Hellenic Carriers Limited, (“Hellenic” or the “Company”) (AIM: HCL), an international provider of marine transportation services for dry bulk cargoes, announces that, in continuation of its fleet renewal program, its wholly owned subsidiary Thasos Shipping Co. Ltd. (“Thasos”), the ship owning company of the M/V Hellenic Sky has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (‘MoA’) with an unaffiliated third party for the sale of its vessel at a gross price of US$10.1 million in cash.
M/V Hellenic Sky is a 68, 591 dwt Panamax vessel built in 1994 at Sasebo Heavy Industries, Japan. According to the terms of the MoA, delivery to the new owners is expected to take place between 15 April and 30 May 2012 in Thasos’ option. The vessel was initially acquired in July 2003 for a total consideration of US$13.2 million. During the past nine years of its operation, the vessel has contributed approximately US$19.4 million to the Company’s net profit. Taking into account the net book value of the vessel and the sale related expenses, the Company expects to realize a net book gain of approximately US$2.5 million on this sale.
The Company’s intention is to use the proceeds from the sale of this vessel towards future acquisition opportunities in the dry bulk sector. In particular, the lender of M/V Hellenic Sky has agreed to transfer the proceeds from the sale as bank financing towards the acquisition of a modern second hand bulk carrier, within a period of 18 months from completion of the sale.
About Hellenic Carriers Limited
Hellenic Carriers Limited manages through Hellenic Shipmanagement Corp. a fleet of dry bulk vessels that transport iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, cement, alumina, and other dry bulk cargoes worldwide. The fleet consists of five vessels, comprising three Panamaxes, one Supramax and one Handymax with an aggregate carrying capacity of 303, 141 dwt and a weighted average age of 16.5 years plus two new building Kamsarmax vessels currently on order, with an aggregate carrying capacity of about 164, 000 dwt. Following the delivery of the M/V Hellenic Sky to her new owners the Company’s fleet will consist of two Panamaxes, one Supramax and one Handymax with an aggregate carrying capacity of 234, 550 dwt plus two Kamsarmax vessels on order. Hellenic Carriers is listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange under ticker HCL.
