GLBS Globus Maritime Limited

Item 3.  Key Information

A. [Reserved]

B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not Applicable.

C.  Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not Applicable.

D.  Risk Factors

This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of U.S. securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements and information. Factors that may cause such a difference include those discussed below and elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F.

Some of the following risks relate principally to the industry in which we operate and our business in general. Other risks relate principally to the securities market and ownership of our common shares. The occurrence of any of the events described in this section could significantly and negatively affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and ability to pay dividends or the trading price of our common shares, and you may lose all or part of your investment. 

Summary of Risk Factors

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below under the headings “Risks relating to Our Industry,” “Company Specific Risk Factors” and “Risks Relating to our Common Shares” and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Annual Report on Form 20-F and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), before making an investment decision regarding our common shares.

Risks relating to Our Industry

Company Specific Risk Factors

Risks Relating to our Common Shares

Risks relating to Our Industry

The international dry bulk shipping industry is cyclical and volatile.

The international seaborne transportation industry is cyclical and has high volatility in charter rates, vessel values and profitability. Fluctuations in charter rates result from changes in the supply and demand for vessel capacity and changes in the supply and demand for energy resources, commodities, semi-finished and finished consumer and industrial products internationally carried at sea. Since the early part of 2009, rates have been volatile and low, relative to previous years. In the beginning of 2020, the rates continued to drop and came close to the all-time low, but substantially rebounded in 2020 and continued to increase in 2021, reaching in October 2021 the highest point since 2008. In 2022 the rates remained volatile reaching a peak during the second quarter, followed by a decreasing trend the next two quarters and remain at fairly depressed levels in the beginning of 2023. Currently eight of our vessels are chartered on short-term time charters or on the spot market, and we are exposed, therefore, to changes in spot market and short-term charter rates for dry bulk vessels and such changes affect our earnings and the value of our dry bulk vessels at any given time. The supply of and demand for shipping capacity strongly influences freight rates. The factors affecting the supply and demand for vessels are outside of our control, and the nature, timing and degree of changes in industry conditions are unpredictable.

Factors that influence demand for vessel capacity include:

Factors that influence the supply of vessel capacity include:

In addition to the prevailing and anticipated freight rates, factors that affect the rate of newbuilding, scrapping and laying-up include newbuilding prices, secondhand vessel values in relation to scrap prices, costs of bunkers and other operating costs, costs associated with classification society surveys, normal maintenance costs, insurance coverage costs, the efficiency and age profile of the existing dry bulk fleet in the market, and government and industry regulation of maritime transportation practices, particularly environmental protection laws and regulations. These factors influencing the supply of and demand for shipping capacity are outside of our control, and we may not be able to correctly assess the nature, timing and degree of changes in industry conditions.

We anticipate that the future demand for our dry bulk vessels and charter rates will be dependent upon continued economic growth in the world’s economies, seasonal and regional changes in demand and changes to the capacity of the global dry bulk vessel fleet and the sources and supply of dry bulk cargo to be transported by sea. Adverse economic, political, social or other developments could negatively impact charter rates and therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and ability to pay dividends. We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire.

The dry bulk vessel charter market remains significantly below its high in 2008.

The revenues, earnings and profitability of companies in our industry are affected by the charter rates that can be obtained in the market, which is volatile and has experienced significant declines since its highs in 2008. The Baltic Dry Index, or the BDI, which is published daily by the Baltic Exchange Limited, or the Baltic Exchange, a London-based membership organization that provides daily shipping market information to the global investing community, is an average of selected ship brokers’ assessments of time charter rates paid by a customer to hire a dry bulk vessel to transport dry bulk cargoes by sea. The BDI has long been viewed as the main benchmark to monitor the movements of the dry bulk vessel charter market and the performance of the entire dry bulk shipping market. The BDI declined from an all-time high of 11,793 in May 2008 to a low of 663 in December 2008, which represents a decline of 94% within a single calendar year. Since 2009, the BDI has remained fairly depressed compared to historical numbers. The BDI reached a new all-time low of 290 on February 10, 2016. The BDI remained significantly depressed from 2008-2019. In 2021, the BDI rose to a high of 5,650 on October 7, 2021 and had a low of 1,303 on February 10, 2021. In 2022, the BDI ranged from a low of 965 on August 31, 2022 to a high of 3,369 on May 23, 2022. During calendar year 2023 to March 14, 2023, the BDI has ranged from a high of 1,587 (on March 14, 2023) to a low of 601 (on February 7, 2023).  

The decline and volatility in charter rates in the dry bulk market also affects the value of our dry bulk vessels, which generally follows the trends of dry bulk charter rates, and earnings on our charters, and similarly affects our cash flows, liquidity and compliance with the covenants contained in our loan arrangements. 

The international shipping industry and dry bulk market are highly competitive.

The shipping industry and dry bulk market are capital intensive and highly fragmented with many charterers, owners and operators of vessels and are characterized by intense competition. Competition arises primarily from other vessel owners, some of whom have substantially greater resources than we do. The trend towards consolidation in the industry is creating an increasing number of global enterprises capable of competing in multiple markets, which may result in a greater competitive threat to us. Our competitors may be better positioned to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and employment of their businesses than we are. Competition for the transportation of cargo by sea is intense and depends on customer relationships, operating expertise, professional reputation, price, location, size, age, environmental, social, and governance criteria, condition and the acceptability of the vessel and its operators to the charterers. Competition may increase in some or all of our principal markets, including with the entry of new competitors, who may operate larger fleets through consolidations or acquisitions and may be able to sustain lower charter rates and offer higher quality vessels than we are able to offer. We may not be able to continue to compete successfully or effectively with our competitors and our competitive position may be eroded in the future, which could have an adverse effect on our fleet utilization and, accordingly, business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends.

Disruptions in global financial markets from terrorist attacks, regional armed conflicts, general political unrest, the emergence of a pandemic or epidemic crisis and the resulting governmental action could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Continuing war and recent developments in Ukraine, the Middle East, including tensions between the U.S. and Iran, as well as other geographic countries and areas, terrorist or other attacks, and war (or threatened war) or international hostilities, such as the ones currently in progress between Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, or the U.S. and North Korea, have recently and may in the future lead to armed conflict or acts of terrorism around the world continue to cause uncertainty and volatility in the world financial markets and may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, continuing concerns relating geopolitical events such as the previous withdrawal of the U.K. from the European Union, or Brexit and concerns regarding any lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or the emergence of other viral outbreaks have led to increased volatility in global credit and equity markets. These uncertainties could also adversely affect our ability to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us or at all. In the past, political conflicts have also resulted in attacks on vessels, mining of waterways and other efforts to disrupt international shipping, particularly in the Arabian Gulf region. These types of attacks have also affected vessels trading in regions such as the Black Sea, South China Sea and the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. The IMO’s extraordinary council session held on March 10-11, 2022 addressed the impacts on shipping and seafarers, as a result of the war in Ukraine. The IMO called for the need to preserve the integrity of maritime supply chains and the safety and welfare of seafarers and any spillover effects of the military action on global shipping, logistics and supply chains, in particular the impacts on the delivery of commodities and food to developing nations and the impacts on energy supplies. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse impact on our operating results, revenues and costs.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which commenced in February 2022, has disrupted supply chains and caused instability and significant volatility in the global economy. Much uncertainty remains regarding the global impact of the conflict in Ukraine, and it is possible that such instability, uncertainty and resulting volatility could significantly increase our costs and adversely affect our business, including our ability to secure charters and financing on attractive terms, and as a result, adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows.

As a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Switzerland, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and others have announced unprecedented levels of sanctions and other measures against Russia and certain Russian entities and nationals. Such sanctions against Russia may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. For example, apart from the immediate commercial disruptions caused in the conflict zone, escalating tensions and fears of potential shortages in the supply of Russian crude have caused the price of oil to trade above historical pricing. The ongoing conflict could result in the imposition of further economic sanctions against Russia, with uncertain impacts on the dry bulk market and the world economy. While we do not have any Ukrainian or Russian crew and our vessels currently do not sail in the Black Sea, it is possible that the conflict in Ukraine, including any increased shipping costs, disruptions of global shipping routes, any impact on the global supply chain and any impact on current or potential customers caused by the events in Russia and Ukraine, could adversely affect our operations or financial performance. Due to the recent nature of these activities, the full impact on our business is not yet known.

Brexit further increases the risk of additional trade protectionism. Brexit, or similar events in other jurisdictions, could continue to impact global markets, including foreign exchange and securities markets; any resulting changes in currency exchange rates, tariffs, treaties and other regulatory matters could in turn adversely impact our business, cash flows and operations.

Further, as a result of the economic situation in Greece, which has been slowly recovering from the sovereign crisis and the related austerity measures implemented by the Greek government and the influx of refugees from Syria and other areas, the operations of our Manager located in Greece may be subjected to new regulations and potential shift in government policies that may require us to incur new or additional compliance or other administrative costs and may require the payment of new taxes or other fees. We also face the risk that strikes, work stoppages, civil unrest and violence within Greece could disrupt the shoreside operations of our Manager located in Greece.

