ATHENS, Greece, November 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA, the “Company” or “Euroseas”), owner and operator of container ships and marine transportation provider for containerized cargo, today announced the extension of the chartering of its container ships M / V “EM Astoria” and new on-time charter contracts for its container ships M / V “Evridiki G” and M / V “Aegean Express”. Specifically:

• The M / V “EM Astoria”, a 2,778 teu vessel built in 2004, has been extended for a period of twelve to fourteen months at the discretion of the charterers, at a daily rate of $ 18,650. The new rate will start on December 15, 2020.
• The M / V “Evridiki G”, a 2,556 teu vessel built in 2001, has entered into a new time charter contract for a period of twelve to thirteen months at the choice of the charterers, at a daily rate of $ 15,500. The new price will start around December 5, 2020.
• The M / V “Aegean Express”, a 1,439 teu vessel built in 1997, has entered into a new 15 to 16 month time charter contract at the discretion of the charterers, at a daily rate of $ 11,500. The new charter will begin on December 27, 2020.

In addition, the Company has announced that COLBY TRADING LTD (“Colby”), a subsidiary of the CEO of Euroseas, has elected to convert into ordinary shares the outstanding amount of a loan it granted to the Company on September 30. 2019; the conversion price was the lowest closing price during the fifteen business days preceding the notice of conversion under the terms of the loan. Following the conversion, Euroseas issued 702,247 shares to Colby for the outstanding loan amount of $ 1.875 million.

Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: “We are very pleased to announce the new charter arrangements for three of our vessels, providing jobs for over a year for each of them. The three vessels are expected to contribute approximately $ 7.5 million to EBITDA in 2021 under their new charters, which would be more than four times their contribution to EBITDA over the past twelve months.

“Both the charter rate – which is close to the highest levels of the past ten years – and the length of contracts are indicative of the strength of the market in recent months. If current market levels continue and we are able to renew or replace charters of the rest of our vessels, when they expire, to similar levels, we should see a significant contribution to our profits and profitability.

“As risks – both geopolitical and economic – abound, we are optimistic that the supply-demand balance in the container ship market over the next two years will support high charter rates. Our optimism is based on the fact that a very low fleet order book, the lowest in more than 20 years in terms of percentage, is combined with increased expectations for COVID-19 pandemic control, recovery economy and healthy growth in container trade. The recent conversion of a loan from a subsidiary of our major shareholders into equity is indicative of increased confidence in the outlook for the market and our business.

About Euroseas Ltd.
Euroseas Ltd. was established on May 5, 2005 under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to consolidate ownership interests in ships of the Pittas family of Athens, Greece, which has been in the shipping business for 140 years. Euroseas is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker ESEA.

Euroseas operates in the maritime container transport market. Euroseas operations are managed by Eurobulk Ltd., an ISO 9001: 2008 and ISO 14001: 2004 certified affiliate vessel management company, which is responsible for the management and day-to-day commercial and technical operations of the vessels. Euroseas uses its vessels on spot and periodic charters and under pool agreements.

The Company has a fleet of 14 vessels, including 9 feeder container ships and 5 intermediate container ships. The Euroseas 14 container ships have a loading capacity of 42,281 TEU.

Forward-looking statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) regarding future events and the the Company’s growth strategy and the measures to implement such a strategy; including expected vessel acquisitions and completion of other on-time charters. Words such as “expects”, “intention”, “plans”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “hopes”, “esteem” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify statements prospective. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based on a number of assumptions and estimates which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, changes in demand for container ships; competitive factors in the market in which the Company operates; risks associated with operations outside the United States; and other factors listed from time to time in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or commitment to publicly release any update or revision to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations in this regard or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which a statement is based on.

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