Press Releases
Euroseas Ltd. Announces Delivery And Financing Of Recently Acquired Vessel, Delivery of Recently Sold Vessel And Conclusion Of Additional FFA Contracts
01/21/09 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 today that it has taken delivery of M/V Solar Europe, a handymax drybulk carrier of 46,667 dwt built in 1998 in Japan. The vessel, acquired for $18 million as previously announced, will be renamed M/V Monica P. The acquisition was financed with equity and a $10 million loan facility. M/V Monica P will be employed in the Bulkhandling pool managed by Klaveness.
Furthermore, the Company delivered to her new owners M/V Ioanna P, a panamax drybulk vessel of 64,873 dwt built in 1984 in Japan, one of the eldest vessels in its fleet. The vessel was sold for approximately $3.85 million.
The Company also announced that it contracted additional coverage on the Freight Forward Agreement ("FFA") market for 2009 and 2010. For 2009, the Company has sold to-date FFA contracts on the panamax index totalling 585 days with an average time charter equivalent rate of approximately $11,500 per day. For 2010, the Company has sold to-date FFA contracts on the panamax index totalling 995 days with an average time charter equivalent rate of approximately $12,700 per day. The panamax index refers to a modern panamax dry bulk carrier. All FFA contracts that the Company sold are cleared.
Following the sale of the M/V Ioanna P, the acquisition of M/V Monica P and the conclusion of above mentioned FFA contracts approximately 53% of Euroseas total fleet days of 2009 and approximately 36% 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: "We are pleased to announce taking delivery of the handymax vessel we recently acquired which alongside the sale of one of the oldest vessels in our fleet has initiated our fleet renewal program. Our ability to secure 55% financing of the acquisition price in such challenging times underlines our good standing with our bankers, and, gives us confidence to continue with our investment plan.
We are also pleased to announce that our newly acquired vessel will be employed in the Bulkhandling pool managed by Klaveness. While expanding our close relationship with Klaveness, we continue to pursue various employment options for our vessels that include physical charters, charter extensions at our option to protect our downside, FFA contracts and pool employment."
Fleet Profile:
Euroseas Ltd. fleet profile is as follows:
(*) "IRINI" is employed in the Baumarine spot pool that is managed by Klaveness, a major global charterer in the dry bulk area.
(**) "Monica P" is employed in the Bulkhandling 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 2 Panamax drybulk carriers, 2 Handysize drybulk carriers, 1 handymax drybulk carrier, 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 259,110 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
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