Euroseas Ltd. , an owner and operator of drybulk carriers and container vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for dry bulk and containerized cargoes, announced today that it has signed a contract for the construction of two Ultramax fuel efficient drybulk carriers. The vessels will have a carrying capacity of 63,500 dwt each and will be built at Yangzhou Dayang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., member of Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group. Delivery of the vessels is scheduled during the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, respectively. The aggregate purchase price of the two newbuilding vessels is approximately $56 million, the company said in its press release.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "The signing of a contract to build two Ultramax drybulk vessels, marks the beginning of a new era for Euroseas. This deal underlines our continued commitment to the drybulk sector and our strategy of conservative growth and renewal of our fleet. We believe that investing in young assets when prices are low is a sound proposition as one is to gain not only from the trading of the ships, but also from possible asset appreciation. Both vessels are of eco-design and we expect them to have an additional competitive advantage in the marketplace. This contract heralds the further growth of our company alongside with the gradual recovery of the markets that we expect. "
About Euroseas Ltd.
Euroseas Ltd. was formed on May 5, 2005 under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to consolidate the ship owning interests of the Pittas family of Athens, Greece, which has been in the shipping business over the past 136 years. Euroseas trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker ESEA since January 31, 2007.
Euroseas operates in the dry cargo, drybulk and container shipping markets. Euroseas' operations are managed by Eurobulk Ltd., an ISO 9001:2008 certified affiliated ship management company, which is responsible for the day-to-day commercial and technical management and operations of the vessels. Euroseas employs its vessels on spot and period charters and through pool arrangements.
Euroseas has a fleet of 14 vessels, including 3 Panamax drybulk carriers and 1 Handymax drybulk carrier, 3 Intermediate containership, 5 Handysize containerships and 2 Feeder containerships. Euroseas 4 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 262,074 dwt, its 10 containerships have a cargo capacity of 17,587 teu. Euroseas has also entered into agreements for the construction of two 63,500 dwt Ultramax dry bulk vessels with expected deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, respectively.
