DryShips expects to incur up to $100m in costs through 2020 on "future proofing" its fleet with exhaust gas scrubbers and ballast water systems.
The New York-listed owner foresees that level of spending toward as many as 1,300 off-hire days across its 19-bulker fleet as a result of their installation, begun this year.
"During 2019, the company has scheduled and started implementing an overall 'future proofing plan" for its fleet update," the company said in its first-quarter earnings report.
Economou in March announced plans to commit $350m to installing scrubbers on all but two out of more than 100 tankers and bulkers under DryShips and private company TMS.
Lower profit
DryShips's first quarter earnings saw a slight gain amid a mixed bag of results.
The company posted a $1.45m profit for the three-month period versus a $1.23m profit during the same period last year.
This modest improvement surfaced as revenue slipped to $43.1m from $44.7m while operating income fell to $4.89m from $6.3m, thanks to a 65% jump in voyage costs to $10.5m.
These drags on profit were offset, however, by total other expenses falling to $3.44m from $5.07m.
