Castor Maritime Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRM), (“Castor” or the “Company”), a diversified global shipping company, announces that it has entered, through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, into agreements to purchase two 2005 Korean-built Aframax LR2 tankers from an unaffiliated third-party seller for an aggregate purchase price of $27.2 million.
Both vessels have attached time charter contracts with a reputable charterer (the “Charterer”) with an estimated remaining term of about one year, each of which shall provide the Company with a minimum gross daily hire of $15,000 and have a 50% profit sharing arrangement over such level based on a predetermined formula. The Charterer has the option to extend the duration of each contract for an additional one-year term. In addition, the vessels have very recently completed their scheduled special surveys and dry-dockings and are equipped with ballast water treatment systems.
The acquisition is expected to be consummated by taking delivery of the vessels within the first quarter of this year and is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions.
Petros Panagiotidis, Chief Executive Officer of Castor, commented:
“As we have communicated previously, we are a Company that aims to take advantage of attractive opportunities presented to us, as the shipping cycles evolve. Therefore, we are very excited to be entering the tanker market, at what we believe is an opportune time for this sector. While the tanker market may face continued headwinds in the short to medium term, the attached time charter contracts provide us with cash flow security while the profit sharing arrangement allows us to benefit further should a rate recovery materialize within their duration. In addition, we believe that the diversification of our fleet across the dry bulk and tanker sector provides us with a natural hedge against the cyclicality of the shipping industry. With significant capital on hand, we are actively continuing to look for further opportunities to diversify and grow our fleet with the addition of high quality tonnage.”
