Diana Shipping Inc. , a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, announced that yesterday through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it entered into a time charter contract with Clearlake Shipping Pte., Ltd., Singapore, a member of the Gunvor Group, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v “Houston”. The gross charter rate is US$20,500 per day, minus a 4.75% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about eleven (11) months to about fourteen (14) months. The charter commenced yesterday, the company said in its press release.
The Houston is a 177,729 dwt Capesize dry bulk vessel built in 2009. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$6.5 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.
As the Company previously announced on November 27, 2013, the Houston was redelivered to the owner by the previous charterer when it purported to terminate the charter early.
Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 36 dry bulk vessels (2 Newcastlemax, 10 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 3 Kamsarmax and 18 Panamax). The Company also expects to take delivery of 2 new-building Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessels during the first quarter of 2014, and 2 new-building Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels during the second quarter of 2016. As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our fleet, excluding the four vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 4.1 million dwt with a weighted average age of 6.51 years. A table describing the current Diana Shipping Inc. fleet can be found on the Company’s website, www.dianashippinginc.com. Information contained on the Company’s website does not constitute a part of this press release.
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.