Diana Shipping has launched an effort to buy up its own slumping shares as the bulker owner locked in three of its ships into time charters in an effort to stick to its consistent chartering strategy.

The Greek outfit launched a tender offer to buy nearly 3.3m of its New York-listed shares, which would take 4% of its float off the market.

The outfit aims to pay $4.25 per share.

That is just above Friday's closing price of $3.97 per share, but it represents a significant discount on the 52-week high of $6.36 reached in October, before bulker owner share prices started spiralling downward along with the spot market.

The tender is scheduled to last until 21 December, but it is conditioned on Diana's delayed plan to spin-off OceanPal, which will own three of the shipowner's older bulkers.

A source with knowledge of the tender described the effort as a response to a decline in the company's share price that was disproportionate compared to the bulker market decline in recent weeks.

The source likened the tender to buying vessels today at a discount. "Except they're your own vessels," he said.

Recently, HC Wainwright analyst Magnus Fyhr calculated that the company's net asset value is $7.48 per share, meaning Friday's closing stock price represented a 46.9% discount.

But that price also represented a seven-day slump of 18.1%, making Diana's shares the week's worst-performing equity among US-listed shipping stocks after it delayed the planned OceanPal spin-off and a dividend to shareholders.

Meanwhile, Diana said revealed that it signed charters worth at least $21.1m on three of its bulkers, as the shipowner stuck to its time charter strategy despite the recent slumps.

Snapshot: Diana Shipping

Diana Shipping is a Greek tonnage provider focused on the dry bulk sector.

Headquarters: Athens

Stock listing: New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DSX

Leadership: Symeon Palios, chairman; Semiramis Paliou, chief executive; Anastasios Margaronis, president; Ioannis Zafirakis, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer; Eleftherios Papatrifon, chief operating officer

Fleet: 36 dry bulk vessels made up of four newcastlemaxes, 12 capesizes, five post-panamaxes, five kamsarmaxes and ten panamaxes

The company said bulker operator SwissMarine chartered the 93,200-dwt post-panamax Alcmene (built 2010) for $17,100 per day, minus a 5% commission, until at least 20 December 2022.

The charterer has the option to hold onto the ship until 5 March of 2023.

The contract begins on 24 November.

Meanwhile, Cargill snapped up the 179,400-dwt GP Zafirakis (built 2014) for $22,750 per day, minus a 5% commission.

The charter starts on 3 December and is scheduled to last until at least 1 November 2022, with the US agricultural giant's Geneva-based Cargill International subsidiary holding able to hold onto the ship until the end of December 2022.

The deal represents an earnings boost for the capesize ship, which had been on a charter with Koch Shipping at a rate of $13,200 per day, minus commissions.

But the rate is slightly lower than current spot rates for capesize bulkers, which the Baltic Exchange estimated at $32,210 per day on Monday.

And it is below Clarksons' $25,000-per-day estimate on Friday for a one-year contract on a 180,000-dwt vessel, which represents a rebound on the prior week's assessment at almost $23,400 per day.

Meanwhile, Cargill International also chartered Diana's 77,100-dwt Ismene (built 2013) for $18,500 per day, minus a 4.75% commission.

The contract will see the ship remain in Cargill's hands until at least 15 December of next year, with the latest redelivery date on 15 February 2023.

The rate is better than the $16,500 per day that the ship had been earning on its previous charter.

And the latest charter is below the latest Baltic Exchange spot market average of $20,600 per day on Monday.

But it is in line with Clarksons $18,500-per-day rate assessment for a year contract on a 75,000-dwt panamax bulker, which marks a decline from the $30,400 per day that a shipowner could get on a similar deal in October.

Diana is typically undeterred by such market swings, as the Semiramis Paliou-led owner of 36 bulkers is known for sticking to a consistent time charter strategy.

Diana typically announces one charter at a time, but a market source explained that in a period of declining rates, charterers handed back vessels earlier in their contracts' redelivery window.

The delivery dates in the new contracts are staggered in what is seen as a bid to keep Diana on its regular chartering schedule.

The latest deals came after Diana secured time charters at what Fyhr described as attractive rates for nine panamaxes, kamsarmaxes and post-panamaxes at an average rate of just under $25,900 per day, and two capesizes at an average of $33,400 per day.