Danaos Corporation is a Greece-based shipowner with roots in the early 1970s, when the business began operating as Danaos Shipping. Over time it shifted from general cargo and multi-purpose vessels to a focused strategy in container shipping, with the operating arm, Danaos Shipping, continuing to manage day-to-day technical and crewing activities. The company’s name itself nods to Greek maritime heritage, and its history emphasizes steady expansion of a container-focused fleet and professionalized ship management.
The core business is owning containerships and chartering them out to global liner companies on multi-year time charters. This model—common in the sector—separates asset ownership and technical operation from the cargo-moving networks of the liners, creating contracted cash flows that are designed to be less volatile than spot trading. Danaos highlights time charters as the backbone of its revenue profile, providing visibility on vessel utilization and rates over defined periods.
Operationally, vessels are overseen by Danaos Shipping, which handles technical management, maintenance, compliance, and crewing, and is known within the industry for an emphasis on operational efficiency and technology. The fleet spans a range of sizes—from feeder ships serving regional trades to larger vessels deployed on mainline routes—allowing the company to match ship capability with charterer needs across different trade lanes.
Commercial relationships are diversified across many of the world’s major liner companies, reflecting a strategy of multi-year, fixed-rate employment with a geographically broad customer base. That approach, documented in corporate materials and regulatory filings, underscores Danaos’s positioning as a long-term tonnage provider to blue-chip counterparties in global container shipping.