DryShips Inc., a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels, announced today that it has entered into agreements with unaffiliated third parties to acquire:

One 81,918 DWT Kamsarmax drybulk carrier built in 2014. The Company expects to take delivery of this vessel during the second quarter of 2017.

Two 81,129 DWT Kamsarmax drybulk carriers built in 2014. The purchase of these two second-hand Kamsarmaxes was previously announced and the Company has now physical inspected and accepted the vessels. The Company expects to take delivery of the vessels during the second quarter of 2017.

The Company will finance the total gross purchase price of approximately $68 million using cash on hand, which currently stands at $429 million.

Mr. George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented:

“We are very pleased to have further grown the size of our drybulk fleet to 21 drybulk carriers through the acquisition of three modern vessels, which will also rejuvenate the average age of our fleet. The above acquisition allows us to immediately deploy our available liquidity and is expected to be accretive to our earnings and cash flows.”

About DryShips
The Company is a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels that operate worldwide. The Company owns a fleet of (i) 13 Panamax drybulk vessels; (ii) four Newcastlemax drybulk vessels, which are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017; (iii) four Kamsarmax drybulk vessels, three second-hand vessels expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017 and one newbuilding expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2017; (iv) one very large crude carrier, which is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017; (v) one Aframax tanker newbuilding and one Aframax second-hand tanker, both of which are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017; (vi) four VLGC newbuildings, two of which are expected to be delivered in June and September 2017 and the other two before the end of 2017; and (vii) six offshore support vessels, comprising two platform supply and four oil spill recovery vessels. DryShips’ common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market where it trades under the symbol “DRYS.”

www.dryships.com. 

Capital Ship Management Corp. received a Certificate of Appreciation by the Australian Government and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority for the participation of in a Maritime Winching exercise of M/V 'Attikos', a 178,929 dwt Capesize bulk carrier.

Mr. Toby Stone, General Manager, Response, Australian Maritime Emergency Response Commander, presented to the Master, Crew and Owners of the M/V ‘Attikos’ a Certificate of Appreciation “for your professionalism, assistance and hospitality in supporting AMSA’s Maritime Officer Winching exercise off Port Kembla on 3 March 2017”.

Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, Chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. commented: “we are proud to be part of the wider maritime community and to assist safety efforts and initiatives worldwide”. 

About Capital Ship Management Corp.

Capital Ship Management Corp. (a subsidiary of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.) is a distinguished oceangoing vessel operator, offering comprehensive services in every aspect of ship management, currently operating a fleet of 57 vessels with a total dwt of 6.06 million tons approx. The fleet under management includes the vessels of Nasdaq-listed Capital Product Partners L.P. 

www.capitalship.gr 

Capital Ship Management MV Attikos Port Kembla winch training exercise group photo

Capital Ship Management MV Attikos Port Kembla winch training exercise

Certificate of Appreciation ATTIKOS

EMICERT proudly announces the successful Assessment of the Monitoring Plan for ''M/T Almi Sky'' of Almi Tankers according to MRV Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and Delegated Regulations (EU) 2016/2071 & 2072. The Monitoring Plan was prepared by Hydrus Group.

That was thefirst time that a Monitoring Plan's Assessment was completed due to the expertise and the professionalism of solely Greek companies. The proactive setup of the procedures by Almi Tankers in collaboration with Hydrus Group and timely completion of the Assessment tasks by EMICERT's experts team, have been key for flushing this task with success and has put the cornerstone for a smooth compliance with the MRV Regulation's August 2017's milestone.

EMICERT has been the first globallyISO 14065Accredited Independent Verifier for MRV Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and capitalizes more than 11 years of multinational experience in the exclusive activity of GHG Emission Verification for industrial installations, aviation operators and ships.

Celestyal Olympia Hosts Welcoming Ceremony on April 21st for The first Organized Group of Cruisers from the People’s Republic of China. In the event, Celestyal Cruises is honored for its overall contribution from Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) management and the Authority’s CEO, Capt. Fu Chengqiu.

The atmosphere on board the magnificent Celestyal Olympia was joyous today as Celestyal Cruises hosted a warm reception for the first group of 250 tourists from the People’s Republic of China to sail with the company. The reception and the subsequent “Iconic Aegean” cruise, a three-day cruise calling at beloved destinations such as Mykonos, Samos, Kusadasi, Heraklion and Santorini, marks the official commencement of the participation of Chinese tourists in Aegean cruising.   

During the event, Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) management and the Authority’s CEO, Capt. Fu Chengqiu, awarded a plaque to Mr. Kyriacos Anastassiadis, CEO of Celestyal Cruises, to reward the company’s initiatives in bringing Chinese tourists to the Aegean and for its overall and longstanding contribution to the port – the company does 70 percent of its home-porting in Piraeus and is an annual and stable user of the seaport, the largest in Greece.

