New York-listed Eagle Bulk Shipping is cooperating in the early stages of a US government investigation into the alleged improper disposal of ballast water from one of its vessels.
Eagle disclosed the US probe in one paragraph of a filing with US securities regulators on what otherwise dealt with its registration of shares issued recently to two shipowners in connection with the acquisition of four bulkers.
Connecticut-based Eagle said the ballast water is alleged to have entered the engine-room bilges of an unidentified vessel during a repair.
“Although at this time we do not believe that this matter will have a material impact on our company, our financial condition or results of operations, we cannot determine what penalties, if any, will be imposed,” Eagle said in the filing.
“We have posted a surety bond as security for any fines or penalties that may be issued, and the company is cooperating fully with the US government in its investigation of this matter.”
An Eagle spokesman told TradeWinds in a message that he was unable to provide further details.
“It would be inappropriate for us to make any comment on the issue as it is an open investigation,” he said.
'Extremely serious'
“However, it is important to let you know that we take any such allegation extremely seriously as it would be a serious violation of all our environmental, safety and operating practices.”
Gary Vogel-led Eagle owns and operates 52 bulkers in the supramax and ultramax categories.
Eagle has a strong reputation for corporate governance, having for three consecutive years finished at the top of analyst Michael Webber’s “scorecard” of more than 50 publicly listed shipowners.
The surprise disclosure came as Eagle registered nearly 542,000 shares issued as partial payment for three Alterna Capital 2011-built supramax bulk carriers and one Scorpio Bulkers 2017-built ultramax.
Alterna received more than 329,000 Eagle shares and Scorpio some 212,000.
This is the first time Eagle has been able to use its shares in connection with vessel acquisitions.
Registering the shares is a routine matter typically undertaken by the buyer in such deals, allowing the stock to become publicly tradable by the selling shipowners.
