Euroseas Ltd., an owner and operator of drybulk and container carrier vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for drybulk and containerized cargoes, announced yesterday that four subsidiaries of the Company have entered into time charter agreements for the following vessels: • M/V Despina P, a 1,932 teu, 1990 built handysize containership, has been extended for about six months at a gross daily rate of $ 6,000 with the new rate applicable from the 15th of March 2013.
• M/V Captain Costas, a 1,732 teu, 1992 built handysize containership, has been extended for about one year at a gross daily rate of $6,500; the new rate will apply from the 15th of April 2013 with the charterer having the option to extent the charter for a further year at a gross daily rate of $11,500.
• M/V Aggeliki P, a 2,008 teu, 1998 built intermediate containership, has been chartered for about one year at a gross daily rate of $6,000 starting on the 8th of March 2013.
• M/V Aristides N P, a 69,268 dwt, 1993 built Panamax bulk carrier, has been chartered for about 11 to 14 months at a gross daily rate of $7,500. The charter will commence upon completion of its scheduled drydocking which has already commenced and is expected to be completed before the end of March 2013.
Following the above mentioned charters, as of March 15, 2013 approximately 37% of the Company's remaining container fleet days for 2013 and approximately 4% in 2014 are secured under period charters and are protected from market fluctuations. The Company's drybulk fleet is 75% covered in 2013 and 25 in 2014 via time charter contracts and participation in pools.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas, commented: "We are pleased to announce that we have concluded these time charter agreements which provide about $8.2m of secured revenues. Our entire fleet continues to be fully employed despite this challenging environment. We look forward to capitalizing on an anticipated stronger containership and drybulk market in the near future with the remaining of our vessels coming up for re-chartering in the rest of 2013 and 2014."
Euroseas Ltd. was formed on May 5, 2005 under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to consolidate the ship owning interests of the Pittas family of Athens, Greece, which has been in the shipping business over the past 136 years. Euroseas trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker ESEA since January 31, 2007.
Euroseas operates in the dry cargo, drybulk and container shipping markets. Euroseas' operations are managed by Eurobulk Ltd., an ISO 9001:2008 certified affiliated ship management company, which is responsible for the day-to-day commercial and technical management and operations of the vessels. Euroseas employs its vessels on spot and period charters and through pool arrangements.
The Company has a fleet of 15 vessels, including 4 Panamax drybulk carriers and 1 Handymax drybulk carrier, 3 Intermediate containership, 4 Handysize containerships, 2 Feeder containerships and a multipurpose dry cargo vessel. Euroseas` 5 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 331,808 dwt, its 9 containerships have a cargo capacity of 15,855 teu and its multipurpose vessel has a cargo capacity of 22,568 dwt or 950 teu.
Source: Euroseas Ltd.

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