The event was attended by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr. Dionisios Kalamatianos; the Deputy Mayor of Piraeus, Mr. Ioannis Mellas, the Vice President of the Greek National Tourism Organization Mrs. Angeliki Chondromatidou, and by Mr. Athanasios Liagos, member of the Board of Directors of the Piraeus Port Authority.

"We are very glad to welcome the first organized group from China after a systematic effort to promote the beauty of our country in and the incomparable experience Greek cruising provides to visitors to our country,” said Mr. Anastassiadis. “We hope our guests will enjoy the authentic Greek hospitality and warm, personalized service we offer. We want our guests from the People’s Republic of China to feel at home on board our vessels, and we have thus made sure we have Chinese guides and escorts amongst our crew and authentic Chinese cuisine on our menus. We are confident the People’s Republic of China will become one of our most important markets. We expect to host 2,000 Chinese passengers during the 2017 season. Our plan is to systematically build demand for our cruises so as to reach 50,000 passengers per year by 2021."

"We are very grateful to Celestyal Cruises for its productive cooperation and for its trust in the port of Piraeus,” said Capt. Fu Chengqiu. “The development of Piraeus as a cruise port is very important for both the local and the national economy. This is why we are upgrading its cruise infrastructure and services, in order to best highlight the great potential of the port and the Piraeus Port Authority."

Left to right, Mr. Dionisios Kalamatianos, Secretary General of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, Miss Fotini Pantiora, Consultant of the Ministry of Shipping, Mr. Athanasios Liagos, Member of the Board of Directors of the Piraeus Port Authority, Mr DENG Xiaoli, Deputy CEO of Piraeus Port Authority (PPA), CEO of the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA), Capt. Fu Cheng qiu, Mr. Kostakis Loizos, President, Celestyal Cruises, Mr. Kyriacos Anastassiadis, CEO Celestyal Cruises, Capt. Stathis Romeos, Celestyal Olympia and Mr. Capt. Georgios Koumpenas, Vice President Operations, Celestyal Cruises.

 

About Celestyal Cruises

Celestyal Cruises is the preeminent cruise line serving Greek destinations and the island of Cuba. The company operates five mid-sized ships, each one cozy enough to provide highly-personalized service to each passenger. Every cruise focuses on true cultural immersion, offering authentic, lifetime experiences wherever its vessels sail. 

Sustainability

Celestyal Cruises is deeply committed to sustainability and ethical business practice. The company supports the local communities in the destinations it visits, particularly in the field of education. Since 2015, more than 1,000 students on the islands of Milos, Patmos and Ios have enjoyed a ‘journey to knowledge’ by attending the Museums Program, an initiative by Celestyal Cruises to bring interactive exhibits from the highly-respected Herakleidon Museum to remote areas so students can learn first-hand about the connection between science, art and mathematics. Celestyal Cruises also supports cultural NGOs and promotes entrepreneurship, marine student development and child welfare.

ISO Certification

Following the successful ISO 9001/14001 auditing of three of the company’s ships and the company’s office, Celestyal Cruises’ operations are now certified in accordance with ISO 9001/14001 standards. This relates to the entire spectrum of cruise ship management including technical, hotel and crew management. The certifying authority is DNV-GL, which is by far the biggest and most respected classification society in the marine industry.

Awards

In 2017 Celestyal Cruises received four Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards, including first place in the mid-sized category: Best for Value, Best for Entertainment, Best for Shore Excursions and Best for Embarkation – the company also placed in the top 10 for Best Overall Cruise Line. In 2016 Celestyal Cruises won the Editor’s Pick award from Cruise Critic UK in the Best Value for Money (Ocean) category. The company has enjoyed recognition from in such prestigious awards as the Greek Tourism Awards (gold and silver in four categories in 2016), the Efkranti Awards and the HR Community Conference & Awards. Celestyal was also a finalist at the UK’s WAVE Awards.

 

For more information, visit www.celestyalcruises.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CelestyalCruises 

Twitter: @celestyalcruise

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/celestyalcruises 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/celestyalcruises

A new partnership between the Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology and the Greek Section of the Society of Marine Technology and Marine Engineers set up to strengthen cooperation

(by left): Mr Michael Mantzafos – H.I.M.T. Chairman, Mr John Kokarakis – Sname Greek Section

between the two organizations on their work on promoting advances in marine technology, was today signed by Mr. Michael Matzafos HIMT Chairman  and Mr. John Kokkarakis, Chairman of  SNAME Greek Section.

The Cooperation agreement reaffirms the partnership between the two societies to support each other's activities through sharing information, expertise, and common use of resources to develop joint actions and activities.

Crucially, the partnership will see the two organisations coming together to take action on promoting the concept of creating a Federation of marine societies in order to provide significant influence in the area of international maritime safety, environment  and ship operation.

