Press Releases
Euroseas Ltd. Announces Conclusion of FFA Contracts
Maroussi, Athens, Greece - Euroseas Ltd., (NASDAQ:ESEA) an owner and operator of drybulk carriers and container vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for dry bulk and containerized cargoes, announced that the Company has sold contracts for a total of 480 calendar days on the Freight Forward Agreement ("FFA") market on the panamax index for Calendar 2009 with an average time charter equivalent rate of approximately $11,300 per day. The panamax index refers to a modern panamax dry bulk carrier.
Similarly, the Company announced that it has sold FFA contracts for Calendar 2010 for a total of 120 days on the panamax index at an average time charter equivalent rate of $13,900 per day. Taking into account the Company's previously sold contracts on the same index for Calendar 2010, the Company?s total coverage for Calendar 2010 now stands at 485 days at an average time charter equivalent rate of $11,400 per day.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "We are pleased to announce the conclusion of these FFA contracts which we believe enhance the visibility of our cash flows for 2009 and 2010 given the present challenging times in our industry. We use FFA's as a hedge to our physical market exposure. Thus for 2009 we have charter coverage for about 2,180 days and FFA coverage for 480 days out of 6,205 days of vessel capacity implying a total coverage of about 43%. For 2010 the corresponding charter coverage is 21% in parallel to securing profitable employment for our vessels, we continue our efforts to execute our investment program given the strength of our balance sheet."
Fleet Profile:
After the delivery on or about January 31, 2009 of the recently acquired M/V Solar Europe, the Euroseas Ltd. fleet profile will be as follows:
(*) "IRINI" is employed in the Baumarine spot pool that is managed by Klaveness, a major global charterer in the dry bulk area, and also participates in ?short? funds (contracts to carry cargo at agreed rates), reducing its exposure to the spot market.
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.
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.
The Company has a fleet of 16 vessels, including 3 Panamax drybulk carriers, 2 Handysize drybulk carriers, 3 Intermediate container ship, 5 Handysize container ships, 2 Feeder container ships and a multipurpose dry cargo vessel. Euroseas` 5 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 277,316 dwt, its 10 container ships have a cargo capacity of 17,787 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, 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