Diana Shipping Inc. Announces the Sale of a Panamax Dry Bulk Vessel, the m/v Melite
October 12 2017 - 9:30AM
Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), (the “Company”), a global shipping
company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today
announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned
subsidiary (the “Owners”), a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an
unaffiliated third party (the “Buyers”), the 2004-built vessel
“Melite” for demolition, on an “as is where is” basis, with
delivery due to the Buyers by October 30, 2017, for a sale price of
approximately US$2.52 million before commissions.
The Owners of “Melite” have submitted a Notice
of Abandonment to their Hull and Machinery Underwriters, who have
not, as of today’s date, accepted this Notice, but have agreed to
the sale of the vessel on the terms outlined in the above mentioned
Memorandum of Agreement. This Notice of Abandonment forms part of
Owners’ claim against the vessel’s Hull and Machinery Underwriters,
resulting from the previously announced grounding of the vessel on
July 26, 2017, which if accepted by them, will result in the
payment to Owners of the vessel’s total insured value of
approximately US$14.0 million.
Upon completion of the aforementioned sale,
Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet will consist of 50 dry bulk vessels (4
Newcastlemax, 14 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 5 Kamsarmax and 22
Panamax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the
Company’s fleet, including the m/v Melite, is approximately 5.9
million dwt with a weighted average age of 8.2 years. A table
describing the current Diana Shipping Inc. fleet can be found on
the Company’s website, www.dianashippinginc.com. Information
contained on the Company’s website does not constitute a part of
this press release.
About the Company
Diana Shipping Inc. is a global provider of
shipping transportation services through its ownership of dry bulk
vessels. The Company’s vessels are employed primarily on medium to
long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes,
including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other
materials along worldwide shipping routes.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may
constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for
forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to
provide prospective information about their business.
Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans,
objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and
underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than
statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in
connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,”
“anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,”
“potential,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar
expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press
release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are
based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without
limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating
trends, data contained in our records and other data available from
third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were
reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently
subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are
difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we
cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these
expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other
important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements include the strength of world economies and currencies,
general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates
and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping
capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker
prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels,
availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental
rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities,
potential liability from pending or future litigation, general
domestic and international political conditions, potential
disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events,
vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors.
Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and
uncertainties.
Corporate Contact:
Ioannis Zafirakis
Director, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary
Telephone: + 30-210-9470-100
Email: izafirakis@dianashippinginc.com
Website: www.dianashippinginc.com
Investor and Media Relations:
Edward Nebb
Comm-Counsellors, LLC
Telephone: + 1-203-972-8350
Email: enebb@optonline.net
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