Diana Containerships Inc. Announces Amendment to Loan Agreements
September 14 2016 - 9:05AM
Diana Containerships Inc. (NASDAQ:DCIX), (the “Company”), a global
shipping company specializing in the ownership of containerships,
today announced that it has amended its US$148 million loan
agreement with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc dated September 10,
2015 (the “Loan”) and its US$50 million loan agreement with Diana
Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) dated as of May 20, 2013 (as subsequently
amended, the “Diana Shipping Loan”).
Amendments to the Company’s Loan with The Royal
Bank of Scotland plc include the following provisions:
- the prepayment of the amount of US$7,606,750 by September 15,
2016;
- a reduction in the first four consecutive quarterly repayment
instalments under each Loan tranche, to be repaid ratably over the
remaining quarterly instalments, and the deferral of all quarterly
repayments until September 15, 2017;
- the creation of a new US$8,851,000 tranche (the “Deferred
Tranche”) out of the reallocation of amounts due under the existing
tranches, whose repayment will commence on March 15,
2019;
- a prohibition on the payment of dividends until the later of:
(a) prepayment or repayment in full of the Deferred Tranche and (b)
September 15, 2018;
- a prohibition on the incurrence of additional indebtedness
(with the exception of intra-group debt) or the acquisition of
additional vessels until September 15, 2018;
- a reduction in the minimum security covenant from 140% to 125%
of the aggregate of the amount of the Loan then outstanding until
September 30, 2018;
- the exclusion of the outstanding principal balance of the Diana
Shipping Loan from the definition of consolidated debt for purposes
of calculating the Net Worth Covenant and the Net Gearing Ratio
Covenant of the Loan;
- a change in the interest rate from 2.75% per annum plus USD
LIBOR to 3.10% per annum over USD LIBOR from September 12, 2016
until December 31, 2018, thereafter reverting to 2.75% over USD
LIBOR until maturity;
- an obligation of the Company to ensure that the vessels owned
by its wholly-owned subsidiaries which are not borrowers under the
Loan shall not be subject to any encumbrance, such obligation not
affecting however the power of the Company to sell such vessels and
dictate the use of the relevant proceeds; and
- a change in the borrower from one wholly-owned subsidiary of
the Company to another wholly-owned subsidiary and the release of
the c.v. YM Los Angeles as a collateral vessel and inclusion of the
c.v. Puelo as a collateral vessel under the
Loan.
The existing and the amended repayment schedules
of the Loan are presented in Table 1 below:
Table 1. - In US$ Millions
|
2016 remaining |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
TOTAL |
Existing Loan |
7.2 |
15.4 |
15.4 |
15.4 |
15.4 |
67.8 |
136.5 |
Amended Loan |
7.6 |
4.1 |
12.2 |
19.8 |
19.8 |
73.0 |
136.5 |
In addition, and as a condition to The Royal
Bank of Scotland plc Loan amendments, the Company has also amended
its US$50 million Diana Shipping Loan to defer its repayment until
the later of (i) the repayment or prepayment in full by the Company
of the Deferred Tranche under The Royal Bank of Scotland plc Loan,
and (ii) September 15, 2018. The amendment will also change the
borrower under the Diana Shipping Loan to another wholly-owned
subsidiary of Diana Containerships Inc., and provide for an
increase of the interest rate for the period between September 12,
2016 and December 31, 2018 to 3.35% per annum over USD LIBOR.
About the Company
Diana Containerships Inc. is a global provider
of shipping transportation services through its ownership of
containerships. The Company's vessels are employed primarily on
time charters with leading liner companies carrying containerized
cargo along worldwide shipping routes.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
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, which are other than
statements of historical facts.
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, our management's examination of historical operating
trends, data contained in our records and other data available from
third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were
reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently
subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are
difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we
cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these
expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other
important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements include the strength of world economies and currencies,
general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates
and vessel values, changes in demand for containership capacity,
changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices,
drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our 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, potential
disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events,
vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors.
Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and
uncertainties.
Corporate Contact:
Ioannis Zafirakis
Director, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary
Telephone: +30-216-600-2400
Email: izafirakis@dcontainerships.com
Website: www.dcontainerships.com
Investor and Media Relations:
Edward Nebb
Comm-Counsellors, LLC
Telephone: + 1-203-972-8350
Email: enebb@optonline.net
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