Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Natasha Boyden with Cantor Fitzgerald. Please proceed.
Natasha Boyden - Cantor Fitzgerald
The returns for the Kittiwake this morning was in a great rate – stronger than we’re expecting. We have several other vessels coming of charter, this turnaround, I think you have one on fixed newbuild, given - giving me just the Kittiwake for one year do you plan to give rest of the two vessels one year you’re looking perhaps maybe for two or three years, the other two coming on?
Sophocles Zoullas
I think Natasha, the Kittiwake charter, the timing of it and the way we did this charter is really a very good example of how we look to charter the summer bulks and then the newbuilds. Basically what happened is after we did our earnings release early in the evening we got a bid an off market private negotiation started on the Kittiwake and we opportunistically saw a rate for a year that effectively equaled about what these ships earning in the sport market currently. So, it was an off market charter that we opportunistically took advantage of in and chartered it for a year, allowing us to get it chance to re-charter the ship again in 12 months and in fact, the market is so, strong right now, we could re-charter the Kittiwake in its open position in 2009 even today. So the reason we chose a one year carter is because, we like to right, we thought it was close to this spot market rates for these ships currently, but we lock it in with the one year charter with obviously continues revenues and no interruption between voyage to voyage and it gives the ability to also re-charter at even today's market at these strong numbers.
Natasha Boyden
Okay, but the other vessels coming off, because typically I think you can forego more for the two to three years. Was I correct in saying that?
Sophocles Zoullas
Yes. No, you're 100% correct. I would say the best way to characterize our chartering strategy going forward is opportunistic and probably to compare it to the way, I would have defined our chartering strategy maybe 12 months ago, I would have called it conservative, because we were chartering ships about nine months early, because we had, much smaller company with a different dividend policy and less contracted revenues and with a smaller fleet we were very, very conservative. So, I would say we are shifting from a conservative chartering strategy to an opportunistic strategy and you can see us probably, I would say charter ships, within that bandwidth that you mentioned and the next one, if we get a bit that we like for a two year rate and we think the differential between the one and two year rate is not that much maybe the next one will be a two year rate. So, I don’t want to -- I want to answer your question and give you all the information you need, I would say opportunistic is the way to characterize. So I am not going to say because we did the Kittiwake of one year all of the future charters are going to be a one year.
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »
