Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq: EGLE) Tuesday announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to purchase a minimum of 6 and up to 9 Crown-63 Ultramax dry bulk sister vessels for an aggregate price of $153M, assuming all 9 ships are transacted.
The vessels, which range in age from 2 - 5 years, will be acquired from Greenship Bulk Trust, a company registered on the Norwegian OTC list. The agreement includes the outright acquisition of 6 vessels, with an additional 3 vessels contingent upon final approval from Greenship's unit holders.
Deliveries are anticipated to commence in April of this year.
Image courtesy of Eagle Bulk
Gary Vogel, Eagle Bulk's CEO, commented, "Eagle Bulk continues to execute on our fleet renewal and growth strategy, and today's announced acquisition affirms our ability to transact in a meaningful way. We are especially pleased that we were able to reach an agreement to purchase 6, and potentially 9, sister ships en bloc in a market where quality tonnage is difficult to find. We view this as a milestone transaction, as it can increase our number of vessels by over 20% while meaningfully advancing the build-out of our owner-operator business model."
Assuming the successful delivery of all 9 vessels, the Eagle Bulk fleet will consist of 50 owned vessels.
Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. is a Marshall Islands corporation headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Eagle Bulk owns one of the largest fleets of Supramax/Ultramax drybulk vessels in the world. Supramax/ Ultramax vessels, which are constructed with on-board cranes, range in size from approximately 50,000 to 65,000 dwt. The Company transports a broad range of major and minor bulk cargoes, including but not limited to coal, grain, ore, pet coke, cement and fertilizer, along worldwide shipping routes.
Source: Eagle Bulk