Nakilat has been awarded as one of the Top Performing Public Listed Companies in Qatar by Forbes Middle East during an exclusive event themed ‘Celebrating Qatar’s Success 2017’ held on 17 April 2017.

Hosting this event in Doha for the first time, Forbes Middle East aims to celebrate individuals and businesses that have been instrumental in shaping Qatar’s economy. Nakilat was recently ranked among the Top Companies in Qatar by Forbes Middle East, and has also been ranked among the Top 100 Companies in the Arab World in 2015 and 2016 by the magazine.  Such international rankings are testament to Nakilat progressing in the right direction, and will motivate the company further towards achieving its vision to be a global leader and provider of choice for energy transportation and maritime services.

 

About Nakilat

Nakilat is a Qatari LNG transport company providing an essential transportation link in the State of Qatar’s LNG supply chain. Its LNG shipping fleet is the largest in the world, comprising of 63 LNG vessels. Nakilat also owns and manages four large LPG carriers. Nakilat operates the ship repair and construction facilities at Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in Ras Laffan Industrial City via two strategic joint ventures: N-KOM and NDSQ. Nakilat also offers a full range of marine support services to vessels operating in Qatari waters. For more information visit: www.nakilat.com.qa

Individuals and organisations are urged to nominate anyone involved in maritime search and rescue who deserves recognition for exceptional service

The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) is calling for nominations and entries for its H.E.R.O (Honouring Excellence in Rescue Operations) Awards 2017.

An estimated 400,000 lives are lost in the world’s waters every year, a number that would be much higher without the outstanding work done by individuals and teams in the maritime search and rescue (SAR) sector.

Too often the full story is not told, as the rescues take place beyond the horizon. There are teams of people working together to coordinate the rescues, while new technology and innovations are helping to reduce the time it takes to complete a rescue, taking the ‘search’ out of search and rescue. There are individuals who are working selflessly to make sure that those in distress can be saved and there are people who have given a lifetime of service to make the world’s waters safer.

The IMRF H.E.R.O. Awards seek to recognise some of these exceptional individuals and organisations around the world that make maritime SAR possible.

The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) is the non-governmental organization (NGO) bringing the world's maritime SAR organisations together to share knowledge and improve maritime SAR coordination and response so more people in distress on the sea can be saved.

Bruce Reid, CEO IMRF says: “The IMRF H.E.R.O awards shine a light on the outstanding work done by the paid and unpaid professionals globally who work selflessly to keep our waters safer. We want more people to understand the complexity of maritime SAR and to see the people who are working to ensure people in distress can be saved”

“We had some exceptional nominations last year and we know that there are people all around the world doing incredible things, making a real difference and they deserve to be recognised and applauded for the fantastic contribution they make and the people they are saving”.

There are four categories in the IMRF H.E.R.O Awards 2017;

• Individual award recognising outstanding contribution by an individual in a maritime SAR operation

• Team award, recognising outstanding contribution by a team or teams in the maritime SAR ecosystem working together to save lives, sponsored by McMurdo.

• Innovation and Technology award recognising new products and technologies developed that improve the work and success of SAR organisations.

• The Vladimir Maksimov Lifetime achievement award recognising outstanding service to SAR by an individual or organisation, sponsored by Inmarsat.

Nominations can be made online at www.imrfhero.org/nomination-form alternatively email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 0044 (0)1569 767405 for an application form. The closing date is 28 July, 2017.

The H.E.R.O. Awards 2017 recognise actions that took place, or were completed, in the period from 01 July 2016 to 30 June 2017. Any individual or organisation anywhere in the world can be nominated for a H.E.R.O Award.

All of the submissions will then be assessed by the judges and the winners announced at an awards dinner held at the RNLI, Poole in the UK and online, 2 November, 2017.

The H.E.R.O awards 2017 are supported by our sponsors McMurdo - global leader in emergency response and readiness and Inmarsat – global satellite owner and operator which provides mobile and fixed communications services to the maritime industry.

 

IMRF

The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) brings the world's maritime search and rescue organisations together in one global and growing family. IMRF's member organisations share their lifesaving ideas, technologies and experiences and freely cooperate with one another to achieve their common humanitarian aim: "Preventing loss of life in the world's waters".

The International Maritime Rescue Federation was founded (as the International Lifeboat Federation) in 1924. In 1985 it was granted non-governmental consultative status with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in recognition of the good work being undertaken and the growing need for an organisation to act as a global focal point for maritime search and rescue. In 2003 it was registered as an independent charity and in 2007 the organisation was renamed the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF), reflecting the broader scope of modern maritime search and rescue activity.

www.international-maritime-rescue.org

On Tuesday March 28, industry experts and operators gathered at the Athens War Museum to attend OCYANIC, a Maritime Cyber Security Conference focusing on current cyber challenges of the Maritime Industry as well as best practices. The event was hosted by Aspida Cyber Security.

