ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Paragon Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:PRGN) announced that today it took delivery of its eleventh drybulk carrier, the Golden Seas.
This 74,475 dwt 2006-built Panamax vessel has been chartered to Bunge S.A. pursuant to a time charter with a remaining period of approximately 11 to 13 months at a rate of $64,000 per day.
Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paragon, commented, "We are pleased to increase our fleet to eleven vessels with the delivery of the Golden Seas. This latest acquisition is in line with our strategy of acquiring modern vessels with secure employment for periods of one to three years, and further reduces our average fleet age to 6.5 years. Going forward, our strong balance sheet will allow us to continue building a diversified fleet through opportunistic purchases of modern vessels."
With the addition of this vessel, the Company's fleet consists of seven Panamax drybulk carriers, three Handymax drybulk carriers and one Supramax drybulk carrier, with an aggregate capacity of approximately 706,358 dwt.
About Paragon Shipping Inc.
Paragon Shipping Inc. is an Athens, Greece-based international shipping company specializing in the transportation of drybulk cargoes. The Company's current fleet consists of eleven vessels with a total carrying capacity of 706,358 dwt.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statement
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect" "pending and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.