ATHENS, Greece, Oct. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Performance Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: PSHG), (“we” or the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of tanker vessels, today announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 2007-built Aframax tanker vessel “M/T P. Fos”, with delivery to the buyer during November 2022, for a gross sale price of US$34.0 million.
Commenting on the sale, Andreas Michalopoulos, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, stated:
“Aframax tanker values have appreciated significantly during this year, and although the tanker market continues to enjoy strong fundamentals and prospects, we believe that the sale price we concluded for M/T P. Fos renders the disposal tactically advantageous and financially attractive. The sale is part of our fleet renewal process as we expect to use the net cash proceeds from this disposition estimated at US$25 million, along with a marginal level of new debt, to acquire a younger Aframax tanker with possibly higher specifications. With this sale, we also reduce the average age and increase the competitiveness of our fleet. These actions, when combined with the deliveries of our newly acquired tankers, M/T P. Aliki and M/T P. Monterey, anticipated to take place during the next two months, will position our Company to take advantage of the promising charter rate environment and generate strong cash flow going forward.”
About the Company
Performance Shipping Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of tanker vessels. The Company’s current fleet is employed on spot voyages, through pool arrangements and on time charters.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts, including with respect to the delivery of the vessels we have agreed to acquire.
The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “targets,” “likely,” “would,” “could,” “seeks,” “continue,” “possible,” “might,” “pending” and similar expressions, terms or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including, without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs, or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker shipping industry, changes in the supply of vessels, changes in worldwide oil production and consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, crew costs, drydocking and insurance costs, our future operating or financial results, availability of financing and refinancing including with respect to the vessels we have agreed to acquire, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, the length and severity of epidemics and pandemics, including the ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on the demand for seaborne transportation of petroleum and other types of products, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions or events, including “trade wars”, armed conflicts including the war in Ukraine, the imposition of new international sanctions, acts by terrorists or acts of piracy on ocean-going vessels, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, labor disputes or political events, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors. Please see our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
