DryShips Sells 17 Bulkers, Rest of the Fleet Up for Grabs

Owner of drybulk carriers DryShips Inc. has entered into firm sales agreements with entities controlled by the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, George Economou, to sell 17 vessels.

The 17 vessels, comprised of 13 Capesize and 4 Panamax bulk carriers, are being sold for an aggregate price of USD 377 million, DryShips said.

The sale includes the ships’ existing employment agreements and the assumption of USD 236.7 million of debt as of September 10, 2015, associated with some of the vessels.

“All of the individual transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015 and certain transactions remain subject to the approval of the applicable lending banks. These transactions were approved by the independent directors of the company,” the company said in a release.

As a result of the sale, DryShips expects to recognize an impairment charge of approximately USD 373 million in its results for the third quarter of 2015.

In addition, the company’s Board of Directors has decided to classify all of the remaining vessels in the fleet, comprised of 20 Panamax and 2 Supramax bulk carriers, as held for sale, and as a result the company expects to recognize an additional impairment charge of approximately USD 422 million in its results for the third quarter of 2015.

The move follows the sale of six Aframax tankers to entities controlled by Economou in June this year. The tankers’ en-bloc sales price amounts to USD 291 million, DryShips said in an announcement. The sale, which was announced in March, relates to the following ships: Belmar, Calida, Alicante, Mareta, Saga and Daytona.

DryShips owns a fleet of 39 drybulk carriers, comprising 13 Capesize, 24 Panamax and 2 Supramax with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 4.3 million tons.