As filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2019.

Registration No. 333-          

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

GLOBAL SHIP LEASE, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

c/o Global Ship Lease Services Limited,

Portland House, Stag Place

London SW1E 5RS

+44 (0) 20 7869 8006

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

Seward & Kissel LLP

Attention: Gary J. Wolfe, Esq.

One Battery Park Plaza

New York, New York 10004

(212) 574-1200

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Gary J. Wolfe, Esq. Seward & Kissel LLP One Battery Park Plaza New York, New York 10004 (212) 574-1200 (telephone number) (212) 480-8421 (facsimile number)

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:

As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are being offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

Emerging growth company  ☐

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 9, 2019

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

675,000 Class A Common Shares

Global Ship Lease, Inc.

Class A Common Shares

We are offering 675,000 of our Class A common shares in this offering.

Our Class A common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “GSL.”

Investing in our Class  A common shares involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 17 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

We have granted the underwriters the option for a period of up to        days to purchase up to an additional             shares to cover over-allotments at the public offering price less the underwriting discount.

The underwriters expect to deliver the Class A common shares to purchasers on or about         , 2019.

The date of this prospectus is                 , 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered to you. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with additional, different or inconsistent information. If anyone provides you with additional, different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, (the “SEC” or “Commission”), is effective. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus unless otherwise specified herein. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date. Information contained on our website does not constitute part of this prospectus.

We have not taken any action to permit a public offering of these securities outside the United States or to permit the possession or distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about and observe any restrictions relating to the offering of these securities and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our Class A common shares involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment in our Class A common shares, you should carefully consider all of the information included or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including the risks described herein and in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in our 2018 Annual Report, which is incorporated by reference herein. The occurrence of one or more of those risk factors could adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We cannot assure you if and when we will pay dividends on our Class A common shares.

We are not currently paying dividends on our Class A common shares. Subject to the limitations contained in the indenture governing our 2022 notes and other contractual obligations, we may resume the distribution of a portion of our cash flow to our shareholders, while retaining the remaining cash flow for costs such as drydockings, reinvestment in our business, funding ship or fleet acquisitions, making debt repayments and for other purposes, as determined by our board of directors. The timing and amount of any dividends declared will depend on, among other things (a) our results of operations, financial condition, cash flow and cash requirements, (b) our liquidity, including our ability to obtain debt and equity financing on acceptable terms as contemplated by our ship acquisition strategy, (c) restrictive covenants in our existing and future debt instruments and (d) provisions of Marshall Islands law. The declaration and payment of dividends is also subject at all times to the discretion of our board of directors.

The container shipping industry is highly volatile, and we cannot predict with certainty the amount of cash, if any, that will be available for distribution as dividends in any period. Also, there may be a high degree of variability from period to period in the amount of cash, if any, that is available for the payment of dividends. The amount of cash we generate from operations and the actual amount of cash we will have available for dividends in each quarter will vary based upon, among other things:

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The amount of cash we generate from our operations may differ materially from our net income or loss for the period, which will be affected by non-cash items. We may incur other expenses or liabilities that could reduce or eliminate the cash available for distribution as dividends.

In addition, Marshall Islands law generally prohibits the payment of dividends other than from surplus (retained earnings and the excess of consideration received from the sale of shares above the par value of the shares) or if there is no surplus, from the net profits for the current and prior fiscal years, or while a company is insolvent or if it would be rendered insolvent by the payment of such a dividend. We may not have sufficient surplus or net profits in the future to pay dividends, and our subsidiaries may not have sufficient funds, surplus or net profits to make distributions to us. As a result of these and other factors, we may not be able to pay dividends during periods when we record losses and may not pay dividends during periods when we record net income. We can give no assurance that dividends will be paid in the future.

There may be a substantial number of our Class A common shares available for sale in the future that may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common shares.

