Diana Shipping has taken delivery of two N[ds_preview]ewcastlemax dry bulk vessels of approximately 208,500 dwt. that were contracted in May 2013. In addition, the Company completed a drawdown of 57.24 mill. $ with the Export-Import Bank of China.
The purpose of this drawdown is to partially finance the acquisition costs of the two newbuildings. They were contracted in May 2013.
The »San Francisco« is time chartered to Koch Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, at a gross charter rate of 11,750 $ per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 12 months to about 16 months. The charter is expected to commence tomorrow and to generate approximately 4.23 mill. $ of gross revenue.
The »Newport News« is time chartered to SwissMarine Services S.A., Geneva, for a period of minimum 22 months to maximum 26 months. The daily gross charter rate will be 24% above the BCI 2014 average of the five pre-determined time charter routes as published by the Baltic Exchange, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties.
The initial charter payment will be made on delivery of the vessel to the charterers based on the average of the five pre-determined time charter routes for the 15 days preceding the vessel‘s delivery date. At the end of the time charter period, there will be a final settlement to reflect the average daily rate of the five pre-determined time charter routes for the actual duration of the charter. The charter is expected to commence on January 9, 2017.
The Company has in addition completed a drawdown of 57.24 mill. $ from its previously announced term loan facility with the Export-Import Bank of China. The purpose of this drawdown through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries is to partially finance the acquisition cost of both the »San Francisco« as well as the »Newport News«.
Including these two newbuldings, Diana Shipping fleet currently consists of 48 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 14 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 4 Kamsarmax and 23 Panamax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the fleet is approximately 5.7 mill. dwt with a weighted average age of 7.6 years.
