Diana Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, has announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it entered into a time charter contract with SwissMarine Services S.A., Geneva, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v Seattle.
The gross charter rate is US$7,300 per day minus a 4.75% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about eleven (11) months to maximum fourteen (14) months. The charter is expected to commence on December 9, 2015.
The “Seattle” is a 179,362 dwt Capesize dry bulk vessel built in 2011.
This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$2.3 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.
In addition, the Company announced that, through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, it signed two addenda with China Shipbuilding Trading Company, Limited and Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd., to extend the delivery dates of the two Newcastlemax dry bulk carriers, Hull No. H2548 and Hull No. H2549, by approximately five months.
The expected delivery dates are now in the third and fourth quarters of 2016.
Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 43 dry bulk vessels (2 Newcastlemax, 14 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 4 Kamsarmax and 20 Panamax).
The Company also expects to take delivery of one new-building Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel and one new-building Newcastlemax dry bulk vessel during the third quarter of 2016 as well as one new-building Newcastlemax dry bulk vessel during the fourth quarter of 2016.
As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the Company’s fleet, excluding the three vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 5.0 million dwt with a weighted average age of 7.28 years.
