Diana Shipping announces termination of charter
Diana Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today announced that its wholly-owned vessel subsidiary Gala Properties Inc. has received a notice from the charterers of the M/V “Houston” claiming that they are entitled to terminate the charter effective November 26, 2013 for purported breaches by the owners, the company said in its press release.
Despite efforts by the owners to resolve the dispute with the charterers, the charterers have been unwilling to remedy their breach and anticipatory repudiation and/or renunciation of the charter by withdrawing their wrongful termination and providing the vessel with employment orders in accordance with the charter. Owners have informed charterers that their conduct constitutes a continuing repudiatory and/or renunciatory breach of the charter bringing the charterparty to an end. Owners will now seek to mitigate their losses as a result of the charterers’ breach and reserve all their rights to claim such losses from charterers and/or to take appropriate steps to protect their position.
As it has been previously announced, Gala Properties Inc. has time chartered the vessel to Shagang Shipping Company Limited a guaranteed nominee of the Jiangsu Shagang Group Co., at a gross charter hire rate of $55,000 per day for a period of a minimum of fifty-nine (59) months and a maximum of sixty-two (62) months. The charter commenced on November 3, 2009 and has an initial termination date of October 3, 2014.
About the Company
Diana Shipping Inc. is a leading global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of dry bulk vessels. The Company’s vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.