DryShips Sells Three Bulkers

Greek shipping company DryShips has completed the sale of its three bulker carriers, the Fakarava, Rangiroa and Negonego along with the associated bank debt, to entities controlled by the company’s chairman and CEO, George Economou.

As a result of the transaction, the company says that its total bank debt has been reduced by USD 102.1 million, and currently stands at USD 213.7 million.

The company has also agreed to sell all of its shares in Ocean Rig UDW to a subsidiary of Ocean Rig for USD 49.9 million. The money will be used to reduce the amount under the Revolver, provided to DryShips by a company controlled by its chairman and CEO and for general corporate purposes.

“We are pleased to have reached a preliminary agreement with one of our lenders to waive any events of default and we hope that the rest of the lenders follow suit, recognizing the pro-active approach of the Company to reduce its debt burden and cash flow burn,” says Ziad Nakhleh, Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

In February 2016, DryShips announced that the sale of the three bulkers had failed, adding that it had reached a settlement agreement with the charterer of these vessels for an upfront lumpsum payment and the conversion of the daily rates to index-linked time charters.

The company recently reported a full-year net loss of USD 2.8 billion for 2015. Dry Ships said that given the prolonged market downturn in the drybulk segment and the continued depressed outlook on freight rates, it was discussing restructuring of its debt facilities with lenders.

DryShips owns a fleet of 20 Panamax drybulk carriers with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 1.5 million tons, and 6 offshore supply vessels, comprising 2 platform supply and 4 oil spill recovery vessels.