In addition, global financial markets and economic conditions have been severely disrupted and volatile in recent years and remain subject to significant vulnerabilities, such as the deterioration of fiscal balances and the rapid accumulation of public debt, continued deleveraging in the banking sector and a limited supply of credit. Credit markets as well as the debt and equity capital markets were exceedingly distressed during 2008 and 2009 and have been volatile since that time. The resulting uncertainty and volatility in the global financial markets may accordingly affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. These uncertainties, as well as future hostilities or other political instability in regions where our vessels trade, could also affect trade volumes and patterns and adversely affect our operations, and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows and cash available for distributions to our shareholders.

Specifically, these issues, along with the re-pricing of credit risk and the difficulties currently experienced by financial institutions, have made, and will likely continue to make it difficult to obtain financing. As a result of the disruptions in the credit markets and higher capital requirements, many lenders have increased margins on lending rates, enacted tighter lending standards, required more restrictive terms (including higher collateral ratios for advances, shorter maturities and smaller loan amounts), or have refused to refinance existing debt at all. Furthermore, certain banks that have historically been significant lenders to the shipping industry have reduced or ceased lending activities in the shipping industry. Additional tightening of capital requirements and the resulting policies adopted by lenders could further reduce lending activities. We may experience difficulties obtaining financing commitments or be unable to fully draw on the capacity under our committed term loans in the future if our lenders are unwilling to extend financing to us or unable to meet their funding obligations due to their own liquidity, capital or solvency issues. We cannot be certain that financing will be available on acceptable terms or at all. If financing is not available when needed, or is available only on unfavorable terms, we may be unable to meet our future obligations as they come due. Our failure to obtain such funds could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our shareholders. In the absence of available financing, we also may be unable to take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures.

An over-supply of dry bulk carrier capacity may depress charter rates.

An oversupply of dry bulk vessel capacity, particularly during a period of economic recession, may result in a reduction of charter hire rates. If we cannot enter into charters on acceptable terms, we may have to secure charters on the short-term or spot market, where charter rates are more volatile and revenues are, therefore, less predictable, or we may not be able to charter our vessels at all. In addition, a material increase in the net supply of dry bulk vessel capacity without corresponding growth in dry bulk vessel demand could have a material adverse effect on our fleet utilization (including ballast days) and our charter rates generally, and could, accordingly, materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends. An uptick in charter rates generally discourages scrapping older vessels, but recent regulatory actions have increased the economic incentive to scrap certain older vessels. Accordingly, it remains to be seen in 2023 whether the number of worldwide dry bulk carrying capacity, net of scrapped vessels, will increase.

We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire. 

Our industry is subject to complex laws and regulations.

Our operations are subject to numerous laws and regulations in the form of international conventions and treaties, national, state and local laws and national and international regulations in force in the jurisdictions in which our vessels operate or are registered, which can significantly affect the ownership and operation of our vessels. These requirements include but are not limited to: U.S. Oil Pollution Act 1990, as amended, which we refer to as OPA; International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended, which we refer to as SOLAS; International Convention on Load Lines, 1966; International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as amended by the 1978 Protocol, which we refer to as MARPOL; International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001, which we refer to as the Bunker Convention; International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996, as superseded by the 2010 Protocol, which we refer to as the HNS Convention; International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969, as amended by the 1992 Protocol and further amended in 2000, which we refer to as the CLC; International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971, as amended, which we refer to as the Fund Convention; and Marine Transportation Security Act of 2002, which we refer to as the MTSA.

Government regulation of vessels, particularly in the area of environmental requirements, can be expected to become more stringent in the future and could require us to incur significant capital expenditures on our vessels to keep them in compliance, or even to scrap or sell certain vessels altogether. Compliance with such laws, regulations and standards, where applicable, may require installation of costly equipment or operational changes and increased management costs and may affect the resale value or useful lives of our vessels. We may also incur additional costs in order to comply with other existing and future regulatory obligations, including, but not limited to, costs relating to air emissions, the management of ballast water, recycling of vessels, maintenance and inspection, elimination of tin-based paint, development and implementation of safety and emergency procedures and insurance coverage or other financial assurance of our ability to address pollution incidents. For instance, the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) global 0.5% sulphur cap on marine fuels came into force on January 1, 2020, as stipulated in 2008 amendments to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships (“MARPOL”). Our vessels require pricier low-sulphur fuel, which may reduce the amount charterers are willing to pay to charter our vessels. In addition, on January 1, 2023, regulations came into force that aim to reduce carbon emissions from both new and existing ships as measured by two main energy efficiency indicators. Ships that fail to comply with the these 2023 regulations may be subject to penalties and require modifications to the ship to ensure compliance. It is difficult to determine the cost, if any, until our ships’ performance is measured in accordance with these new regulations. If our ships fail to comply with the IMO 2023 regulations or otherwise do not have good performance, this can result in penalties and require modifications to the ship to ensure compliance. Any such modifications may be costly and those ships will be offhire during any period of modification. These and other costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends.

These requirements can also affect the resale prices or useful lives of our vessels or require reductions in capacity, vessel modifications or operational changes or restrictions. Failure to comply with these requirements could lead to decreased availability of or more costly insurance coverage for environmental matters or result in the denial of access to certain jurisdictional waters or ports, or detention in certain ports. Under local, national and foreign laws, as well as international treaties and conventions, we could incur material liabilities, including cleanup obligations and claims for impairment of the environment, personal injury and property damages in the event that there is a release of petroleum or other hazardous materials from our vessels or otherwise in connection with our operations. Violations of, or liabilities under, environmental regulations can result in substantial penalties, fines and other sanctions, including, in certain instances, seizure or detention of our vessels. Events of this nature would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The operation of our vessels is affected by the requirements set forth in the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, or ISM Code. The ISM Code requires the party with operational control of the vessel to develop, implement and maintain an extensive “Safety Management System” that includes, among other things, the adoption of a safety and environmental protection policy setting forth instructions and procedures for safe vessel operation and protection of the environment and describing procedures for dealing with emergencies. Further details in relation to the ISM Code are set out below in the section headed “Environmental and Other Regulations.” The failure of a shipowner or bareboat charterer to comply with the ISM Code may subject it to increased liability, and, if the implementing legislation so provides, to criminal sanctions, may invalidate or result in the loss of existing insurance or decrease available insurance coverage for the affected vessels and may result in a denial of access to, or detention in, certain ports. In addition, if we fail to maintain ISM Code certification for our vessels, we may also breach covenants in our CIT Loan Facility that require that our vessels be ISM-Code certified. If we breach such covenants due to failure to maintain ISM Code certification and are unable to remedy the relevant breach, our lender could accelerate our indebtedness and foreclose on the vessels in our fleet securing the CIT Loan Facility. As of the date of this annual report on Form 20-F, each of our vessels is ISM Code-certified.

Climate change and greenhouse gas restrictions.

Due to concern over the risk of climate change, a number of countries and the IMO have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These regulatory measures may include, among others, adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, increased efficiency standards and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. For instance, the IMO imposed a global 0.5% sulphur cap on marine fuels which came into force on January 1, 2020. Our vessels do not have scrubbers and use low-sulphur fuel instead, and now may require pricier low-sulphur fuel, which may reduce the amount charterers are willing to pay to charter our vessels. In addition, charterers may focus on how environmentally friendly our vessels are, generally, and our rates may be adjusted downwards accordingly.

We discuss this further in this annual report on Form 20-F. See “Item 4.B. Business Overview—Environmental and Other Regulations—Regulations to Prevent Pollution from Ships” and “Item 3.D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Industry—Our industry is subject to complex laws and regulations.”

In addition, although the emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping currently are not subject to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (this task was delegated under the Kyoto Protocol to the IMO for action), which required adopting countries to implement national programs to reduce emissions of certain gases, a new treaty may be adopted in the future that includes restrictions on shipping emissions. Compliance with changes in laws, regulations and obligations relating to climate change could increase our costs related to operating and maintaining our vessels and require us to install new emission controls, acquire allowances or pay taxes related to our greenhouse gas emissions, or administer and manage a greenhouse gas emissions program. Revenue generation and strategic growth opportunities may also be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends. 

Pending and future tax law changes may result in significant additional taxes to us.

Pending and future tax law changes may result in significant additional taxes to us. For example, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a “Programme of Work,” which was divided into two pillars. Pillar One focused on the allocation of group profits among taxing jurisdictions based on a market-based concept rather than the historical “permanent establishment” concept. Pillar Two, among other things, introduced a global minimum tax. The foregoing proposals (in the event international consensus is achieved and implementing laws are adopted) and other possible future tax changes may have an adverse impact on us. Any requirement or legislation that requires us to pay more tax could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends.

We are dependent on our charterers and other counterparties fulfilling their obligations under agreements with us, and their inability or unwillingness to honor these obligations could significantly reduce our revenues and cash flow.

