Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) announced on Tuesday (Feb16) that it has entered into a definitive agreement with an unaffiliated third party to purchase a Capesize vessel.
The Vessel was built in 2006 at a reputable shipyard in Japan, has a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 177,000 deadweight tons and shall be renamed M/V Tradership. The Vessel is expected to be delivered towards the end of the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. Following her delivery, the size of the Company’s fleet will increase to 12 Capesize vessels with an aggregate cargo capacity of approximately 2,103,042 dwt.
The special survey and ballast water system installation for the Vessel were completed recently by the current owner and therefore the Company does not anticipate incurring any off-hire or significant capital expenditure for this Vessel at least for the next two years. The gross purchase price of $17 million is expected to be funded with cash on hand.
Stamatis Tsantanis, the Company’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, stated:
“We are pleased to announce another timely acquisition of a high quality Capesize vessel built by a first-class shipyard in Japan. The addition of the M/V Tradership to our fleet is further increasing our operating leverage as a leading pure-play Capesize company.
The Vessel is expected to be delivered to us promptly, during a greatly improved Capesize market. The average of the 5 time-charter routes of the Baltic Capesize is currently about 60% higher than the same period average for the last 5 years, while the Capesize forward freight contracts (“FFA”) for the second half of 2021 are trading at above $19,400 per day. Based on these FFA rates, the incremental net revenue from this acquisition may exceed $5 million for the remainder of the year assuming delivery at the end of the first quarter of 2021.
Seanergy is well placed to benefit from the substantial improvement of the market with its entire fleet currently employed under spot charters or long-term index-linked time charters, directly tied to the Capesize index.
We strongly believe that our segment represents the best fundamentals in the dry bulk industry. We will continue to actively pursue accretive growth transactions aiming to improve shareholder returns for the years to come.”