Greece’s Euroseas is keeping a 25-year-old feeder boxship in service after clinching a lucrative new charter.
The Nasdaq-listed company said the 1,732-teu Joanna (built 1999) will start a new deal with a “top-tier” liner company after a scheduled drydocking for its fifth special survey.
This is expected towards the end of October.
The Joanna will then earn an average of $16,500 per day for between 23 and 25 months at the charterer’s option.
The ship currently has a deal in place until August at $13,500 per day.
Chairman and chief executive Aristides Pittas said he was very pleased with the profitable new charter.
“The current strength of the market has allowed us to prolong the vessel’s life by taking the vessel through its fifth special survey, resulting in higher overall earnings for our shareholders over the duration of the new charter,” he added.
“The term and rate … are indicative of the current strength of the market,” Pittas explained.
The deal is expected to contribute about $6.4m of Ebitda for the minimum contracted period.
Charter coverage for the rest of 2024 has been lifted to 92% as a result.
Pittas said the agreement “also increases our charter coverage for 2025 to about 40%”.
In May, the owner saw profitability decline for a second consecutive quarter, weighed down by drydocking costs.
The Athens-based company posted net income of $20m in the first quarter, down 30% year on year and its lowest since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Euroseas kept its dividend payment unchanged at $0.60 per share, as the profit drop was due mostly to one-off factors amid a generally robust charter market environment.
Results included $5.6m in dry-docking expenses, up from $600,000 last year.
