Castor Maritime Inc. Announces the En Bloc Acquisition of Two Aframax LR2 Tankers with Time Charters Attached
February 11 2021 - 9:00AM
Castor Maritime Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRM), (“Castor” or the “Company”), a
diversified global shipping company, announces that it has entered,
through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, into agreements to
purchase two 2005 Korean-built Aframax LR2 tankers from an
unaffiliated third-party seller for an aggregate purchase price of
$27.2 million.
Both vessels have attached time charter
contracts with a reputable charterer (the “Charterer”) with an
estimated remaining term of about one year, each of which shall
provide the Company with a minimum gross daily hire of $15,000 and
have a 50% profit sharing arrangement over such level based on a
predetermined formula. The Charterer has the option to extend the
duration of each contract for an additional one-year term. In
addition, the vessels have very recently completed their scheduled
special surveys and dry-dockings and are equipped with ballast
water treatment systems.
The acquisition is expected to be consummated by
taking delivery of the vessels within the first quarter of this
year and is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary
closing conditions.
Petros Panagiotidis, Chief Executive
Officer of Castor, commented:
“As we have communicated previously, we are a
Company that aims to take advantage of attractive opportunities
presented to us, as the shipping cycles evolve. Therefore, we are
very excited to be entering the tanker market, at what we believe
is an opportune time for this sector. While the tanker market may
face continued headwinds in the short to medium term, the attached
time charter contracts provide us with cash flow security while the
profit sharing arrangement allows us to benefit further should a
rate recovery materialize within their duration. In addition, we
believe that the diversification of our fleet across the dry bulk
and tanker sector provides us with a natural hedge against the
cyclicality of the shipping industry. With significant capital on
hand, we are actively continuing to look for further opportunities
to diversify and grow our fleet with the addition of high quality
tonnage.”
About Castor Maritime Inc.
Castor Maritime Inc. is an international
provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership
of oceangoing cargo vessels.
On a fully delivered basis, Castor will have a
fleet of 11 vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 1.0 million dwt,
consisting of 2 Aframax tankers and 1 Capesize, 2 Kamsarmax and 6
Panamax dry bulk vessels. Where we refer to information on a “fully
delivered basis,” we are referring to such information after giving
effect to the successful consummation of our recent vessel
acquisitions.
For more information please visit the company’s
website at www.castormaritime.com.
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”, “intend”, “estimate”, “forecast”,
“project”, “plan”, “potential”, “will”, “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. We undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. In addition to these important factors,
other important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause
actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the
forward-looking statements include general dry bulk and tanker
shipping market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire
rates and vessel values, the strength of world economies the
stability of Europe and the Euro, fluctuations in interest rates
and foreign exchange rates, changes in demand in the dry bulk and
tanker shipping industry, including the market for our vessels,
changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry
docking and insurance costs, 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, the length
and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact of public health
threats and outbreaks of other highly communicable diseases, the
impact of the expected discontinuance of LIBOR after 2021 on
interest rates of our debt that reference LIBOR, the availability
of financing and refinancing and grow our business, vessel
breakdowns and instances of off-hire, risks associated with vessel
construction, potential exposure or loss from investment in
derivative instruments, potential conflicts of interest involving
our Chief Executive Officer, his family and other members of our
senior management, and our ability to complete acquisition
transactions as planned. Please see our filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and
other risks and uncertainties. The information set forth herein
speaks only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any
intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as
a result of developments occurring after the date of this
communication.
CONTACT DETAILS
For further information please contact:
Petros PanagiotidisCastor Maritime Inc. Email:
ir@castormaritime.com
Media Contact: Kevin Karlis Capital LinkEmail:
castormaritime@capitallink.com
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