ATHENS, GREECE, August 29, 2023 – OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: OP) (the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of vessels, announced that the Company today agreed to become a strategic partner and invest in a Norwegian entity, RFSea Infrastructure II AS, that will construct, at Wuhu Shipyard Co., Ltd. (China), under two separate newbuilding contracts, two 6,600 dwt methanol-ready, stainless steel chemical tankers with expected deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, respectively. The transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The Company is partnering with a private London-based alternative investment and commercial management firm focusing on the maritime industry and other partners and investors. Fearnley Securities AS acted as the project arranger.
Robert Perri, CEO of OceanPal Inc., stated, “We are pleased to invest in these state of the art, methanol-ready chemical tankers, in a chemical tanker market where we believe the fundamentals will improve in the next several years. In addition, this investment will improve our environmental footprint, as these newbuildings are expected to be 20-25% more fuel efficient than conventional chemical tankers.”
About the Company
OceanPal Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services
through its ownership of vessels. The Company’s vessels currently transport a
range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain
and other materials along worldwide shipping routes and it is expected that the
Company’s vessels will be primarily employed on short term time and voyage
charters following the completion of their current employments.
Forward Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may
constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in
order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their
business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans,
objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying
assumptions and other statements.
The Company desires to take advantage of the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor
legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,”
“project,” “plan,” “potential,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and
similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press
release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn,
upon further assumptions, including without limitation, Company management’s
examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s
records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes
that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies that are
difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Company’s control, the
Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these
expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other
important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements
include the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; the strength of world
economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in
charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping
capacity, changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices,
drydocking and insurance costs, the market for the Company’s vessels,
availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and
regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability
from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political
conditions, including risks associated with the continuing conflict between
Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions, potential disruption of shipping
routes due to accidents or political events, vessel breakdowns and instances of
off-hires and other factors. Please see the Company’s filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and
other risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise
or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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