Safe Bulkers will install Erma First BWTS fleetwide

Erma First FIT BWTS

NOVEMBER 8, 2017 — Monaco headquartered Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE: SB) reports that it has reached an agreement with the manufacturer to install Erma First ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) in all its vessels — currently, nearly 40 ships.

The Erma First BWTS last month became the first full flow electrolysis ballast water management system to receive U.S. Coast Guard Type Approval.

Safe Bulkers says it has cooperated intensively with Perama, Grreece based Erma First to optimize and adapt the system for its vessels.

The first installation of an Erma First in a Safe Bulkers vessel is expected to take place in at the next drydocking of a company vessel, scheduled for first quarter 2018.

Installation on all Safe Bulkers vessels and the related capital expenditure is expected to occur over a period of five years in line with the company’s drydocking schedule.

Safe Bulkers President Loukas Barmparis said, “We decided to install in all our vessels Erma First BWTS, which is designed and produced in Greece, starting at an early stage which provides us with certain commercial and financial advantages, including availability of equipment, minimization of down time, unrestricted worldwide trading the following years and the financial benefits of a block order,

As of October 25, 2017, the Safe Bulkers’ operational fleet included 38 dry bulk vessels, with an average age of 7.3 years and an aggregate carrying capacity of 3,421,800 million dwt. The fleet consists of 14 Panamax class vessels, nine Kamsarmax class vessels, 12 post- Panamax class vessels and three Capesize class vessels, all built 2003 onwards. A further newbuild Kamsarmax class vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2018.