On the closing of the Poseidon Transaction, we issued 3,005,603 Class A common shares and 250,000 Series C Preferred Shares, which are convertible into 12,955,187 Class A common shares upon the occurrence of certain events. Further, in connection with the Poseidon Transaction, pursuant to an Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, we registered for resale all Class A common shares, including those issuable on conversion of the Series C Preferred Shares, held by affiliates of Kelso, CMA CGM, George Giouroukos (our Executive Chairman) through Management Investor Co., Michael S. Gross (our former Chairman and a director) and MAAS Capital as of the closing of the Poseidon Transaction. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common shares.

The price of our securities may be volatile.

The price of our Class A common shares may be volatile and may fluctuate due to factors such as:

The container shipping industry has been highly unpredictable and volatile. The market for common shares in companies operating in container shipping industry may be equally volatile.

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Future sales of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, may depress the market price for our common stock. These sales could also impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of our equity securities in the future.

Subject to the rules of the NYSE, in the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock, and other equity securities of equal or senior rank, without shareholder approval, in a number of circumstances. The issuance by us of additional shares of common stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank would have the following effects:

Our shareholders also may elect to sell large numbers of shares held by them from time to time. The number of shares of common stock available for sale in the public market will be limited by restrictions applicable under securities laws, and agreements that we and our executive officers, directors and existing shareholders may enter into with the underwriters at the time of an offering. Subject to certain exceptions, these agreements generally restrict us and our executive officers, directors and existing shareholders from directly or indirectly offering, selling, pledging, hedging or otherwise disposing of our equity securities or any security that is convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our equity securities and from engaging in certain other transactions relating to such securities for a period of 180 days after the date of an offering prospectus without the prior written consent of the underwriter(s).

It may not be possible for investors to serve process on or enforce U.S. judgments against us.

We and all of our subsidiaries are incorporated in jurisdictions outside the U.S. and substantially all of our assets and those of our subsidiaries are located outside the U.S. In addition, most of our directors and officers are non-residents of the U.S., and all or a substantial portion of the assets of these non-residents are located outside the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for U.S. investors to serve process within the U.S. upon us, our subsidiaries or our directors and officers or to enforce a judgment against us for civil liabilities in U.S. courts. In addition, you should not assume that courts in the countries in which we or our subsidiaries are incorporated or where our assets or the assets of our subsidiaries are located (1) would enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions against us or our subsidiaries based upon the civil liability provisions of applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws or (2) would enforce, in original actions, liabilities against us or our subsidiaries based on those laws

Increases in interest rates may cause the market price of our common shares to decline.

An increase in interest rates may cause a corresponding decline in demand for equity investments in general and in particular for yield-based equity investments such as our common shares. Any such increase in interest rates or reduction in demand for our common shares resulting from other relatively more attractive investment opportunities may cause the trading price of our common shares to decline.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds of approximately $        million from this offering (approximately $         million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses payable by us.

We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, the acquisition of containerships in accordance with our growth strategy, or prepaying debt. However, we do not currently have definitive plans for any debt prepayments nor have we identified any potential acquisitions, and we can provide no assurance that we will be able to complete any debt prepayment or the acquisition of any vessel that we are able to identify.

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets out our cash and cash equivalents and our capitalization on an actual basis as of June 30, 2019. There have been no other significant changes to our capitalization since June 30, 2019, as so adjusted. The information set forth in the table assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. You should read the information below together with the sections of this prospectus entitled “Use of Proceeds,” and “Risk Factors”, in addition to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” as well as the financial statements and related notes which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

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DIVIDEND POLICY

The declaration and payment of any dividend is subject at all times to the discretion of our board of directors which reviews our dividend policy quarterly, taking into consideration capital structure, growth opportunities, container shipping industry fundamentals, asset value trends and financial performance including cash flow, restrictions under our secured term loan and the indenture that governs our 2022 notes, the provisions of Marshall Islands law affecting the payment of distributions to shareholders, required capital and drydocking expenditures, reserves established by our board of directors, increased or unanticipated expenses, additional borrowings or future issuances of securities and other factors, many of which will be beyond our control.