Payments to us by our charterers under time charters are and will be our sole source of operating cash flow. Weaknesses in demand for shipping services, increased operating costs due to changes in environmental or other regulations and the oversupply of large vessels as well as the oversupply of smaller size vessels due to a cascading effect would place certain of our customers under financial pressure. Any declines in demand could result in worsening financial challenges to our customers and may increase the likelihood of one or more of our customers being unable or unwilling to pay us contracted charter rates or going bankrupt.

If we lose a time charter because the charterer is unable to pay us or for any other reason, we may be unable to re-deploy the related vessel on similarly favorable terms or at all. Also, we will not receive any revenues from such a vessel while it is un-chartered, but we will be required to pay expenses necessary to maintain and insure the vessel and service any indebtedness on it. The combination of any surplus of dry bulk vessel capacity, the expected entry into service of new technologically advanced ships, and the expected increase in the size of the world dry bulk fleet over the next few years may make it difficult to secure substitute employment for any of our vessels if our counterparties fail to perform their obligations under the currently arranged time charters, and any new charter arrangements we are able to secure may be at lower rates. Furthermore, the surplus of dry bulk vessels available at lower charter rates could negatively affect our charterers’ willingness to perform their obligations under our time charters, particularly if the charter rates in such time charters are significantly above the prevailing market rates. Accordingly, we may have to grant concessions to our charterers in the form of lower charter rates for the remaining duration of the relevant charter or part thereof, or to agree to re-charter vessels coming off charter at reduced rates compared to the charter then ended. Because we enter into short-term and medium-term time charters from time-to-time, we may need to re-charter vessels coming off charter more frequently than some of our competitors, which may have a material adverse effect on business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our shareholders.

The loss of any of our charterers, time charters or vessels, or a decline in payments under our time charters, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our shareholders.

In addition to charter parties, we may, among other things, enter into contracts for the sale or purchase of secondhand dry bulk vessels or shipbuilding contracts for newbuildings, provide performance guarantees relating to shipbuilding contracts to sale and purchase contracts or to charters, enter into credit facilities or other financing arrangements, accept commitment letters from banks, or enter into insurance contracts and interest or exchange rate swaps or enter into joint ventures. Such agreements expose us to counterparty credit risk. The ability and willingness of each of our counterparties to perform its obligations under a contract with us will depend upon a number of factors that are beyond our control and may include, among other things, general economic conditions, the state of the capital markets, the condition of the ocean-going dry bulk shipping industry and charter hire rates. Should a counterparty fail to honor its obligations under agreements with us, we could sustain significant losses, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our shareholders.

Capital expenditures and other costs necessary to operate and maintain our vessels may increase.

Changes in safety or other equipment standards, as well as compliance with standards imposed by maritime self-regulatory organizations and customer requirements or competition, may require us to make additional expenditures. In order to satisfy these requirements, we may, from time to time, be required to take our vessels out of service for extended periods of time, with corresponding losses of revenues. In the future, market conditions may not justify these expenditures or enable us to operate some or all of our vessels profitably during the remainder of their economic lives.

Seasonal fluctuations in industry demand could affect us.

We operate our vessels in markets that have historically exhibited seasonal variations in demand and, as a result, in charter rates. This seasonality may result in quarter-to-quarter volatility in our results of operations, which could affect the amount of dividends, if any, that we pay to our shareholders. The market for marine dry bulk transportation services is typically stronger in the fall and winter months in anticipation of increased consumption of coal and other raw materials in the northern hemisphere during the winter months. In addition, unpredictable weather patterns in these months tend to disrupt vessel scheduling and supplies of certain commodities. This seasonality could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire. 

Our insurance may not be adequate to cover our losses that may result from our operations.

We carry insurance to protect us against most of the accident-related risks involved in the conduct of our business, including marine hull and machinery insurance, war risk insurance, protection and indemnity insurance, which includes pollution risks, crew insurance and war risk insurance. However, we may not be adequately insured to cover losses from our operational risks, which could have a material adverse effect on us. Additionally, our insurers may refuse to pay particular claims and our insurance may be voidable by the insurers if we take, or fail to take, certain action, such as failing to maintain certification of our vessels with applicable maritime regulatory organizations. Any significant uninsured or underinsured loss or liability could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends. It may also result in protracted legal litigation. In addition, we may not be able to obtain adequate insurance coverage at reasonable rates in the future during adverse insurance market conditions. We maintain, for each of our vessels, pollution liability coverage insurance for $1.0 billion per event. If damages from a catastrophic spill exceed our insurance coverage, it would have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders.

Moreover, insurers have over the last few years increased premiums and reduced or restricted coverage for losses caused by terrorist acts generally.

In addition, we do not currently carry and may not carry loss-of-hire insurance, which covers the loss of revenue during extended vessel off-hire periods, such as those that occur during an unscheduled drydocking due to damage to the vessel from accidents. Accordingly, any loss of a vessel or extended vessel off-hire, due to an accident or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and our ability to pay dividends.

Our vessels are exposed to operational risks.

The operation of any vessel includes risks such as weather conditions, mechanical failure, collision, fire, contact with floating objects, cargo or property loss or damage and business interruption due to political circumstances in countries, piracy, terrorist attacks, armed hostilities and labor strikes. Such occurrences could result in death or injury to persons, loss, damage or destruction of property or environmental damage, delays in the delivery of cargo, loss of revenues from or termination of charter contracts, governmental fines, penalties or restrictions on conducting business, higher insurance rates and damage to our reputation and customer relationships generally.

In the past, political conflicts have also resulted in attacks on vessels, mining of waterways and other efforts to disrupt international shipping, particularly in the Arabian Gulf region. Acts of terrorism and piracy have also affected vessels trading in regions such as the South China Sea, the Gulf of Aden and parts of the Indian Ocean and West Africa. Continuing conflicts and recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Libya, the recent conflict in Ukraine, and the presence of United States and other armed forces in the Middle East and Asia could produce armed conflict or be the target of terrorist attacks, and lead to civil disturbance and uncertainty in financial markets. If these attacks and other disruptions result in areas where our vessels are deployed being characterized by insurers as “war risk” zones or Joint War Committee “war, strikes, terrorism and related perils” listed areas, premiums payable for such coverage could increase significantly and such insurance coverage may be more difficult or impossible to obtain. In addition, we face the risk of a marine disaster, which could include an oil spill and other environmental damage. Although our vessels carry a relatively small amount of oil used for fuel (“bunkers”), a spill of oil from one of our vessels or losses as a result of fire or explosion could be catastrophic under certain circumstances.

The operation of certain vessel types, such as dry bulk vessels, also carry certain unique risks. With a dry bulk vessel, the cargo itself and its interaction with the vessel can be a risk factor. By their nature, dry bulk cargoes are often heavy, dense, easily shifted and react badly to water exposure. In addition, dry bulk vessels are often subjected to battering during unloading operations with grabs, jackhammers (to pry encrusted cargoes out of the hold) and small bulldozers. This may cause damage to the vessel. Vessels damaged due to treatment during unloading procedures may be more susceptible to breach while at sea. Hull breaches in dry bulk vessels may lead to the flooding of the vessels holds. If a dry bulk vessel suffers flooding in its forward holds, the bulk cargo may become so dense and waterlogged that its pressure may buckle the vessels bulkheads leading to the loss of a vessel. If we are unable to adequately maintain our vessels, we may be unable to prevent these events. Any of these circumstances or events could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends. In addition, the loss of any of our vessels could harm our reputation as a safe and reliable vessel owner and operator.

We may not be adequately insured against all risks, and our insurers may not pay particular claims. With respect to war risks insurance, which we usually obtain for certain of our vessels making port calls in designated war zone areas, such insurance may not be obtained prior to one of our vessels entering into an actual war zone, which could result in that vessel not being insured. Even if our insurance coverage is adequate to cover our losses, we may not be able to timely obtain a replacement vessel in the event of a loss. Under the terms of the CIT Loan Facility, we will be subject to restrictions on the use of any proceeds we may receive from claims under our insurance policies. Furthermore, in the future, we may not be able to maintain or obtain adequate insurance coverage at reasonable rates for our fleet. We may also be subject to calls, or premiums, in amounts based not only on our own claim records but also the claim records of all other members of the protection and indemnity associations through which we receive indemnity insurance coverage for tort liability. Our insurance policies also contain deductibles, limitations and exclusions which may increase our costs in the event of a claim or decrease any recovery in the event of a loss. If the damages from a catastrophic oil spill or other marine disaster exceeded our insurance coverage, the payment of those damages could have a material adverse effect on our business and could possibly result in our insolvency.

In general, we do not carry loss of hire insurance. Occasionally, we may decide to carry loss of hire insurance when our vessels are trading in areas where a history of piracy has been reported. Loss of hire insurance covers the loss of revenue during extended vessel off-hire periods, such as those that could occur during an unscheduled drydocking, unscheduled repairs due to damage to the vessel, or as a result of acts of piracy. Accordingly, any loss of a vessel or any extended period of vessel off- hire, due to an incident, accident or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire.

We may be subject to funding calls by our protection and indemnity clubs, and our clubs may not have enough resources to cover claims made against them.

