Press Releases
Euroseas Ltd. Announces Agreement to Sell Panamax Drybulk Vessel and Renegotiation and Extension of Two Container Vessel Charters
Maroussi, Athens, Greece - December 30, 2008. Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA), an owner and operator of drybulk carriers, container ship and multipurpose vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for drybulk and containerized cargoes, announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to sell M/V Ioanna P, a Panamax drybulk vessel of 64,873 dwt built in 1984 in Japan. The M/V Ioanna P was sold for approximately $3.85 million. The vessel will be delivered to her new owners within January 2009.
Furthermore the company has entered into an agreement to extend the charters of two of its containerships while adjusting their present charter rate. The charter of M/V OEL Transworld will be extended for an additional one year at Euroseas? option at a gross daily rate of $10,000 after the conclusion of the present charter while reducing her current charter from $18,500 to $12,000 starting on the 9th of November 2008. Additionally, the charter of M/V OEL Integrity will be extended for an additional six months at Euroseas? option at a gross daily rate of $7,000 while reducing her current charter from $16,500 to $11,000 starting on the 9th of November 2008.
Following the sale of the M/V Ioanna P, the previously acquired M/V Solar Europe and assuming Euroseas chooses to extend the above-mentioned charters, approximately 50% of Euroseas total fleet days of 2009 and approximately 27% in 2010 will be fixed under period charters, already concluded spot charters, FFA contracts, or, otherwise protected from market fluctuations.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "With the sale of M/V Ioanna P one of our eldest units we are continuing our fleet renewal and expansion program. We believe that the strength of our balance sheet will enable us to capitalize on opportunities to renew and grow our fleet in 2009. Our additional decision to renegotiate the two charters while securing optional extensions at our option trades off cash flow in early 2009 with additional flexibility and downside protection in the later part of 2009 and 2010 while maintaining any potential upside.?
Fleet Profile:
Following the delivery around the end of January 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.
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
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