FreeSeas announces higher daily rates on new charters on five of its vessels

FreeSeas Inc., a transporter of dry-bulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of a fleet of eight Handysize vessels and two Handymax vessels, announced yesterday new charters for five of its vessels. Mr. Ion Varouxakis, Chief Executive Officer of FreeSeas, stated, "We are very pleased to report that we have taken advantage of the continued daily charter rate increases for our vessels and improvement in the Baltic Handysize Index, reflecting more favorable fundamentals for this segment. Our Company is benefiting from our strategic decision made earlier this year to operate our vessels on the spot market. The combined daily charter rate for these five charters represents an increase of more than $15,000 per day as compared to their prior combined daily charter rates. We believe that the Handysize dry bulk market will show continued strength going forward.
FreeSeas Inc. is a Marshall Islands corporation with principal offices in Piraeus, Greece. FreeSeas is engaged in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of dry bulk carriers. Currently, it has a fleet of eight Handysize vessels and two Handymax vessels. FreeSeas' common stock and warrants trade on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbols FREE, FREEW and FREEZ, respectively.