11 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Invest in Now

6. Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) operates in the container shipping industry. It owns and charters out containerships under long-term, fixed-rate charters to container liner companies. The demand for the company’s well-specified, fuel-efficient vessels remained robust across 2024. Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) took advantage of such tailwinds in a bid to secure extended charter coverage throughout its fleet, resulting in the addition of $885 million of contracted revenues to its substantial backlog. The company has been able to secure attractive, multi-year coverage, even for its oldest ships.

Amidst a volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment, the company continues to benefit from optionality and deployment flexibility represented by Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. The company remains well-placed to sustain its track record of creating shareholder value via operational excellence, capital allocation discipline, and opportunistic acquisitions. Over the past several years, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) has benefited from the shipping up-cycle, capitalizing on its healthy cash flow and forward visibility to opportunistically refinance, extend its debt maturities, and reduce the borrowing costs.

Moving forward, the company remains focused on continuing its fleet renewal and optimization strategy. As of December 31, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) had $1.88 billion, resulting in 2.3 years of average remaining contract cover. Furthermore, during 2024 and the first couple of months of 2025, the company added 50 charters for ~$885 million of additional contracted revenues.