Diana Shipping has sealed two period charters for one capesize and one panamax as the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) remains steadily above the 1,000 mark.
The Greek bulker owner has chartered out the 180,960-dwt New Orleans (built 2015) to Koch Shipping for $11,250 per day.
Koch has fixed the vessel, which was previously hired by Swiss Marine Services at a similar rate, for 12 to 16 months.
Diana has also found employment for the 74,436-dwt Melite (built 2004) for seven to 10 months.
Unipec Global Commodities has chartered in the vessel for a daily rate of $8,000, an improvement from the vessel’s previous charter at $7,250.
Diana expects those two agreements to bring in revenue of $5.73m for the minimum scheduled charter period.
Bulker rates have improved over the past two weeks thanks to increased demand for steel and coal cargoes.
The BDI lost eight points today and stood at 1,1196 points largely due to a decline of 57 points on the capesize index.