We are indemnified for legal liabilities incurred while operating our vessels through membership of protection and indemnity, or P&I, associations, otherwise known as P&I clubs. P&I clubs are mutual insurance clubs whose members must contribute to cover losses sustained by other club members. The objective of a P&I club is to provide mutual insurance based on the aggregate tonnage of a member’s vessels entered into the club. Claims are paid through the aggregate premiums of all members of the club, although members remain subject to calls for additional funds if the aggregate premiums are insufficient to cover claims submitted to the club. Claims submitted to the club may include those incurred by members of the club, as well as claims submitted by other P&I clubs with which our club has entered into interclub agreements. We cannot assure you that the P&I club to which we belong will remain viable or that we will not become subject to additional funding calls, which could adversely affect us. 

We may be subject to increased inspection procedures, tighter import and export controls and new security regulations.

International shipping is subject to various security and customs inspection and related procedures in countries of origin and destination and trans-shipment points. Inspection procedures can result in the seizure of the cargo and contents of our vessels, delays in the loading, offloading or delivery and the levying of customs duties, fines or other penalties against us. It is possible that changes to inspection procedures could impose additional financial and legal obligations on us. Furthermore, changes to inspection procedures could also impose additional costs and obligations on our customers and may, in certain cases, render the shipment of certain types of cargo impractical. Any such changes or developments may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to pay dividends.

Rising fuel prices may adversely affect our profits.

Fuel is a significant, if not the largest, expense if vessels are under voyage charter or if consumed during ballast days. Moreover, the cost of fuel will affect the profit we can earn on the short-term or spot market. Upon redelivery of vessels at the end of a time charter, we may be obliged to repurchase the fuel on board at prevailing market prices, which could be materially higher than fuel prices at the inception of the time charter period. As a result, an increase in the price of fuel may adversely affect our profitability. The price and supply of fuel is unpredictable and fluctuates based on events outside our control, including geopolitical events, supply and demand for oil and gas, actions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil producing countries and regions, regional production patterns and environmental concerns. Further, fuel has or may become much more expensive in the future, including as a result of the developments in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, the imposition of sulfur oxide emissions limits in January 2020 and reductions of carbon emissions from January 2023 under new regulations adopted by the International Maritime Organization, or the IMO, which may reduce the profitability and competitiveness of our business versus other forms of transportation, such as truck or rail.

As a result of the sulfur oxide emissions limits, because we do not have scrubbers on our vessels, our vessels require pricier low-sulfur fuel, which may reduce the amount charterers are willing to pay to charter our vessels. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends. 

Increases in crew costs may adversely affect our profits.

Crew costs are a significant expense for us under our charters. There is a limited supply of well-qualified crew. We generally bear crewing costs under our charters. Increases in crew costs may adversely affect our profitability. In addition, labor disputes or unrest, including work stoppages, strikes and/or work disruptions or increases imposed by collective bargaining agreements covering the majority of our officers on board our vessels could result in higher personnel costs and significantly affect our financial performance. Furthermore, while we do not have any Ukrainian or Russian crew and the Company's vessels currently do not sail in the Black Sea, the extent to which this will impact the Company’s future results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Changes in labor laws and regulations, collective bargaining negotiations and labor disputes, and potential shortage of crew due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, could increase our crew costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends.

Maritime claimants could arrest our vessels.

Crew members, suppliers of goods and services to a vessel, shippers of cargo and other parties may be entitled to a maritime lien against a vessel, or other assets of the relevant vessel-owning company, for unsatisfied debts, claims or damages even if we are not at fault, for example, if we pay a supplier for bunkers who subcontracts the supply and does not pay such subcontractor. In many jurisdictions, a claimant may seek to obtain security for its claim by arresting a vessel through foreclosure proceedings. The arrest or attachment of one or more of our vessels, could cause us to default on a charter, breach covenants in the CIT Loan Facility, interrupt our cash flow and require us to pay large sums of money to have the arrest or attachment lifted. Please see “Item 5.B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness” for further information.

In addition, in some jurisdictions, such as South Africa, under the “sister ship” theory of liability, a claimant may arrest both the vessel which is subject to the claimant’s maritime lien and any “associated” vessel, which is any vessel owned or controlled by the same owner. Claimants could attempt to assert “sister ship” liability against one vessel in our fleet for claims relating to another of our vessels. 

Governments could requisition our vessels during a period of war or emergency.

A government could requisition one or more of our vessels for title or for hire. Requisition for title occurs when a government takes control of a vessel and becomes the owner. Requisition for hire occurs when a government takes control of a vessel and effectively becomes the charterer at dictated charter rates. Generally, requisitions occur during a period of war or emergency, although governments may elect to requisition vessels in other circumstances. Even if we would be entitled to compensation in the event of a requisition of one or more of our vessels, the amount and timing of payment would be uncertain. Government requisition of one or more of our vessels may negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends.

Compliance with safety and other vessel requirements imposed by classification societies may be costly.

The hull and machinery of every commercial vessel must be certified as safe and seaworthy in accordance with applicable rules and regulations, and accordingly vessels must undergo regular surveys. All of the vessels that we operate or manage are classed by one of the major classification societies, including Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Class NK), DNV GL, Lloyds and ABS. Vessels must undergo annual surveys, immediate surveys and special surveys. In lieu of a special survey, a vessel’s machinery may be on a continuous survey cycle, under which the machinery would be surveyed over a five-year period. Our vessels are on special survey cycles for hull inspection and continuous survey cycles for machinery inspection. Every vessel is also required to be drydocked every two to three years for inspection of its underwater parts. If any vessel does not maintain its class and/or fails any annual, intermediate or special survey, certain covenants in the CIT Loan Facility or future credit arrangements may be triggered, including as a result of the vessel being unable to trade between ports and being unemployable. Such an occurrence could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends. Please see “Item 5.B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness” for further information. 

A further economic slowdown or changes in the economic, regulatory and political environment in the Asia Pacific region could reduce dry bulk trade demand.

A significant number of the port calls made by our vessels involve the transportation of dry bulk products to ports in the Asia Pacific region. As a result, continued economic slowdown in the region or changes in the regulatory environment, and particularly in China or Japan, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Before the global economic financial crisis that began in 2008, China had one of the world’s fastest growing economies as measured by gross domestic product, or GDP, which had a significant impact on shipping demand. China's GDP growth rate for the year ended December 31, 2022 was approximately 3.0%, one of its lowest rates in 50 years, thought to be mainly caused by the country’s zero-COVID policy and strict lockdowns, which was a marked decline from 8.1% for the year ended December 31, 2021. In addition, China previously imposed measures to restrain lending, which may further contribute to a slowdown in its economic growth. China and other countries in the Asia Pacific region may continue to experience slowed or even negative economic growth in the future.

Many of the economic and political reforms adopted by the Chinese government are unprecedented or experimental and may be subject to revision, change or abolition based upon the outcome of such experiments. If the Chinese government does not continue to pursue a policy of economic reform, the level of imports of exports of dry bulk products to and from China could be adversely affected by changes to these economic reforms by the Chinese government, as well as by changes in political, economic and social conditions or other relevant policies of the Chinese government, such as changes in laws, regulations or restrictions on importing commodities into the country. Notwithstanding economic reform, the Chinese government may adopt policies that favor domestic shipping companies and may hinder our ability to compete with them effectively. Moreover, a significant or protracted slowdown in the economies of the United States, the European Union or various Asian countries or changes in the regulatory environment may adversely affect economic growth in China and elsewhere. Our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected by an economic downturn or changes in the regulatory environment in any of these countries.

Pandemics such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) make it very difficult for us to operate in the short-term and have unpredictable long-term consequences, all of which could decrease the supply of and demand for the raw materials we transport, the rates that we are paid to carry our cargo, and our financial outlook.

Our business may be adversely affected by the lingering effects of COVID-19 and the reimposition of governmental responses to the virus, which has introduced uncertainty into our operational and financial activities and has negatively impacted, and may continue to impact negatively, global economic activity. Although the incidence and severity of COVID-19 and its variants have diminished over time, periodic spikes in incidence occur. Many nations worldwide have significantly eased or eliminated restrictions that were enacted at the outset of the outbreak of COVID-19. The United States has announced that it will terminate the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency that was put in place in 2020. Notably, the Chinese government removed its zero-COVID policy in December 2022, although China is now facing a sudden surge in COVID cases after easing the lockdown restrictions nationwide. WHO officials had expressed hope that COVID-19 might be entering an endemic phase by early 2023, but the continued uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide may cause an adverse impact on the global economy and the rate environment for tanker and other cargo vessels may deteriorate and our operations and cash flows may be negatively impacted.

