Diana Shipping announced a time charter of a capesize bulker to Koch Shipping at a much stronger rate than the vessel's last employment.
The 179,000-dwt Seattle (built 2011)is being fixed at a gross rate of $11,700 per day, less a 5% commission. The charter, which starts 6 February, will last from 14 to 17 months.
As exclusively reported in TradeWinds, Koch Shipping is looking to build a chartered-in bulker fleet of some 30 vessels. The transportation arm of the second largest, privately held US company is looking at time charters for periods of 12 to 16 months.
For its part, the Simeon Palios-led Diana and its dry bulk peers have been enjoying much stronger time-charter rates than a year ago. It last fixed out the Seattle a year ago to SwissMarine for $7,300 per day.
