Diana Shipping Inc. announced that yesterday it signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to purchase from an unaffiliated third party the m/v “JK Pioneer”, a 2013 built Capesize dry bulk vessel of 179,134 dwt, for a price of US$52,000,000. The vessel, to be renamed “P. S. Palios”, is expected to be delivered to the buyer in mid-November 2013.
The vessel is currently chartered to Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG, Luebeck, Germany, at a gross charter rate of US$11,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties. Based on the existing charterparty, the charterer has the option to redeliver the vessel at any time before, but not later than March 30, 2014.
Excluding the newly acquired vessel, as well as a Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel expected to be delivered to the Company on October 10, 2013, Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 34 dry bulk vessels (2 Newcastlemax, 9 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 2 Kamsarmax and 18 Panamax). In addition, the Company also expects to take delivery of 2 new-building Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessels between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, and 2 new-building Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels during the second quarter of 2016. As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our fleet, excluding the six vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 3.8 million dwt with a weighted average age of 6.7 years.
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Diana Shipping, October 8, 2013