For more information regarding our dividend policy, please see “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Dividend Policy” in our 2018 Annual Report, which is incorporated by reference herein.

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DILUTION

Dilution or accretion is the amount by which the offering price paid by the purchasers of our common shares in this offering will differ from the net tangible book value per common share after the offering. The net tangible book value is equal to the amount of our total tangible assets (total assets less intangible assets) less total liabilities (other than intangible liabilities). The historical net tangible book value as of June 30, 2019 was $339.2 million in total and $34.12 per share for the number of outstanding shares at that date, or $14.81 per share assuming full conversion of Series C preferred shares into Class A common shares.

The as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2019 would have been $            , or $             per common share after the issuance and sale by us of common shares at $             per share in this offering, after deducting estimated expenses related to this offering. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $             per share to the existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $             per share to new investors.

The following table illustrates the pro forma per share dilution and increase in net tangible book value as of June 30, 2019:

The following table summarizes, as of June 30, 2019, on an as adjusted basis for this public offering, the difference between the number of common shares acquired from us, the total amount paid and the average price per share paid by the existing shareholders and the number of common shares acquired from us, the total amount paid and the average price per share paid by you as a new investor in this offering, based upon the public offering price of $             per share.

(*) Before deducting estimated expenses of this offering of $                 million.

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SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table sets forth selected consolidated financial and other data of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 which is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on March 29, 2019, incorporated by reference herein. The selected consolidated financial and other data of the Company as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not incorporated by reference herein but publicly available at www.sec.gov. The table also sets forth selected consolidated financial and other data of the Company as of June 30, 2019 and 2018 and for the six month periods ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 which is derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto, included in our Report on Form 6-K that was filed with the SEC on August 9, 2019, which is incorporated by reference herein.

The selected financial data set forth below should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, (i) our audited consolidated financial statements, including the related notes thereto, and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” as presented in our 2018 Annual Report, incorporated by reference herein, and (ii) our interim unaudited consolidated financial statements and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” as presented in our Report on Form 6-K, filed with the Commission on August 9, 2019, incorporated by reference herein. The selected historical financial information provided below does not purport to indicate results of operations as of any future date or for any future period.

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

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BUSINESS

Business Overview

Our legal and commercial name is Global Ship Lease, Inc. We are a Republic of the Marshall Islands corporation that owns a fleet of 41 mid-sized and smaller containerships which we charter out under fixed-rate charters to reputable container shipping companies.

History and Development of the Company

We are a Republic of the Marshall Islands corporation that owns a fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships which are chartered out under fixed-rate charters to reputable container shipping companies (“liner companies” or “liner operators”).

We were formed in 2007 to purchase and charter back 17 containerships owned or to be purchased by CMA CGM, then the third largest containership operator in the world by number of ships.

On November 15, 2018, we completed a transformative transaction and acquired Poseidon Containers’ 20 containerships, one of which, the Argos, was contracted to be sold, which sale was completed in December 2018, which we refer to herein as the “Poseidon Transaction”. References herein to the “GSL Fleet” are to the 19 ships that were owned by us prior to the consummation of the Poseidon Transaction, and references to the “Poseidon Fleet” are to the 19 ships that we acquired as a result of the Poseidon Transaction, excluding the Argos. On the closing of the Poseidon Transaction, we issued to the Poseidon unitholders 3,005,603 Class A common shares and 250,000 Series C Preferred Shares, which are convertible to an aggregate of 12,955,187 Class A common shares in certain circumstances, and assumed the debt of Poseidon Containers, which amounted to $509.7 million as of November 15, 2018.

Following the announcement of the Poseidon Transaction on October 29, 2018, we have agreed multiple new charters in an improving market over multi-year durations, to renew or replace expiring charters, that have resulted in material improvements to key performance metrics, such as:

In addition, in May 2019, we agreed to acquire three 2004-built 7,849 TEU containerships. Shortly after delivery in May 2019, the first ship, GSL Eleni, commenced a five-year charter with Maersk Line. The two remaining ships, GSL Kalliopi and GSL Grania, are expected to be delivered during the third quarter of 2019 and are scheduled to commence three-year charters with Maersk Line, with two consecutive one-year extensions at the charterer’s option.

