PIRAEUS, Greece, Feb. 29, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- FreeSeas Inc. (Nasdaq:FREE) (Nasdaq:FREEW) (Nasdaq:FREEZ), a provider of seaborne transportation for dry bulk cargoes, announced today that the repairs of the M/V Free Jupiter have been completed and the vessel is being delivered to its charterers.
"We are extremely pleased to have our vessel fully repaired and back in service," said Ion Varouxakis, Chairman and CEO of FreeSeas. "With five vessels now in operation and two more still to be delivered over the next few weeks, we look forward to having our seven-vessel fleet producing revenue."
As previously announced, the 2002-built Handymax M/V Free Jupiter has been fixed to a three-year time charter at a rate of $32,000 per day for the first year, $28,000 per day for the second year and $24,000 per day for the third year.
"We continue to actively seek accretive opportunities in the second-hand market, and believe that underlying market fundamentals continue to be very strong," Mr. Varouxakis added.
The Company also announced today that the M/V Free Destiny, a 1982-built 25,240 dwt Handysize vessel, has been fixed to a new time charter of approximately 30 days at a rate of $25,500 per day.
With the delivery of the M/V Free Jupiter, FreeSeas' current fleet and vessels to be delivered are illustrated in the following charts:
Vessel Name Dwt Vessel Type Built Employment
Free Destiny 25,240 Handysize 1982 30-day TC at $25,500 p/d
Free Envoy 26,318 Handysize 1984 One-year TC through
Apr 2008 at $17,000 p/d
Free Goddess 22,501 Handysize 1995 Two-year TC at $19,250
p/d till November 2009
Free Hero 24,318 Handysize 1995 TC through Dec 2008/
Feb 2009 at $14,500 p/d
Free Jupiter 47,777 Handymax 2002 Three-year TC through Feb
2011 at $32,000/28,000/
24,000 p/d
Vessels to be delivered:
Vessel Name Dwt Vessel Type Built Expected Delivery
Free Impala 24,111 Handysize 1997 March 2008
Free Knight 24,111 Handysize 1998 March 2008
About FreeSeas Inc.
FreeSeas Inc. is a Marshall Islands corporation with principal offices in Piraeus, Greece. FreeSeas is engaged in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of dry bulk carriers. Currently, it has a fleet of four Handysize vessels and one Handymax vessel. FreeSeas' common stock and warrants trade on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbols FREE, FREEW and FREEZ, respectively. Risks and uncertainties are described in reports filed by FreeSeas Inc. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be obtained free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. For more information about FreeSeas Inc., please go to our corporate website, www.freeseas.gr.