Average charter rates for dry bulk vessels, as measured by the Baltic Dry Index, improved significantly in 2021 and part of 2022 since the second quarter of 2020, but has reduced in the beginning of 2023; the underlying reasons for this improvement, such as tight supply lines, increased demand for bulk commodities on the back of firmly rebounding industrial activity, increased demand for containerized cargo due to increased consumption mainly from developed countries, and newbuild construction being put on hold due to the pandemic, has somewhat reversed, which could negatively impact our business. Over time, the incidence of COVID-19 and its variants has diminished although periodic spikes in incidence occur. Consequently, restrictions imposed by various governmental health organizations may change over time. Several countries have lifted restrictions only to reimpose such restrictions as the number of cases rise and new variants emerge. Negative impacts could occur, even after the pandemic itself diminishes or ends. It is difficult to predict what impact a resurgence of COVID-19 or the occurrence of another pandemic and resultant government measures may have on our business. The duration of scheduled repairs could exceed our estimates, causing our vessels to remain off-hire for longer periods than planned or to miss scheduled employment. We may face increased costs operating our vessels due to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. Possible delays due to quarantine of our vessels caused by viral infections of our crew or other related disruptions may lead to the termination of charters leaving our vessels without employment. It is also possible that the companies that charter our vessels may be materially impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 or another virus outbreak and therefore may default on their charters or seek to restructure the terms of their charters (which are legally binding). 

We expect that pandemics generally, including the current novel coronavirus pandemic, could affect our business in the following ways, among others:

Any of these public health threats and related consequences could adversely affect our financial results.

Sulphur regulations to reduce air pollution from ships may require retrofitting of vessels and may cause us to incur significant costs.

Since January 1, 2020 the IMO regulations have required vessels to comply with a global cap on the sulphur in fuel oil used on board of 0.5%, down from the previous 3.5%. The interpretation of “fuel oil used on board” includes use in main engine, auxiliary engines and boilers. Shipowners may comply with this regulation by (i) using 0.5% sulphur fuels on board, which costs more than higher sulphur fuel; (ii) installing scrubbers for cleaning of the exhaust gas (which we have not done to any of our vessels); or (iii) by retrofitting vessels to be powered by liquefied natural gas (which we have not done to any of our vessels), which may not be a viable option due to the lack of supply network and high costs involved in this process. Costs of compliance with these regulatory changes may be significant and may have a material adverse effect on our future performance, results of operations, cash flows and financial position. It is unclear how the new emissions standard will affect the employment of our vessels, given that the cost of fuel is borne by our charterers when our vessels are on time charter employment. Over time, however, it is possible that ships not retrofitted to comply with the new emissions standard may become less competitive (compared with ships equipped with exhaust gas scrubbers that can utilize less expensive high sulphur fuel), may have difficulty finding employment, may command lower charter hire and/or may need to be scrapped.

A downturn in the worldwide economy may harm our business.

Downturns in the worldwide economy, due to inflation, geopolitics, major central bank policy actions including interest rate increases, public health crises, or other factors, have harmed our business in the past and future downturns could also adversely affect our business. Adverse economic conditions affect demand for goods and oil. Reduced demand for these or other products could result in significant decreases in rates we obtain for chartering our ships. In addition, the cost for crew members, oils and bunkers, and other supplies may increase. A deterioration of conditions in worldwide credit markets could limit our ability to obtain external financing to fund our operations and capital expenditures. In addition, we may experience losses on our holdings of cash and investments due to failures of financial institutions and other parties. Difficult economic conditions may also result in a higher rate of losses on our accounts receivable due to credit defaults. During an inflationary period, such as one we are currently experiencing, the SOFR or similar reference rate will generally be increased, thus costing us more money to service our debt obligations and reducing our net revenues. As a result, downturns in the worldwide economy could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Worldwide inflationary pressures could negatively impact our results of operations and cash flows. 

It has been recently observed that worldwide economies have experienced inflationary pressures, with price increases seen across many sectors globally. For example, the U.S. consumer price index, an inflation gauge that measures costs across dozens of items, rose 6.5% in December 2022 compared to the prior year, driven in large part by increases in energy costs. It remains to be seen whether inflationary pressures will continue, and to what degree, as central banks begin to respond to price increases. In the event that inflation becomes a significant factor in the global economy generally and in the shipping industry more specifically, inflationary pressures would result in increased operating, voyage and administrative costs. Furthermore, the effects of inflation on the supply and demand of the products we transport could alter demand for our services. Interventions in the economy by central banks in response to inflationary pressures may slow down economic activity, including by altering consumer purchasing habits and reducing demand for the commodities and products we carry, and cause a reduction in trade. As a result, the volumes of goods we deliver and/or charter rates for our vessels may be affected. Any of these factors could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and operating results.

Environmental, social and governance matters may impact our business and reputation.

In addition to the importance of their financial performance, companies are increasingly being judged by their performance on a variety of environmental, social and governance matters, or ESG, which are considered to contribute to the long-term sustainability of companies’ performance.

A variety of organizations measure the performance of companies on such ESG topics, and the results of these assessments are widely publicized. In addition, investment in funds that specialize in companies that perform well in such assessments are increasingly popular, and major institutional investors have publicly emphasized the importance of such ESG measures to their investment decisions. Topics taken into account in such assessments include, among others, the company’s efforts and impacts on climate change and human rights, ethics and compliance with law, and the role of the company’s board of directors in supervising various sustainability issues.

We actively manage a broad range of such ESG matters, taking into consideration their expected impact on the sustainability of our business over time, and the potential impact of our business on society and the environment. However, in light of investors’ increased focus on ESG matters, there can be no certainty that we will manage such issues successfully, or that we will successfully meet society’s expectations as to our proper role. Any failure or perceived failure by us in this regard could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and on our business, share price, financial condition, or results of operations, including the sustainability of our business over time.

On December 31, 2018, EU-flagged vessels became subject to Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on ship recycling (the “EU Ship Recycling Regulation” or “ESRR”) and exempt from the Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste (the “European Waste Shipment Regulation” or “EWSR”), which had previously governed their disposal and recycling. The EWSR continues to be applicable to Non-European Union Member State-flagged (“non-EU-flagged”) vessels.

Under the ESRR, commercial EU-flagged vessels of 500 gross tonnage and above may be recycled only at shipyards included on the European List of Authorised Ship Recycling Facilities (the “European List”). The European List presently includes eight facilities in Turkey, but no facilities in the major ship recycling countries in Asia. The combined capacity of the European List facilities may prove insufficient to absorb the total recycling volume of EU-flagged vessels. This circumstance, taken in tandem with the possible decrease in cash sales, may result in longer wait times for divestment of recyclable vessels as well as downward pressure on the purchase prices offered by European List shipyards. We currently have one vessel flagged in Malta and in the future may have additional vessels flagged in EU jurisdictions.

In addition, the EWSR requires that non-EU-flagged ships departing from European Union ports be recycled only in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. In March 2018, the Rotterdam District Court ruled that the sale of four recyclable vessels by third-party Dutch ship owner Seatrade to cash buyers, who then reflagged and resold the vessels to non-OECD country recycling yards, were effectively indirect sales to non-OECD country yards, in violation of the EWSR. If European Union Member State courts widely adopt this analysis, it may negatively impact revenue from the residual values of our vessels and we may be subject to a heightened risk of non-compliance, due diligence obligations and costs in instances where we sell older ships to cash buyers.

The smuggling of drugs or other contraband onto our vessels may lead to governmental claims against us.

We expect that our vessels will call at ports where smugglers may attempt to hide drugs and other contraband on vessels, with or without the knowledge of crew members. To the extent that our vessels are found with contraband, whether inside or attached to the hull of our vessel, and whether with or without the knowledge of any of our crew, we may face governmental or other regulatory claims that could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends.

Labor interruptions could disrupt our business.

Our vessels are manned by masters, officers and crews (totaling 192 as of December 31, 2022). Seafarers manning the vessels in our fleet are covered by industry-wide collective bargaining agreements that set basic standards. Any labor interruptions or employment disagreements with our crew members could disrupt our operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends. We cannot assure you that collective bargaining agreements will prevent labor interruptions.

Company-Specific Risk Factors

The market values of our vessels have fluctuated and have from time to time triggered certain financial covenants under our existing and potentially future loan and credit facilities.

The market value of dry bulk vessels has generally experienced high volatility. The market prices for secondhand and newbuilding dry bulk vessels in the recent past have declined from historically high levels to low levels within a short period of time. In particular, as of March 31, 2020, the Company concluded that the recoverable amounts of the vessels were lower than their carrying amounts and recognized an impairment loss of $4.6 million. However, the market value of our vessels increased the subsequent years and we did not recognize any impairment loss on our vessels in 2021 and 2022.

The market value of our vessels may increase and decrease depending on a number of factors including:

Our loan agreement with First Citizens Bank & Trust Company (formerly known as CIT Bank N.A.), which we refer to as our CIT Loan Facility, is secured by mortgages on seven of our vessels, and requires us to maintain specified collateral coverage ratios and to satisfy financial covenants, including requirements based on the market value of our vessels and our liquidity. Our previous loan facilities had similar requirements, and we expect any future loan agreements to have similar collateral requirements and provisions. Since the middle of 2008 through part of 2021, the prevailing conditions in the dry bulk charter market coupled with the general difficulty in obtaining financing for vessel purchases led to a decline in the market values of our vessels, which have increased since that time. However, we cannot predict when and if vessel values will again start to decline.

