Paragon orders Kamsarmax trio

MARCH 6, 2014 —Athens headquartered Paragon Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: PRGN) says it has signed shipbuilding contracts for three eco-design 81,800 Kamsarmax dry bulk carriers. They will be built at China’s Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. Two of the newbuildings are scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2015 and one is scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2015. The price tag for the trio $91.65 million.

Chairman and CEO, Michael Bodouroglou commented: “We are pleased to announce the purchase of three more eco-design vessels that are a direct complement to our current fleet. With this order, we have increased our newbuilding orderbook to seven drybulk vessels and one containership, which brings our total fleet to 22 vessels and improves our fleet profile significantly. We believe we are at the start of a strong year for the drybulk market and are positioning Paragon to take advantage of an improving market.”

Kamsarmax ships, larger than panamax, are suitable for berthing at the Port of Kamsar (Guinea), where the major loading terminal of bauxite is restricted to vessels not more than 229 m LOA.