Diana Shipping , a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and bareboat charter-in of dry bulk vessels, announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell one of its dry bulk vessels, the m/v Baltimore, to OceanPal, a related party. The aggregate sale price of the vessel is $22.0 million, 20% of which was paid upon signing of the Memorandum of Agreement and 80% of which will be paid upon the delivery of the vessel in the form of newly issued preferred shares of OceanPal Inc. The terms of the preferred shares will be mutually agreeable between the Company and OceanPal Inc., and are expected to include a preferred dividend and to be convertible into OceanPal Inc. common shares at any time. The aggregate sale price was agreed upon based on the average of two independent broker vessel valuations, adjusted for a scheduled drydocking of the vessel prior to delivery to OceanPal Inc. and taking into account the share-based component of the consideration.
The m/v Baltimore is a 2005-built Capesize dry bulk vessel having a carrying capacity of 177,243 dwt. Delivery to the buyer is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022 following the completion of the vessel’s scheduled drydocking. The sale and purchase of the vessel was made pursuant to OceanPal Inc.’s exercise of a right of first refusal granted by the Company on six identified vessels (including the m/v Baltimore) based on an agreement dated November 8, 2021. The sale of the m/v Baltimore to OceanPal Inc. was approved by a committee of independent members of the Company’s Board of Directors.
Upon completion of the aforementioned sale, Diana Shipping Inc.’s owned and bareboat chartered-in fleet will consist of 34 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 11 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax and 8 Panamax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our fleet, including the m/v Baltimore, is approximately 4.5 million dwt with a weighted average age of 10.38 years. A table describing the current Diana Shipping Inc. fleet can be found on the Company’s website, www.dianashippinginc.com. Information contained on the Company’s website does not constitute a part of this press release.