As of the date of this prospectus, we owned 39 containerships and have agreed to acquire a further two. Following the delivery of these two ships, we will own 41 mid-sized and smaller containerships of which nine

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are new-design, high-specification, fuel-efficient, and wide-beam. Our fleet, pro forma for the delivery of the two vessels we have agreed to acquire, has a total capacity of 224,162 TEU, making us one of the largest non-operating owner of containerships as of June 30, 2019, according to industry sources. Our fleet’s average size is 5,467 TEU, with a TEU weighted average age of 11.9 years.

All of our ships are chartered out on time charters, representing contracted future revenue of $829.6 million as of June 30, 2019, including subsequent announcements of new charters and options to extend which are under our control, and assuming the mid-point of redelivery, over a TEU-weighted average remaining term of 2.9 years. Contracted future revenue was $912.6 million on the same basis, but also including options to extend which are under the charterers’ control and assuming the latest redelivery date, over a TEU-weighted average remaining term of 3.2 years. By applying Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 62.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2019 to contracted future revenue, this would imply Contracted Adjusted EBITDA of $516.0 million on our contracted future revenue of $829.6 million (to the mid-point of redelivery and including options to extend charters which are under our control) and $567.6 million on our contracted future revenue of $912.6 million (also including options to extend which are under the charterers’ control and assuming the latest redelivery). Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Contracted Adjusted EBITDA are non-U.S. GAAP measures. For a description of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Contracted Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of these measures to net income, the most directly comparable US GAAP financial measure, please see “Summary Financial Data—Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures.”

On January 2, 2019, as a consequence of the completion of the Poseidon Transaction, all of our issued and outstanding Class B common shares converted one-for-one into Class A common shares. On March 25, 2019, we effected a one-for-eight reverse stock split of our Class A common shares, which our shareholders authorized at our special meeting of shareholders held on March 20, 2019. There was no change to the trading symbol, number of authorized shares, or par value of our Class A common shares in connection with the reverse stock split. As of June 30, 2019, there were 9,942,950 Class A common shares issued and outstanding, along with 250,000 Series C Preferred Shares, which are convertible into 12,955,187 Class A common shares in certain circumstances. All share and per share amounts disclosed in this prospectus give effect to the reverse stock split retroactively, for all periods presented.

The mailing address of our principal executive office is c/o Global Ship Lease Services Limited, Portland House, Stag Place, London SW1E 5RS, United Kingdom, and our telephone number is +44 (0) 20 7869 8006. Our website address is www.globalshiplease.com. The information included on our website is not incorporated herein by reference. From time to time, we may use our website and social media outlets as channels of distribution of material company information.

Industry and Market Outlook

The container shipping industry is both cyclical and seasonal. We believe that supply/demand fundamentals are currently strongly supportive, particularly for the mid-size and smaller ship sizes upon which we are focused. As of June 30, 2019, according to industry sources, idle capacity for the global fleet was only 1.6%, capacity scrapped during the first half 2019 exceeded that for the entire year of 2018 by a multiple of over 1.3, and the newbuilding orderbook, which is scheduled to deliver over the next two to three years, was limited. As of June 30, 2019, according to industry sources, the orderbook-to-fleet ratio for the global fleet was 10.9%, while for ships of 2,000 – 9,999 TEU it was 2.5%, with no ships on order between 4,000 TEU and 9,999 TEU—sizes representing over 80% of GSL fleet capacity. We expect the implementation of industry-wide regulatory changes on emission controls with effect from January 1, 2020 (“IMO 2020”) which are expected to increase the unit cost of fuel due to the anticipated premium price of low sulfur fuel, to further improve industry fundamentals as, among other things, operators reduce operating speeds to be more fuel efficient, thereby reducing the effective supply of containerships. Furthermore, we believe that the fuel-efficient, low slot cost characteristics of many of our ships will position us well to capitalize on these trends, enhancing the earnings capacity and value of our fleet over time.

