Euroseas has sold its oldest, smallest containership for scrap at higher-than-market value.

The Aristides Pittas-led boxship owner signed an agreement to offload the 1,169-teu Ninos (built 1990) for $2.46m, leaving it with 15 vessels in its fleet.

The ship's demolition value is $1.98m, according to VesselsValue.

The deal is expected to be finalised before the end of this month, the New York-listed company said.

Euroseas' other 15 ships — five panamaxes, five sub-panamaxes, four handy containers and a post-panamax — range in age from 11 years to 19 years.

"We are cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the containership market across all segments as fleet growth over the next couple of years is expected to be low by recent trends," chief executive Pittas said in a statement.

"We are encouraged with the starting recovery of the charter market in late July 2020, but we still believe that the economic uncertainties remain high due to both the possibility of recurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing trade tensions between the US and China, which affect the containership market."

Longer fixtures

Despite these uncertainties, the Greek owner has managed to extend fixtures on two ships.

On Monday, the company extended a 13-month time charter for the 5,600-teu Akinada Bridge (built 2001) by up to 13 months for $17,250 per day and then for another 12 months at $20,000 per year.

The extended employments will begin on 30 October.

Further, Euroseas said "the charterers of Synergy" are exercising an option to extend its charter for another eight months to 12 months at a rate determined by the Contex-4,250 Index less 10%.

The index's rate, which will be applied on 23 October, stood at $15,369 on 17 September but can change every Tuesday and Thursday.

Euroseas did not say which one of its four 2,805-teu Synergy ships — the Synergy Antwerp (built 2008) and Synergy Busan, Synergy Keelung and Synergy Oakland (all built 2009) — is declaring the option.

However, the company's website shows that the Synergy Oakland was last chartered at the aforementioned Contex rate.

"The strength of the intermediate size containership market has provided us with an opportunity to extend the charter of our C/V Akinada Bridge at a rate that will significantly contribute to our cash flow for the following year," Pittas said.

"Its contribution will complement the contributions of our 15 intermediate and feeder vessels, a segment on which we are focusing our growth strategy and where we aspire to leverage our position as the only US public platform of smaller containerships to consolidate other vessels or fleets."

Euroseas shares, which trade on the Nasdaq stock market as ESEA, slipped 0.9% to $2.28 by late afternoon trading on Monday.