As of December 31, 2022, we satisfied the covenants included in our CIT Loan Facility. For a more detailed discussion see “Item 5.B Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness” and Note 11 in the Consolidated Financial Statements included herewith.

Further declines of market values of our vessels may affect our ability to comply with various covenants and could also limit the amount of funds we are permitted to borrow under our current or future loan arrangements. If we breach the financial and other covenants under the CIT Loan Facility, our lenders could accelerate our indebtedness and foreclose on vessels in our fleet, which would significantly impair our ability to continue to conduct our business. If our indebtedness were accelerated in full or in part, it would be very difficult in the current financing environment for us to refinance our debt or obtain additional financing and we could lose our vessels if our lenders foreclose upon their liens, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, ability to continue our business and for Globus Maritime to pay dividends.

For a more detailed discussion on our loan covenants and cross-default provisions, see “Item 5.B Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness.”

If we sell any vessel at a time when vessel prices have fallen and before we have recorded an impairment adjustment to our consolidated financial statements, the sale price may be agreed at a value lower than the vessel’s depreciated book value as in our consolidated financial statements at that time, resulting in a loss and a respective reduction in earnings. If the market values of our vessels decrease, such decrease and its effects could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability for Globus Maritime to pay dividends.

If a determination is made that a vessel’s future useful life is limited or its future earnings capacity is reduced, it could result in an impairment of its value on our consolidated financial statements that would result in a charge against our earnings and the reduction of our stockholders’ equity. These impairment costs could be very substantial.

We may not be able to attract and retain key management personnel and other employees in the shipping industry.

Our success will depend to a significant extent upon the abilities and efforts of our management team consisting of our Chief Executive Officer, including our ability to retain our management team and the ability of our management to recruit and hire suitable employees. The loss of our Chief Executive Officer or other key employees could adversely affect our business prospects and financial condition. Difficulty in hiring and retaining personnel could adversely affect our results of operations. 

Our loan agreement contains, and we expect that future loan agreements and financing arrangements will contain, restrictive covenants that may limit our liquidity and corporate activities, which could limit our operational flexibility and have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, because of the presence of cross-default provisions in our loan agreement and the expectation that such will exist in any future loan agreements and financing arrangements, a default by us under one loan could lead to defaults under multiple loans.

Our CIT Loan Facility contains, and we expect that future loan agreements and financing arrangements will contain, customary covenants and event of default clauses, financial covenants, restrictive covenants and performance requirements, which may affect operational and financial flexibility. Such restrictions could affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability to pay dividends, incur additional indebtedness, create liens, sell assets, change our chief executive officer or chairman or ship manager, or engage in mergers or acquisitions. These restrictions could limit our ability to plan for or react to market conditions or meet extraordinary capital needs or otherwise restrict corporate activities. There can be no assurance that such restrictions will not adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs.

As a result of these restrictions, we may need to seek permission from our lenders and other financing counterparties in order to engage in some corporate actions. Our lenders’ and other financing counterparties’ interests may be different from ours and we may not be able to obtain their permission when needed. This may prevent us from taking actions that we believe are in our best interests, which may adversely impact our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

If we fail to meet our payment and other obligations, including our financial covenants and any security coverage requirements, could lead to defaults under our financing arrangements. Likewise, a decrease in vessel values or adverse market conditions could cause us to breach our financial covenants or security requirements (the market values of dry bulk vessels have generally experienced high volatility). In the event of a default that we cannot remedy, our lenders and other financing counterparties could then accelerate their indebtedness and foreclose on the respective vessels in our fleet. The loss of any of our vessels could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

There can be no assurance that we will obtain waivers and deferrals from our lenders in the future, if needed, as we have obtained in the past. We are currently in compliance with all applicable financial covenants under our CIT Loan Facility. For more information regarding our current loan facilities, see please see “Item 5.B. Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Because of the presence of cross-default provisions in our CIT Loan Facility and, we expect, any future loan agreements, a default by us under a loan and the refusal of any one lender to grant or extend a waiver could result in the acceleration of our indebtedness under our other loans. A cross-default provision means that if we default on one loan, we would then default on our other loans containing a cross-default provision.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance our existing indebtedness or obtain additional financing.

We may finance future fleet expansion with additional secured indebtedness. In May 2021, we reached an agreement with First Citizens Bank & Trust Company (formerly known as CIT Bank N.A.) for a loan facility of up to $34.25 million bearing interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 3.75% per annum. The proceeds of this financing were used to repay the outstanding balance of a loan agreement with EnTrust, which we refer to as the EnTrust Loan Facility. In August 2022, we reached an agreement with First Citizens Bank & Trust Company (formerly known as CIT Bank N.A.) for a deed of accession, amendment and restatement of the CIT loan facility by the accession of an additional borrower in order to increase the loan facility from a total of $34.25 million to $52.25 million, by a top up loan amount of $18 million for the purpose of financing our vessel Orion Globe and for general corporate and general working capital purposes. The CIT Loan Facility (including the new top up loan amount) is now further secured by a first preferred mortgage over the vessel Orion Globe. Furthermore, the CIT Loan Facility now bears interest at Term SOFR plus a margin of 3.35%.

Our ability to obtain bank financing or to access the capital markets for future offerings may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering, including the actual or perceived credit quality of our charterers and the market value of our fleet, as well as by adverse market conditions resulting from, among other things, general economic conditions, weakness in the financial markets and contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Significant contraction, de-leveraging and reduced liquidity in credit markets worldwide is reducing the availability and increasing the cost of credit.

If we are not able to obtain new debt financing on terms acceptable to us or refinance our existing debt, we will have to dedicate a portion of our cash flow from operations to pay the principal and interest of this indebtedness. If we are not able to satisfy these obligations, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans. In addition, debt service payments under the CIT Loan Facility or alternative financing may limit funds otherwise available for working capital, capital expenditures, the payment of dividends and other purposes. Our inability to obtain additional or replacement financing at anticipated costs or at all may materially affect our results of operation, our ability to implement our business strategy, our payment of dividends and our ability to continue as a going concern. 

We depend on short-term or spot charters in volatile shipping markets.

We currently charter most of the vessels we own on the short-term charter market. The short-term or spot charter market is highly competitive and short-term or spot charter rates may fluctuate significantly based upon available charters and the supply of and demand for seaborne shipping capacity. While our focus on the short-term or spot market may enable us to benefit if industry conditions strengthen, we must consistently procure short-term or spot charter business. Conversely, such dependence makes us vulnerable to declining market rates for short-term or spot charters and to the off-hire periods including ballast passages. Rates within the short-term or spot charter market are subject to volatile fluctuations while longer-term time charters provide income at pre-determined rates over more extended periods of time. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in keeping our vessels fully employed in these short-term markets or that future short-term or spot rates will be sufficient to enable the vessels to be operated profitably. A significant decrease in charter rates would affect value and further adversely affect our profitability, cash flows and ability to pay dividends. Furthermore, we have in the past, and may in the future, employ our vessels on index-linked time charters, which may have similar fluctuations in hire as short-term or spot charters. We cannot give assurances that future available short-term. spot charters or index-linked charters will enable us to operate our vessels profitably.

We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire.

We may be unable to successfully employ our vessels on long-term time charters or take advantage of favorable opportunities involving short-term or spot market charter rates.

Our long-term strategy to maximize the value of our fleet is to employ our vessels on a mix of all types of charter contracts, including in the short-term or spot market and on bareboat charters and long-term or fixed-hire or index-linked hire time charters. We believe this strategy provides the cash flow stability, reduced exposure to market downturns and high utilization rates of the charter market, while at the same time enabling us to benefit from periods of increasing short-term or spot market rates. But our short-term strategy at any given point in time is dictated by a multitude of factors and the chartering opportunities before us. We may, for example, seek to employ a greater portion of our fleet on the short-term, spot market or index-linked time charters or on fixed-hire time charters with longer durations, should we believe it to be in our best interests. We generally prefer spot or short-term contracts in order to be versatile, to be able to move quickly to capture a market upswing, and to be more selective with the cargos we carry. Long-term charters, however, provide desirable cash flow stability, albeit at the cost of missing upswings in cargo rates. Accordingly, our mix between short-term or spot charters,longer-term charters and index-linked charters changes from time-to-time. When our ships are not all on the short-term or spot market, we generally seek to stagger the expiration dates of our charters to reduce exposure to volatility in the shipping cycle when our vessels come off of charter. We also continually monitor developments in the dry bulk shipping industry and, subject to market demand, will adjust the number of vessels on charters and the charter periods for our vessels according to market conditions.

We and our Manager have developed relationships with a number of international charterers, vessel brokers, financial institutions, insurers and shipbuilders. We have also developed a network of relationships with vessel brokers who help facilitate vessel charters and acquisitions.