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Our Competitive Strengths.

We believe that we possess a number of competitive strengths that differentiate us and will allow us to capitalize on opportunities in the containership sector, including:

Experienced Management Team. Members of our management team, board of directors and Managers have extensive experience in the container shipping industry and have long-term relationships with companies, individuals and institutions within the wider shipping industry. Our Executive Chairman, George Giouroukos, has more than 25 years of leadership and shipping industry experience, while our Chief Executive Officer, Ian Webber, has 30 years of shipping industry experience, 12 of which serving as our Chief Executive Officer. We believe that we will be able to capitalize on the experience and relationships of our management, board of directors and Managers to identify future acquisitions and charter opportunities beyond those widely and publicly marketed, expand our customer base, and finance these acquisitions and refinance our debt. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees” in our 2018 Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Significant Contracted Revenue. All of our ships are chartered out on time charters, representing contracted future revenue of $829.6 million as of June 30, 2019, including subsequent announcements of new charters and options to extend which are under our control, and assuming the mid-point of redelivery, over a TEU-weighted average remaining term of 2.9 years. Contracted future revenue was $912.6 million on the same basis, but also including options to extend which are under the charterers’ control and assuming the latest redelivery date, over a TEU-weighted average remaining term of 3.2 years. Our contracted revenue mostly consists of revenue generated by our larger ships as these have higher daily charter rates and longer charter durations provides substantial forward visibility on earnings. Our smaller, lower-earning ships are mostly employed on shorter term contracts, which we believe will provide upside earnings potential in what we anticipate will be a firming charter market after a protracted downturn. Since announcing the Poseidon Transaction, we have entered into charters, both as charter renewals and for ship acquisitions, which are expected to generate $508.7 million contracted revenue (measured over the term of the charter to the mid-point of redelivery including options to extend these new charters which are under our control).

Diversified Portfolio of Charterers. As of June 30, 2019, charterers of our ships included Maersk Line, MSC, COSCO-OOCL, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and ZIM. In addition, our Commercial Manager has established relationships with, and has previously arranged charters with, many other reputable liner operators, such as ONE, Wan Hai, Evergreen and Seaboard Marine. We expect to continue to capitalize on our senior management’s and Commercial Manager’s long-standing relationships with leading liner companies. We believe that the experience of our senior management team, coupled with our Technical Manager’s extensive experience and reputation, will continue to assist us in securing high employment coverage for our ships to facilitate our future growth.

Focused Fleet Composition. Our fleet is focused on high specification, mid-sized and smaller ships, which we believe are undersupplied in the market and have multiple deployment opportunities. We own and operate 41 containerships, including the two ships which will be delivered to us in the third quarter of 2019, ranging in size between 2,207 TEU and 11,040 TEU, built at reputable shipyards, with high specifications, and which are well-maintained. Such mid-size and smaller ships are operationally flexible and are core to servicing multiple non-arterial, intermediate, and intra-regional container trades which, in aggregate, represented over 70% of global containerized trade volumes in 2018. Limited investment by the industry in recent years in mid-sized and smaller containerships has resulted in a small orderbook to be delivered over the next two-three years (the orderbook to fleet ratio for 2,000—10,000 TEU ships was 2.5% delivering over the next two to three years as of June 30, 2019, versus an overall ratio of 10.9%) and an aging global fleet, with limited availability of latest-generation ships in these segments.

