Islands law we may not pay dividends on our shares or redeem our preferred shares if we are insolvent or would be rendered insolvent by the payment of such a dividend or the making of such redemption.