Although time charters with durations of one to five years may provide relatively steady streams of revenue, if our vessels were committed to such charters they may not be available for re-chartering or for short-term or spot market voyages when such employment would allow us to realize the benefits of comparably more favorable charter rates. In addition, in the future, we may not be able to enter into new time charters on favorable terms. The dry bulk market is volatile. While charter rates are presently generally above our operating expenses, in the past charter rates have declined below operating costs of vessels. If we are required to enter into a charter when charter rates are low, employ our vessels on the short-term or spot market during periods when charter rates have fallen, have index linked charters when rates are low, or we are unable to take advantage of short-term opportunities on the spot or charter market, our earnings and profitability could be adversely affected. We cannot assure you that future charter rates will enable us to cover our costs, operate our vessels profitably or to pay dividends, or all of them.

We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire. 

We conduct a substantial amount of business in China.

The Chinese legal system is based on written statutes and their legal interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, the Chinese government has been developing a comprehensive system of commercial laws, and considerable progress has been made in introducing laws and regulations dealing with economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation and trade. However, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, there is a general lack of internal guidelines or authoritative interpretive guidance and because of the limited number of published cases and their non-binding nature interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. We conduct a substantial portion of our business in China or with Chinese counterparties. For example, we enter into charters with Chinese customers, which charters may be subject to new regulations in China. We may, therefore, be required to incur new or additional compliance or other administrative costs, and pay new taxes or other fees to the Chinese government. Although the charters we enter into with Chinese counterparties are not governed by Chinese law, we may have difficulties enforcing a judgment rendered by an arbitration tribunal or by an English or U.S. court (or other non-Chinese court) in China.

In addition, China enacted a tax for non-resident international transportation enterprises engaged in the provision of services to passengers or cargo, among other items, in and out of China using their own, chartered or leased vessels, including any stevedore, warehousing and other services connected with the transportation. The law and relevant regulations broaden the range of international transportation companies which may find themselves liable for Chinese enterprise income tax on profits generated from international transportation services passing through Chinese ports. This tax or similar regulations by China may reduce our operating results and may also result in an increase in the cost of goods exported from China and the risks associated with exporting goods from China, as well as a decrease in the quantity of goods to be shipped from or through China, which would have an adverse impact on our charterers’ business, operating results and financial condition and could thereby affect their ability to make timely charter hire payments to us and to renew and increase the number of their time charters with us. Changes in laws and regulations, including with regards to tax matters, and their implementation by local authorities could affect our vessels that are either chartered to Chinese customers or that call to Chinese ports and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends.

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of western countries in such respects as structure, government involvement, level of development, growth rate, capital reinvestment, allocation of resources, bank regulation, currency and monetary policy, rate of inflation and balance of payments position. Although state-owned enterprises still account for a substantial portion of the Chinese industrial output, in general, the Chinese government is reducing the level of direct control that it exercises over the economy. There is an increasing level of freedom and autonomy in areas such as allocation of resources, production, pricing and management and a gradual shift in emphasis to a “market economy” and enterprise reform, although it still acts with greater control than a truly free-market economy. Many of the Chinese government’s reforms are unprecedented or experimental and may be subject to revision, change or abolition based upon the outcome of such experiments. The level of imports to and exports from China could be adversely affected by the failure to continue market reforms or changes to existing pro-export economic policies. The level of imports to and exports from China may also be adversely affected by changes in political, economic and social conditions (including a slowing of economic growth), the coronavirus, or other relevant policies of the Chinese government, such as changes in laws, regulations or export and import restrictions, internal political instability, changes in currency policies, changes in trade policies and territorial or trade disputes. A decrease in the level of imports to and exports from China could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

As we expand our business, we may have difficulty improving our operating and financial systems and recruiting suitable employees and crew for our vessels.

Our current operating and financial systems may not be adequate if we expand the size of our fleet, and our attempts to improve those systems may be ineffective. In addition, as we seek to expand our internal technical management capabilities and our fleet, we or our crewing agents may need to recruit suitable additional seafarers and shore based administrative and management personnel. We cannot guarantee that we or our crewing agents will be able to hire suitable employees or a sufficient number of employees if and as we expand our fleet. If we or our crewing agent encounter business or financial difficulties, we may not be able to adequately staff our vessels. If we are unable to develop and maintain effective financial and operating systems or to recruit suitable employees as we expand our fleet, our financial performance may be adversely affected and, among other things, the amount of cash available for distribution as dividends to our shareholders may be reduced or eliminated.

Recently, the limited supply of and increased demand for well-qualified crew, due to the increase in the size of the global shipping fleet, has created upward pressure on crewing costs, which we generally bear under our time and spot charters. Increases in crew costs may adversely affect our profitability, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends. 

Our charterers may renegotiate or default on their charters.

Our charters provide the charterer the right to terminate the charter on the occurrence of stated events or the existence of specified conditions. In addition, the ability and willingness of each of our charterers to perform its obligations under its charter with us will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control. These factors may include general economic conditions, the condition of the dry bulk shipping industry and the overall financial condition of the counterparties. The costs and delays associated with the default of a charterer of a vessel may be considerable and may adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends.

In the recent depressed dry bulk market conditions, there have been numerous reports of charterers renegotiating their charters or defaulting on their obligations under their charters. If a current or future charterer defaults on a charter, we will seek the remedies available to us, which may include arbitration or litigation to enforce the contract, although such efforts may not be successful and for short-term charters may cost more to enforce than the potential recovery. We cannot predict whether our charterers will, upon the expiration of their charters, re-charter our vessels on favorable terms or at all. If our charterers decide not to re-charter our vessels, we may not be able to re-charter them on terms similar to the terms of our current charters or at all. If we receive lower charter rates under replacement charters or are unable to re-charter all of our vessels, this may adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay dividends.

Contracts for newbuilding vessels present certain economic and other risks. 

Three of our subsidiaries have contracts for the construction of three Ultramax for anticipated delivery in 2024. We may also order additional newbuildings. During the course of construction of a vessel, we are typically required to make progress payments. While two of those three contracts have refund guarantees from banks to cover defaults by the shipyards and our construction contracts would be saleable in the event of our payment default, we can still incur economic losses in the event that we or the shipyards are unable to perform our respective obligations. Shipyards may periodically experience financial difficulties.

Delays in the delivery of these vessels, or any newbuilding or secondhand vessels our subsidiaries may agree to acquire, could delay our receipt of revenues generated by these vessels and, to the extent we have arranged charter employment for these vessels, could possibly result in the cancellation of those charters, and therefore adversely affect our anticipated results of operations. The delivery of newbuilding vessels could be delayed because of, among other things: work stoppages or other labor disturbances; bankruptcy or other financial crisis of the shipyard building the vessel; hostilities or political or economic disturbances in the countries where the vessels are being built, including any escalation of tensions involving countries in east Asia; weather interference or catastrophic events, such as a major earthquake, tsunami or fire; our requests for changes to the original vessel specifications; requests from our customers, with whom our commercial managers arrange charters for such vessels, to delay construction and delivery of such vessels due to weak economic conditions and shipping demand or a dispute with the shipyard building the vessel.

The aging of our fleet may result in increased operating costs in the future.

In general, the cost of maintaining a vessel in good operating condition increases with the age of the vessel. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the weighted average age of the vessels in our fleet was 11.2 and 10.2 years, respectively. Our oldest vessel was built in 2005, and our youngest vessel was built in 2018. As our fleet ages, we will incur increased costs to operate and maintain the vessels. Older vessels are typically less fuel efficient and cost more to maintain than more recently constructed vessels due to improvements in engine technology. Cargo insurance rates, paid by charterers, increase with the age of a vessel, making older vessels less desirable to charterers. Governmental regulations, safety or other equipment standards related to the age of vessels may require expenditures for alterations or the addition of new equipment, to our vessels and may restrict the type of activities in which our vessels may engage. We cannot assure you that, as our vessels age, further market conditions will justify those expenditures or enable us to operate our vessels profitably during the remainder of their useful lives. We may also decide that it makes economic sense to lay up one or more vessels. While our vessels are laid up, we will pay lay-up costs, but those vessels will not be able to earn any hire.

We may have difficulty managing our planned growth properly.

Our recent vessel acquisitions have imposed additional responsibilities on our management and staff, as will any further acquisition of vessels, which may require us to add more personnel and find new customers. Attracting qualified staff and customers are difficult tasks, and we might struggle to do so on attractive terms.

We intend to continue to stabilize and then to try to grow our business through disciplined acquisitions of vessels that meet our selection criteria and newly built vessels if we can negotiate attractive purchase prices. Our future growth will primarily depend on:

A delay in the delivery to us of any such vessel, or the failure of the shipyard to deliver a vessel at all, could cause us to breach our obligations under a related charter and could adversely affect our earnings. In addition, the delivery of any of these vessels with substantial defects could have similar consequences. A shipyard could fail to deliver a newbuilding on time or at all because of:

In addition, if we enter a newbuilding or secondhand purchase contract, we may seek to terminate the contract due to market conditions, financing limitations or other reasons. The outcome of contract termination negotiations may require us to forego deposits on construction or purchase and pay additional cancellation fees. In addition, where we have already arranged a future charter with respect to the terminated newbuilding contract, we would need to provide an acceptable substitute vessel to the charterer to avoid breaching our charter agreement.

