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During 2008, we avoided investing in the drybulk market, acquiring only one containership with a 3-year charter. However, the drop in vessel prices at the end of last year has made fleet renewal and expansion economically attractive again. The current purchase marks our third dry bulk acquisition during this year for approximately the same total cost as it would have cost us to buy just one such vessel before September 2008. As with the previous two acquisitions, we believe that we will be able to finance about 50% of the acquisition price with bank debt. While we maintain our cautious short term outlook for both the drybulk and container markets due to the high vessel orderbooks and the uncertain global economy we are evaluating signs of a possible market recovery in both sectors which have been demonstrated by improved drybulk earnings and a reduction in the number of containerships laid-up. We are confident that the strength of our balance sheet and the low cost structure of our operations will enable us to navigate through this challenging period and grow the fleet further at attractive low prices." About Euroseas Ltd. Euroseas Ltd. was formed on May 5, 2005 under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to consolidate the ship owning interests of the Pittas family of Athens, Greece, which has been in the shipping business over the past 136 years. Euroseas trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker ESEA. Euroseas operates in the dry cargo, drybulk and container shipping markets. Euroseas` operations are managed by Eurobulk Ltd., an ISO 9001:2000 certified affiliated ship management company, which is responsible for the day-to-day commercial and technical management and operations of the vessels. Euroseas employs its vessels on spot and period charters and through pool arrangements. The Company has a fleet of 16 vessels, including 3 Panamax drybulk carriers, 1 Handymax drybulk carrier, 1 handysize drybulk carrier, 3 Intermediate container ship, 5 Handysize container ships, 2 Feeder container ships and a multipurpose dry cargo vessel. Euroseas` 4 drybulk carriers have a total cargo capacity of 296,479 dwt, its 10 container ships have a cargo capacity of 17,787 teu and its 1 multipurpose vessel has a cargo capacity of 22,568 dwt or 950 teu. The Company has also entered into an agreement to acquire an additional Panamax drybulk carrier, to be delivered in March 2009, thereby expanding its total fleet to 16 vessels. Euroseas Ltd. Press Release |
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