Από αριστερά: Δρ. Κωνσταντίνος Περρωτής (CΟΟ - ASPIDA) Αρχιπλοίαρχος Δημήτριος Καβουλάκος (Διευθυντής Αμυντικού Σχεδιασμού και Προγραμματισμού - ΓΕΕΘΑ) Παναγιώτης Μωραΐτης (CEO - ASPIDA) Αντιστράτηγος Κωνσταντίνος Φλώρος, Υπαρχηγός ΓΕΕΘΑ Αλέξανδρος Λυγινός (Managing Partner - ASPIDA)

OCYANIC offered participants the opportunity to share views and insights with some of the Industry’s most notable professionals, digging deeper in the risk cyber threats impose in the Shipping world.

Dorothea Ioannou Managing Director at SCB (Hellas) and Global Business Development Director at The American P&I Club, kicked off the conference giving the perspective of a P&I Club in regards to cyber security threats. Electra Panayotopoulos, Partner at Holman Fenwick Willan LLP, went on discuss cyber risks, their legal implications and how to insure the risk in Shipping.

Panos G. Moraitis of Aspida presented a cyber threat profile in the Maritime sector, highlighting the realism and probability of these threats.

The audience also had a sneak peek of the upcoming updated Industry Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships, by Phil Tinsley, Maritime Security Manager at BIMCO and discover how important an elaborate Risk Assessment is by DNV GL’s Senior Cyber Security Engineer Svante Einarsson.

A joint panel of above speakers followed, including Vangelis Moutafis, Maritime Operations Specialist at International Registries, discussing ways to improve cyber risk management in the industry.

Ioli Papadopoulou, Business Development Manager at SophiMail, OCYANIC’s Premium Sponsor, took the floor to explain how to build a private and secure email server. OCYANIC closed with Babis Kalevrosoglou, Information Security Manager at ASPIDA, who focused on real case cyber incidents on vessels and how to avoid malware on the high seas.

The speakers offered a detailed view on the issue of Cyber Security, from the scope of every stakeholder involved, covering many different key points. One of the main conclusions is that the cyber risk for the Maritime Industry is real and incidents are actually happening but most of them remain undisclosed by affected parties. In addition, the adoption of appropriate measures to secure the industry is still very slow.

In Q1 2017, over 2.5 trillion ton miles were completed by the global VLCC and Suezmax fleet. This was down 4.6\% from the previous quarter with a reduction in VLCC work done being the major contributor at -5.42\%.

Over 50\% of seaborne demand for crude exports stems from the Arabian Gulf. In Q1, AG export ton mile demand fell by a mammoth 14\%. This follows promised OPEC production cuts, however, evidence shows that although AG exports are down, the slack is being met elsewhere.

Exporters of crude in the North Sea saw seaborne demand for VLCC and Suezmax cargoes jump 14\% in Q1. It was the strongest quarter in history for North Sea exporters.

Also filling the gap is the United States of America. Ton mile demand rose above 70 million ton miles which over the last two quarters represents an increase of 145\%. A number of these journeys are comprised of VLCC cargoes over Suezmax on the long-haul from US to locations such as China and Singapore.

The last quarter has shown that world VLCC and Suezmax ton miles have decreased; as have exports out of the Arabian gulf. However, smaller producers have worked to meet the gap in demand.

VesselsValue.com.

On the 4th of april 2017 Stealthgas inc. named three prototype 22,000 cubic meters ammonia/VCM carriers at Hyundai mipo yard in korea.

Hull 8184 was named ECO FROST by mr fedon Tomazos of cass technava

Hull 8185 was named ECO ARCTIC by mr spyros Lagounaris

Hull 8186 was named ECO ICE by mrs young ae Byeon (the wife of the CEO of HMD SHIPYARD)

The ships feature many innovative technologies that are first time implemented by HMD R&D dept.

In addition some other features are ice class 1b and exhaust scrubbers for maximum environmental protection.

All three ships fly the Marshall islands flag and are classed by LLOYDS REGISTER.

Normally all of stealthgas's newbuildings are built in Japanese yards but in this case Hyundai was chosen as it’s the global leader for specialized gas vessels with innovative technologies.

These vessels represent stealthgas's 31st, 32nd and 33rd newbuilding deliveries and one more newbuilding sistership is left to be delivered from Hyundai in q1 18.

mr Han (CEO of HMD with his wife), also it’s the first time that Hyundai names three ships concurrently and all side by side to each other!

Harry Vafias, Fedon Tomazos

the three godparents with officers hats

mr Han with his wife and the three captains of the ECO FROST / ECO ARCTIC / ECO ICE

the three godparents

fedon Tomazos with the CEO of HMD mr YS Han