PIRAEUS, Greece, June 26, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- FreeSeas Inc. (Nasdaq:FREE) (Nasdaq:FREEW) (Nasdaq:FREEZ) ("FreeSeas" or "the Company"), a provider of seaborne transportation for drybulk cargoes, announced today that the Free Lady, a 2003-built, 50,246 dwt Handymax vessel, has been fixed for a time charter of a duration of approximately two years at a rate of $51,150 per day. The Free Lady is expected to be delivered to FreeSeas during the second week of July, and immediately begin employment with her new charterer.
"With the delivery of the Free Lady, our fleet will comprise eight vessels," said Mr. Ion Varouxakis, President and CEO of FreeSeas. "The charter of the Free Lady that we announced today is expected to provide an income stream over the next two years equivalent to approximately half the purchase price of this five-year-old vessel. The income from the charter is expected to be immediately accretive to distributable free cash flow, and further enhance our bottom line. We continue to expect the rate environment to be strong and will leverage our fleet to achieve maximum benefits from this environment. We will also actively pursue opportunities in the sale and purchase market to identify acquisition targets and continuously renew our fleet."
FreeSeas also announced today that the Free Envoy, a 1984-built, 26,318 dwt Handysize vessel, has been fixed for a time charter of a duration of approximately one year at a rate of $32,000 per day, which is expected to commence upon completion of the vessel's scheduled dry-docking towards the end of June 2008.
Mr. Ion Varouxakis commented, "We have fixed this older vessel for a period of one year at the highest rate ever achieved by the Free Envoy, demonstrating the underlying strength of the dry-bulk market."
Including the delivery and charters announced today, FreeSeas' fleet is illustrated in the following chart:
Vessel Name DWT Vessel Year Employment
Type Built
Free Destiny 25,240 Handysize 1982 50-day time-charter at
$37,000 p/d
Free Envoy 26,318 Handysize 1984 One-year time-charter at
$32,000 p/d through
June/August 2009
Free Goddess 22,051 Handysize 1995 Two-year time-charter through
November 2009 at $19,250 p/d
Free Hero 24,318 Handysize 1995 Time-charter through February
2009 at $14,500 p/d
Free Impala 24,111 Handysize 1997 One-year time-charter through
April 2009 at $31,500 p/d
Free Jupiter 47,777 Handymax 2002 Three-year time-charter
through February 2011 at
$32,000/28,000/24,000 p/d
Free Knight 24,111 Handysize 1998 One-year time-charter through
March 2009 at $31,500 p/d
Free Lady 50,246 Handymax 2003 Two-year time-charter though
June/ September 2011 at
$51,150 p/d
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 six 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.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events and the Company's growth strategy and measures to implement such strategy, including expected vessel acquisitions. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "anticipates," "hopes," "estimates," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, changes in the demand for dry bulk vessels; competitive factors in the market in which the Company operates; risks associated with operations outside the United States; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.