Euroseas Ltd. (Euroseas), an owner and operator of container vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for containerized cargoes, announced today a new time charter contract for its container vessel M/V Joanna. Specifically:
M/V “Joanna”, a 1,732 TEU vessel built in 1999, entered into a new time charter contract for a period between a minimum of eighteen and a maximum of twenty one months at the option of the charterer, at a gross daily rate of $16,800. The new rate will commence between April 20, 2021 and May 2, 2021 when the vessel will be redelivered from its current charterer.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: “We are pleased to announce the new charter for our vessel, M/V 'Joanna', for a minimum period of eighteen months at a rate more than twice the level of her existing employment. The new charter will secure a minimum of $9m of contracted revenues and will make an annualized EBITDA contribution of approximately $3.2m. This new charter further improves our profitability and cash flow visibility.
“The continuing strength of the containership market has allowed us to renew the charters of seven of our vessels since November of 2020 at rates, generally, more than double of their previous levels. The rate of an additional vessel in our fleet, M/V “Synergy Oakland”, is linked to a market index and is reset every three months according to market levels. Still, there are four of our vessels with legacy rates that are due to have their charters renewed over the next four months. Should these renewals reflect the current market levels, they will further increase our profitability. Our fleet is generating significant cash flow which would be available to further strengthen our balance sheet and be used for further investment or for reinstitution of dividends or a combination thereof, as always, at the discretion of our Board or Directors.”