IMO ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
Are IMO regulations tough enough to keep national governments from imposing stricter measures?

Yes--Mostly
Only partly
No--expect a slew of regional regs!

Marine Log

August 6, 2007

DryShips buys eight ships

Athens headquartered bulker specialist DryShips, Inc., (NasdaqGS:DRYS) says it has entered into agreements with unaffiliated third parties that will see it pay about $620 million to acquire eight ships.

The agreements cover:

One 2003 built, 51,201 dwt Supramax bulk carrier, scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2007. On delivery to DryShips, the vessel will commence a bareboat charter back to the seller for a period of between 13 and 15 months at a daily bareboat charter rate of $27,000.

One 2002 built, 74,204 dwt Panamax bulk carrier scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2007.

One 2004 built, 76,500 dwt Panamax bulk carrier scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2008.

Three 180,000 dwt Capesize bulk carriers under construction in South Korea for delivery in the second and fourth quarters of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010, respectively.

Two 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers under construction in China for delivery in the first half of 2010.

DryShips intends to finance the acquisition of the vessels mainly through operating cash and additional borrowings.

Chairman and CEO George Economou commented: "We are pleased to expand our fleet at a time when there is robust demand for dry bulk shipping and freight rates are at such attractive levels. With the latest acquisitions, we reaffirm our commitment to maintain a leadership position in dry bulk shipping through accretive transactions, and our focus on enhancing our earnings while creating shareholder value both in the short and long term."

MORE NEWS STORIES