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DryShips to buy vessels on
strength of 'robust' bulk market
Eight vessels to be added to
fleet, five of them newbuilds
DryShips a global provider of marine transportation services for
drybulk cargoes, has announced that it has entered into agreements
with unaffiliated third parties to acquire:
One 2003 built, 51,201 dwt Supramax bulk carrier, scheduled to be
delivered in the third quarter of 2007. Upon delivery to DryShips, the
vessel will commence a bareboat charter back to the seller for a
period of between 13 and 15 months at a daily bareboat charter
rate of $27,000.
One 2002 built, 74,204 dwt Panamax bulk carrier scheduled to be
delivered in the fourth quarter of 2007.
One 2004 built, 76,500 dwt Panamax bulk carrier scheduled to be
delivered in the first quarter of 2008. (Shipping Times believes this
is the NORD MERCURY, built at Imabari Shipbuilding in 2004)
Three 180,000 dwt Capesize bulk carriers under construction in S.
Korea for delivery in the second and fourth quarters of 2009 and the
first quarter of 2010, respectively.
Two 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers under construction in China
for delivery in the first half of 2010.
The aggregate purchase price of the vessels is approximately $620
million.
Mr. George Economou, Chairman and CEO of DryShips Inc., commented: We
are pleased to
expand our fleet at a time when there is robust demand for dry bulk
shipping and freight rates are
at such attractive levels. With the latest acquisitions, we reaffirm
our commitment to maintain a
leadership position in dry bulk shipping through accretive
transactions, and our focus on
enhancing our earnings while creating shareholder value both in the
short and long term.
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