Genco sells handymax vessel

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. Sep 10 announced that it has reached an agreement to sell the Genco Commander, a 1994-built handymax vessel, to Dan Sung Shipping Co. Ltd. for $44.45mn less a 2% brokerage commission payable to a third party.

The company expects to realize a net gain of approximately $24mn from the sale of the vessel in Q4 2007 and plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt following its recent agreements to acquire a total of 15 drybulk vessels.

The delivery of the Genco Commander is expected to take place upon the expiration of the vessel’s current time charter, between Oct 1, 2007 and Dec 31, 2007.

“With the sale of the Genco Commander at an attractive price, management continues to capitalize on the strong fundamentals in the drybulk industry,” said Robert Gerald Buchanan, president.

“Upon completing the sale of one of our oldest vessels,” Buchanan added, “and after the expected delivery to Genco of the remaining 13 drybulk vessels Genco agreed to purchase earlier this year, the average age of our fleet will improve to approximately 7.5 years, well below the industry average.”