Fleet with High Technical Specifications. Value-adding attributes that render our ships attractive to our customers, the liner operators, include capacity to carry a large number of temperature-controlled containers

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(“reefers”), wide-beam and fuel-efficient designs, and onboard cranes (“gear”) for cargo handling. We believe that these features enable our fleet to achieve higher levels of employment and earnings against ships with lower specifications. 72% of our fleet capacity is made up of Post-Panamax containerships larger than 5,500 TEU, which provide enhanced ship stability and thus greater cargo carrying capacity. Cargo carrying capacity is an important selection criterion for liner operators as it reduces slot cost, which is calculated for any given ship as daily fuel cost plus daily charter hire divided by standardized loadable capacity. Nine of our Post-Panamax ships are also latest-generation, fuel efficient “Eco” ships, which further enhance slot cost economics for liner operators and command an earnings premium in the charter market versus non-Eco ships and have the potential to provide longer term charters. Fuel efficiency becomes even more valuable as fuel prices rise, as is anticipated with the introduction of industry-wide emission control regulations from January 2020 (“IMO 2020”), with which the vast majority of ships will comply by burning higher cost, low sulfur fuel.

Capitalize on Cascade. The shipping industry up-sizes ships over time in order to capture economies of scale by increasing the carrying capacity of ships. This up-sizing is also referred to as the “cascade,” and involves larger ships progressively displacing smaller ships into other trade lanes. Non-mainlane, intermediate, and intra-regional trades are of fundamental importance to global containerized trade – representing, in aggregate, over 70% of global containerized trade volumes in 2018 – and are predominantly served by mid-size and smaller ships, which we believe are supply-constrained. We also believe that our fuel-efficient, low slot cost ships position us to capitalize on cascading opportunities in these markets. As of June 30, 2019, according to industry sources, 42.5% of the global fleet (by number of ships) was comprised of ships of 2,000 TEU or smaller, providing significant cascading opportunities for even the smallest ships in our fleet (2,200 TEU).

Efficient Ship Operations. We believe that our Technical Manager’s experience in the technical management of containerships, and their reputation in the shipping industry as operators with high safety and operating standards, are important in servicing our charterers, who depend on reliable ships and responsible containership owning companies to meet their exact and demanding ship scheduling requirements. Our Technical Manager has been managing ships successfully since 1994 and this depth of experience not only provides our customers with a high level of service quality and confidence but also gives us competitive average daily operating costs. Despite significant drydocking of our ships for regulatory surveys and upgrades, utilization for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was 96.9%. Utilization for the three months ended March 31, 2019, which was not affected by elevated levels of drydocking, was 99.8%. In addition, our Technical Manager has experience in upgrading ships, including reefer capacity and fuel efficiency and in the efficient design of scrubbers, all of which raise our ships to higher commercial standards enhancing their marketability and earning capacity.

Growth Track Record. We have a proven ability to grow by purchasing ships with pre-agreed charters that are immediately accretive to cashflow and earnings, while concurrently putting in place competitively-priced and conservatively-structured debt to facilitate such growth. Our Executive Chairman, George Giouroukos, has structured and concluded over 250 secondhand and newbuilding ship transactions. The strategic combination between GSL and Poseidon Containers in November 2018 also demonstrates our capacity to successfully execute transformative corporate transactions. We believe that our senior management team’s extensive knowledge of, and contacts within, the container shipping industry will allow us to continue to add value-accretive ships and charters to our portfolio.

Multiple Financing Sources. Access to cost-effective capital is important in the container shipping industry. As a publicly listed company with a business model primarily oriented towards providing medium-term charters to reputable counterparties, we can potentially access equity and debt markets, both private and public, on a recurrent basis. In a capital-constrained environment, we believe that being a publicly listed company with a high level of transparency and reporting is an advantage in competing with other containership owning companies, which are predominantly private and do not have access to such diverse sources of capital. In addition, our management team has extensive and long-standing relationships with commercial banks that provide us with access to the traditional secured loan bank market. Specifically, since the Poseidon Transaction,

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our significantly expanded banking relationships now include Citi, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro, DVB, CIT, Entrust, ATB and Hellenic Bank.

