Euroseas Ltd. signs new building agreements for the acquisition of two fuel efficient Kamsarmax drybulk carriers
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 acquisition of two Eco design kamsarmax fuel efficient drybulk carriers. The vessels will have a carrying capacity of 82,000 dwt each and will be built at Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. The two newbuildings are scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2015 and in the fourth quarter of 2016. The total consideration for these two newbuilding contracts is a bit below $60 million, the company said in its press release.
Furthermore, the Company announced that its joint venture, Euromar LLC ("Euromar"), has purchased the M/V Akinada Bridge, a gearless containership of 5,600 teu and 71,366mt dwt built in 2001 in South Korea. The vessel comes with an above market time charter attached to one of the biggest Japanese charterers and is expected to improve the company's cash flow significantly for the next 2.5 years of its duration.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "We are pleased to announce the purchase of two more eco-design vessels. With this order, we have increased our newbuilding orderbook to 4 vessels , which brings our total fleet to 19 vessels and improves our fleet profile significantly. We believe we are at the start of a strong year for the drybulk market and are positioning Euroseas to take advantage of an improving market.
"We are also very pleased to announce that our Joint venture has concluded the purchase and has already taken delivery of M/V Akinada Bridge. With containership prices close to their all time lows and secured income for the vessel for the next 2.5 years this investment has little if no downside and can prove very profitable in a recovering market. Euromar is well capitalized and with its 11-vessel strong fleet ready to take advantage of a recovery in the Container market which is bound to occur sooner or later. "
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.
The Company has a fleet of 15 vessels, including 4 Panamax drybulk carriers and 1 Handymax drybulk carrier, 3 Intermediate containership, 5 Handysize containerships and 2 Feeder containerships. Euroseas 5 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 338,540 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. Euroseas has also entered into agreements for the construction of two 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels with expected deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter of 2016, respectively.