Press Releases
Euroseas Ltd. Announces New Acquisition for its Joint Venture Euromar LLC, Sale of One Vessel for Scrap and Time Charter Extension for its Multipurpose Vessel
Maroussi, Athens, Greece - March 19, 2012 - Euroseas Ltd., (NASDAQ:ESEA) an owner and operator of drybulk carriers, containerships and multipurpose vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for dry bulk and containerized cargoes, announced today that it sold for scrap one of the oldest container vessels in its fleet, the M/V Jonathan P, a 1,932 teu gearless containership built in 1990. The Company will take a book loss of approximately $8.8 million as a result the sale. The vessel has been delivered to her new owners.
Furthermore, the Company announced that one of its subsidiaries has extended the time charter agreement of M/V Tasman Trader, a 22,568 dwt and 950 teu 1990 built multipurpose vessel, for about one-year period at a gross daily rate of $8,600. The new charter commenced on March 17, 2012. Further to its charter extension, the vessel has been renamed M/V Anking.
Finally, the Company announced that its joint venture, Euromar LLC ("Euromar"), signed a memorandum of agreement to purchase the M/V MOL Volta, a geared containership of 28,917 dwt. The vessel, to be renamed EM Ithaki, is expected to be delivered not later than May 20, 2012.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "With containership prices having again reached their all time lows we believe it makes sense to replace older vessels in our fleet with more modern ones. In that respect we have scrapped the Jonathan P which had been idle for the last 3 months and intend to invest the proceeds in purchasing more modern vessels either directly within Euroseas, or, by expanding the size of our Euromar joint venture, which, as we also announced today, has agreed to buy its ninth vessel.
We are also very pleased to announce the extension for one more year of our long cooperation with the charterers of our multipurpose vessel, M/V Tasman Trader. This charter extension will generate more than $3m of revenues for us over the next twelve months enhancing our cash flows during a challenging year for the containership sector. Overall, we remain focused on our effort to conservatively grow the company and create superior returns for our shareholders."
As of March 19, 2012 Euroseas Ltd. fleet profile is as follows:
TC denotes time charter. All dates listed are the earliest redelivery dates under each TC.
As of March 19, 2012, Euromar's fleet profile is as follows:
(*) EM ITHAKI is expected to be delivered before 20th May 2012
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, 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, 4 Handysize containerships, 2 Feeder containerships and a multipurpose dry cargo vessel. Euroseas` 5 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 331,808 dwt, its 9 containerships have a cargo capacity of 15,855 teu and its multipurpose vessel has a cargo capacity of 22,568 dwt or 950 teu.
About Euromar LLC Euromar LLC, formed on March 25, 2010, is a joint venture of Euroseas with companies managed by Eton Park Capital Management ("Eton Park") and Rh?ne Capital ("Rh?ne"), two recognized private investment firms to form Euromar LLC, a Marshall Islands limited liability company. Eton Park's investments are made through Paros Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company, and Rh?ne's investments are made through the Cayman Islands limited companies All Seas Investors I Ltd., All Seas Investors II Ltd., and the Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership All Seas Investors III LP. Pursuant to the terms of the Joint Venture, Euroseas would invest up to $25.0 million for a 14.28% interest in the Joint Venture, while Eton Park and Rh?ne would each invest up to $75.0 million for a 42.86% interest each in the Joint Venture, for a total of $175.0 million. Euroseas has contributed $15.0 million of its $25.0 million commitment to-date.
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.
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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: euroseas@capitallink.com