Our Business Strategies

Our primary objective is to maximize value for our shareholders by pursuing the following strategies:

Maintain Fleet Focus. We intend to maintain our focus on containerships of 2,000 – 11,000 TEU, weighted towards wide-beam, high-reefer, fuel-efficient ships of 5,500 – 10,000 TEU. We believe the cost-return characteristics of ships in this size segment are attractive. Specifically, they are sought after by charterers given their operational flexibility and low slot costs and should thereby allow us to manage our fleet deployment effectively, locking in upside earnings potential for shareholders by securing longer-term charters generating contracted cashflows. Furthermore, due to scarce capital being disproportionately allocated to the construction of the largest containerships for the main East-West trades lanes, such as Asia – Europe, the order-book for containerships below 10,000 TEU is at historically low levels and, according to industry sources, there are no ships on order in our area of focus, the 4,000 TEU and 9,999 TEU segment, which, combined with reasonable demand growth for container shipping services, particularly in the trade lanes where our ships are best deployed, is expected to result in continuing improvements in charter rates and hence asset values, over time. We expect supply to tighten further for these ship segments with the implementation on January 1, 2020 of the new industry-wide emission controls under IMO 2020, which we believe may prompt liner operators to slow down their ships in order to reduce fuel burn and thus costs, reducing effective supply.

Optimize Charter Portfolio. We intend to proactively manage our portfolio of charters to lock in upside earning potential, while also providing downside protection through charter cover. This provides significant forward visibility of stable cashflows, while preserving the flexibility to capitalize on potentially rising charter rates. We currently charter most of our high revenue producing ships under medium term time charters of between three to five years, with staggered maturities, while the remainder of the fleet, mostly our smaller ships, are on shorter term charters of less than 12 months to position us to benefit from market increases in charter rates. Additionally, we will continue to charter our ships to reputable charterers, such as our long-standing clients Maersk Line, MSC, COSCO-OOCL, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd and ZIM, and will continue to expand the number of leading liner companies chartering our ships in order to further diversify our portfolio of charters from customer, geographic and maturity perspectives.

Moderate Leverage Level and Reduced Cost of Debt. Our mandatory debt repayment profile will result in substantial debt reduction over the next few years. We believe that reducing our leverage and maintaining debt at a moderate level will enable us to reduce our overall cost of debt, enhance our financial flexibility and allow us to make opportunistic acquisitions consistent with our strategy. We expect to finance future ship acquisitions, with cash on hand, borrowings under new credit facilities, or subject to favorable market conditions, public debt or equity offerings, or a combination thereof.

Implement Disciplined Growth. We intend to continue to grow and renew our fleet mainly by acquiring second-hand containerships with high specifications and fuel efficiency, that are already employed on charters or that can be so employed immediately following their acquisition, as market conditions allow. When evaluating these future acquisitions, we will consider, among other things, fundamental developments in the container shipping industry, the value of the ship compared to historical levels, the cash flow expected to be earned by the ship in relation to its value, the credit quality of the charterer and duration and terms of charter contracts, its condition and technical specifications, as well as the overall diversification of our fleet and customer portfolio. We believe that attractive, counter-cyclical investment opportunities are available in the market. These may include both structured sale and leaseback transactions with liner companies and the acquisition of selected, attractively-priced ships, in the sale and purchase market. In addition, we will evaluate and consider strategic corporate acquisitions on a selective and prudent basis.

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Leverage Our Managers’ Experience. We intend to leverage our Technical Manager’s expertise to continue to manage our ships efficiently and reliably at a low daily operating cost, as well as support future growth. We believe that our Technical Manager is able to oversee the technical management of our fleet at a cost than is lower than we could achieve in-house and which is competitive compared to other independent ship management companies. Additionally, we believe that our outsourced management arrangements provide scalability to facilitate growth without the incurrence of significant additional overheads. In addition, our Technical Manager has experience in upgrading the reefer capacity and fuel efficiency of ships, and in the efficient design of scrubbers, as well as other characteristics that raise our ships to higher commercial standards enhancing their marketability and earning capacity. Moreover, our Commercial Manager has direct relationships with liner companies as evidenced by multiple long-term contracts, including repeat business, secured since the completion of the Poseidon Transaction.

Our Fleet

The following table summarizes key information about our fleet of 41 containerships as of August 9, 2019: