Greek Nasdaq-listed boxship owner Euroseas has sold three of its eldest vessels for scrap.
In its second quarter results, the company revealed the sale of the 1995-built 1,452 teu Manolis P, the 2000-built 2,506 teu EM Oinousses and the 1993-built 1,169 teu Kuo Hsiung.
The sales were completed last month for a total of around $7.6m, of which $7m was used to repay the outstanding loans on the vessels. VesselsValue data shows all three of the vessels as dead, having been sent to Pakistan for demolition.
Euroseas, which has 16 boxships left in its fleet after this latest sale, reported a net income of $1.3m for the quarter from revenues of $13.5m.
Commenting on the results, chairman and CEO of Euroseas Aristides Pittas said: “The second quarter of 2020 turned out to be highly profitable despite the challenges of the pandemic which affected the charter rates of our vessels in the second half of the period and the numerous operational difficulties that we encountered. We have responded quickly to address the possibility of cash flow squeeze issues by agreeing with certain of our banks to defer installments and relax restricted cash covenants in case such liquidity is needed. At the same time, certain planned sales of our vessels for scrap were delayed and eventually completed in Q3 at lower prices, as a result of lockdowns and declines in scrap steel demand. In addition, port lockdowns have affected our ability to change crew on board our vessels. We have taken relevant measures to ensure our crew members’ and shore employees’ health and safety, despite the ongoing hurdles and travel restrictions imposed by lockdowns around the world.
“Looking forward, however, we are encouraged with the starting recovery of the charter market in late July 2020, but we still believe that the economic uncertainties remain high due to both the possibility of recurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, which affect the containership markets. The record low orderbook remains a positive characteristic of the containership sector which would allow a resumption of trade to normal levels to be translated in much improved market rates. In the meantime, our focus remains on ensuring that our vessels remain employed. On the strategic front, we continue to evaluate opportunities for mergers with other fleets or vessel acquisitions by issuing shares at non-dilutive levels.”
