Costamare, a US-listed owner and operator, has increased its bulker portfolio with the acquisition of two more vessels and by increasing the size of its containership–chartered fleet.
In its unaudited financial results for the first quarter on Friday, Costamare revealed that the agreements for the acquisition of two dry bulk vessels will be concluded in the second quarter of 2024.
The shipowner has agreed for the acquisition of the 2012-built, 181,415-dwt dry bulk vessel, Frontier Unity (tbr. Frontier), which is expected to be concluded within the second quarter.
At the same period the acquisition of the 2012-built, 179,895-dwt bulker Lowlands Prosperity (tbr. Prosper), will also be concluded.
Already the owner accepted delivery of one similar-sized ship. The 180,643-dwt dry bulk vessel, Miracle (ex. Iron Miracle), built in 2011, has been delivered to the shipowner.
The shipowner also gave an update about its owned charter fleet, mentioning that it the containership fleet is fully employed for the year ahead.
In the first three months of the year, Costamare also reported that 97% and 80% of its containership fleet is fixed for 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The employment of its containership fleet generated contracted revenues of $2.3 billion with a teu-weighted duration of 3.4 years.
Furthermore, it entered into more than 30 chartering agreements for the owned dry bulk fleet since the fourth quarter of 2023 earnings release.
Gregory Zikos, chief financial officer of Costamare Inc., said: “During the first quarter of the year, the company generated net income of about $94 million. As of quarter end, liquidity was close to $1.1 billion.
“In the containership sector, charter rates have seen significant improvement from the end of last year. Demolition has fallen to levels below what was experienced during the first quarter of 2023. Although cargo volumes have generally improved, the Red Sea disruption is the main reason for the improved charter market.
“We have proactively secured employment for 97% and 80% of our containership fleet for 2024 and 2025, respectively, generating contracted revenues of $2.3 billion with a remaining time charter duration of 3.4 years.
“On the dry bulk side, as part of our strategy to renew the fleet and increase its average size, we have agreed to acquire two more capesize vessels and accepted delivery of one similar-sized ship. In total, we have acquired five capesize vessels with an average age of about 12 and a half years and disposed of a total of 10 smaller sized ships with an average age of 14 years.
“Our owned dry bulk vessels continue to trade on a spot basis, while the trading platform is commercially managing a fleet of 54 ships. As mentioned in the past, we have a long-term commitment to the dry bulk sector, which has been a strategic decision for us.
“With regards to Neptune Maritime Leasing, the platform has been steadily growing, having concluded leasing transactions for 24 ships in total, on the back of a healthy pipeline extending over the coming quarters.”
