S&P Global Ratings has upgraded the long-term issuer credit rating and first priority senior secured notes of the containership charter owner Global Ship Lease.

Namely, these were raised to B+ from B on the basis of new charters at favorable rates, extended debt maturities, rebalancing supply and demand conditions, and an improved leverage profile, the company explained.

“This important acknowledgement from S&P reflects the significant enhancements that we have made over the last year, as we have taken advantage of our increased scale and a rising market to improve our balance sheet and our ability to generate consistent and growing cashflow,” Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, said.

“Having made this substantial progress, we remain focused on pursuing further opportunities to reduce our cost of capital and enhance our competitive advantages as a leading containership company.”