Diana Adds Two Bulkers to Its Fleet

Dry bulk vessel owner Diana Shipping Inc. has added two vessels to its fleet, a second-hand Kamsarmax and a newbuild Capesize bulker.

Diana signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, an agreement to acquire from a different unaffiliated third party a new-building Capesize dry bulker of approximately 180,000 dwt, being built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, for a purchase price of USD 43 million.

The vessel, to be named New Orleans, is expected to be delivered to Diana during August 2015. Diana said that the transaction is subject to final negotiations and execution of a novation agreement among the builders, the buyer and the seller.

The company has also signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to acquire from an unaffiliated third party the m/v Torm Island, a 2010 built Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel of 82,194 dwt, for a purchase price of USD 18.05 million.

The vessel (to be renamed Medusa) is expected to be delivered to the buyer during the second quarter of 2015.

Excluding the newly acquired vessels, as well as two new-building Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels and one new-building Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel expected to be delivered to the company during the second quarter of 2016, Diana’s fleet currently consists of 40 dry bulk vessels.

As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the company’s fleet, excluding the five vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 4.6 million dwt with a weighted average age of 7.1 years.