Press Releases
Euroseas Ltd. Announces Agreement to Purchase a Container Ship Vessel Expanding Fleet to 14 Vessels
Maroussi, Athens, Greece, Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA), an owner and operator of drybulk carriers, container ship and multipurpose vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for dry bulk and containerized cargoes, announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to purchase the M/V Tiger Bridge (ex City of Hamburg), an intermediate container ship of 30,400 dwt and 2,228 twenty-foot equivalent units (teu) built in 1990 in Korea. The M/V Tiger Bridge, was acquired for approximately $ 24.0 million and comes with a period charter attached until July 2009 at a rate of $16,500 per day.
Following the delivery of the Tiger Bridge to our fleet between September 15 and October 10, 2007 at the sellers option, approximately 92% of Euroseas total fleet days in 2007 and approximately 37% in 2008 will be fixed under period charters, already concluded spot charters, or, otherwise protected from market fluctuations.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "We are pleased to announce that we have acquired the M/V Tiger Bridge, our 14th vessel and our third acquisition since we completed our second follow-on common stock offering in June 2007, which raised net proceeds of approximately $73.0 million. Although we continue to focus on optimizing our presence in all segments of dry cargo shipping, including drybulk, container and multipurpose markets, we have been adding container vessels because we continue to believe that containerships have the higher upside potential. Furthermore, consistent with our fleet deployment strategy of mixing short term with profitable long term employment, the period charter already attached to the M/V Tiger Bridge until July 2009 will assist us to generate stable and predictable cash flows securing our earnings and shareholder return."
(*) "IRINI", is employed in the Baumarine pool that is managed by Klaveness, a major global charterer in the dry bulk area, and also participates in two "short" funds (contracts to carry cargo at agreed rates), minimizing its exposure to the spot market (covered at 77% for 2007 and 42% for 2008, approximately).
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 Market under the ticker ESEA since January 31, 2006 (previously it traded on the Over The Counter Bulletin Board under the ticker symbol EUSEF.OB).
Euroseas operates in the dry cargo, drybulk and container shipping markets. Euroseas' operations are managed by Eurobulk Ltd., an ISO 9001:2000 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.
After the acquisition of the M/V Tiger Bridge, the Company will have a fleet of 14 vessels, including 2 Panamax drybulk carriers, 2 Handysize drybulk carriers, 2 Intermediate container ship, 5 Handysize container ships, 2 Feeder container ships and a multipurpose dry cargo vessel. Euroseas' 4 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 212,443 dwt, its 9 container ships will have a cargo capacity of 15,321 teu and its 1 multipurpose vessel has a cargo capacity of 22,568 dwt or 950 teu.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events and the Company's growth strategy and measures to implement such strategy; including expected vessel acquisitions and entering into further time charters. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "anticipates," "hopes," "estimates," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to changes in the demand for dry bulk vessels and container ships, competitive factors in the market in which the Company operates; risks associated with operations outside the United States; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
Contact:
Visit our website www.euroseas.gr
Company Contact
Tasos Aslidis
Chief Financial Officer
Euroseas Ltd.
11 Canterbury Lane
Watchung, NJ 07069
Tel. (908) 301-9091
E-mail: aha@euroseas.gr
Investor Relations / Financial Media
Nicolas Bornozis
President
Capital Link, Inc.
230 Park Avenue, Suite 1536
New York, NY 10169
Tel. (212) 661-7566
E-mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com