During periods in which charter rates are high, vessel values generally are high as well, and it may be difficult to consummate vessel acquisitions or enter into newbuilding contracts at favorable prices. During periods when charter rates are low, we may be unable to fund the acquisition of newbuildings, whether through lending or cash on hand. For these reasons, we may be unable to execute our growth plans or avoid significant expenses and losses in connection with our future growth efforts.

Growing any business by acquisition presents numerous risks, such as undisclosed liabilities and obligations, the possibility that indemnification agreements will be unenforceable or insufficient to cover potential losses and difficulties associated with imposing common standards, controls, procedures and policies, obtaining additional qualified personnel, managing relationships with customers and integrating newly acquired assets and operations into existing infrastructure. We cannot give any assurance that we will be successful in executing our growth plans or that we will not incur significant expenses and losses in connection with our future growth.

To the extent we scrap or sell vessels, we may decide to terminate the employment of some of our staff. 

Legislative or regulatory changes in Greece may adversely affect our results from operations.

Globus Shipmanagement Corp., our ship management subsidiary, who we refer to as our Manager, is regulated under Greek Law 89/67, and conducts its operations and those on our behalf primarily in Greece. Greece has been implementing new legislative measures to address financial difficulties, several of which as a response from oversight by the International Monetary Fund and by European regulatory bodies such as the European Central Bank. Such legislative actions may impose new regulations on our operations in Greece that will require us to incur new or additional compliance or other administrative costs and may require that our Manager or we pay to the Greek government new taxes or other fees. Any such taxes, fees or costs we incur could be in amounts that are significantly greater than those in the past and could adversely affect our results from operations.

For example, in 2013, tax law 4110/2013 amended the long-standing provisions of art. 26 of law 27/1975 by imposing a fixed annual tonnage tax on vessels flying a foreign (i.e., non-Greek) flag which are managed by a Law 89 company, establishing an identical tonnage tax regime as the one already in force for vessels flying the Greek flag. This tax varies depending on the size of the vessel, calculated in gross registered tonnage, as well as on the age of each vessel. Payment of this tonnage tax completely satisfies all income tax obligations of both the shipowning company and of all its shareholders up to the ultimate beneficial owners. Any tax payable to the state of the flag of each vessel as a result of its registration with a foreign flag registry (including the Marshall Islands) is subtracted from the amount of tonnage tax due to the Greek tax authorities.

The tax residents of Greece who receive dividends from such shipowning or their holding companies are taxed at 5% on the dividends which they receive and which they import into Greece, not being liable to any other taxation for these, which include those dividends which either remain with the holding company or are paid to the individual Greek tax resident abroad. 

We rely on our information systems to conduct our business.

The efficient operation of our business is dependent on computer hardware and software systems. Information systems are vulnerable to security breaches by computer hackers, cyber terrorists, and garden variety computer viruses. We rely on what we believe to be industry accepted security measures and technology to securely maintain confidential and proprietary information maintained on our information systems. However, these measures and technology may not adequately prevent security breaches.

In addition, the unavailability of the information systems or the failure of these systems to perform as anticipated for any reason could disrupt our business and could result in decreased performance and increased operating costs, causing our business and results of operations to suffer. Any significant interruption or failure of our information systems or any significant breach of security could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

A cyber-attack could materially disrupt our business.

We rely on information technology systems and networks in our operations and administration of our business. Our business operations could be targeted by individuals or groups seeking to sabotage or disrupt our information technology systems and networks, or to steal data. A successful cyber-attack could materially disrupt our operations, including the safety of our operations, or lead to unauthorized release of information or alteration of information in our systems. Any such attack or other breach of our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, the unavailability of the information systems or the failure of these systems to perform as anticipated for any reason could disrupt our business and could result in decreased performance and increased operating costs, causing our business and results of operations to suffer. Any significant interruption or failure of our information systems or any significant breach of security could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Most recently, the escalation in conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been accompanied by cyber-attacks against the Ukrainian government and other countries in the region. It is possible that these attacks could have collateral effects on additional critical infrastructure and financial institutions globally, which could adversely affect our operations. It is difficult to assess the likelihood of such threat and any potential impact at this time.

We expect that a limited number of financial institutions will hold our cash including financial institutions that may be located in Greece and the United States.

We expect that a limited number of financial institutions will hold all of our cash, including some institutions located in Greece and the U.S. Our bank accounts are with banks in Switzerland, the U.S. and Greece. Of the financial institutions located in Greece, none are subsidiaries of international banks. Depending on our cash balance in any our accounts at any given point in time, our balances may not be covered by government-backed deposit insurance programs in the event of default by these financial institutions.

For example, a substantial amount of cash is currently held in U.S. banking institutions. While the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation provides deposit insurance of $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, the amounts that we have in U.S. banks far exceeds that insurance amount, and therefore if the U.S. government does not impose measures to protect depositors, in the event the bank in which our funds are located fails, we may lose all or a substantial portion of our deposits. In addition, our bank accounts held in Swiss banking institutions are used for daily commercial transactions. Esisuisse, a self-regulatory organisation for banks in Switzerland, guarantees that it will cover protected deposits as part of the self-regulation of Swiss banks and securities firms which provides deposit insurance against loss up to the amount of CHF 100,000. The deposits we have in Swiss banks exceeds that insurance amount and therefore if the Swiss government does not impose measures to protect depositors, in the event the bank in which our funds are located fails, we may lose all or a substantial portion of our deposits. In addition, in the event any of our banks do not allow us to withdraw funds in the time and amounts that we want, we may not timely comply with contractual provisions in any of our contracts or our salary obligations, among other things.

The occurrence of any default of any of our banks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and we may lose part or all of our cash that we deposit with such banks. 

Purchasing and operating secondhand vessels may result in increased operating costs and reduced fleet utilization.

While we have the right to inspect previously owned vessels prior to our purchase of them, such an inspection does not provide us with the same knowledge about their condition that we would have if these vessels had been built for and operated exclusively by us. A secondhand vessel may have conditions or defects that we are not aware of when we buy the vessel and which may require us to incur costly repairs to the vessel. These repairs may require us to put a vessel into drydocking, which would increase cash outflows and related expenses, while reducing our fleet utilization. Furthermore, we usually do not receive the benefit of warranties on secondhand vessels.

Management may be unable to provide reports as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting or, when applicable, our independent registered public accounting firm may be unable to provide us with unqualified attestation reports as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting when required.

Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which we refer to as Sarbanes-Oxley, we are required to include in each of our annual reports on Form 20-F a report containing our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, management may not conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective if a material weakness exists in our internal control over financial reporting. If in such annual reports on Form 20-F our management cannot provide a report as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting or, when applicable, our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an unqualified attestation report as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as required by Section 404, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our consolidated financial statements, which could result in a decrease in the value of our common shares.

Unless we set aside reserves or are able to raise or borrow funds for vessel replacement, at the end of a vessel’s useful life our revenues will decline.

As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the vessels in our current fleet had a weighted average age of 11.2 and 10.2 years, respectively. Our oldest vessel was built in 2005, and our youngest vessel was built in 2018. Unless we maintain reserves or are able to raise or borrow or raise funds for vessel replacement, we will be unable to replace the vessels in our fleet upon the expiration of their remaining useful lives, which we expect to be 25 years from the date of their construction. Our cash flows and income are dependent on the revenues earned by the chartering of our vessels to customers. If we are unable to replace the vessels in our fleet upon the expiration of their useful lives, our business, results of operations, financial condition and ability to pay dividends will be materially adversely affected. Any reserves set aside for vessel replacement may not be available for dividends.  

We depend upon a few significant customers for a large part of our revenues.

We may derive a significant part of our revenue from a small number of customers. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, we derived substantially all of our revenues from approximately 37, 23 and 29 customers, respectively, and approximately 39%, 47% and 31%, respectively, of our revenues during those years were derived from four customers. If one or more of our major customers defaults under a charter with us and we are not able to find a replacement charter, or if such a customer exercises certain rights to terminate the charter, we could suffer a loss of revenues that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution as dividends to our shareholders.

We could lose a customer or the benefits of a time charter if, among other things:

If we lose a key customer, we may be unable to obtain charters on comparable terms with charterers of comparable standing or we may have increased exposure to the volatile short-term or spot market, which is highly competitive and subject to significant price fluctuations. We would not receive any revenues from such a vessel while it remained unchartered, but we may be required to pay expenses necessary to maintain the vessel in proper operating condition, insure it and service any indebtedness secured by such vessel. The loss of any of our customers, time charters or vessels or a decline in payments under our charters could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to pay dividends.

We generate revenues from the trading of our vessels in U.S. dollars but incur a portion of our expenses in other currencies.

We generate substantially all of our revenues from the trading of our vessels in U.S. dollars, but during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 we incurred approximately 30%, 31% and 25%, respectively, of our vessel operating expenses, and certain administrative expenses, in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. This difference could lead to fluctuations in net profit due to changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies. Expenses incurred in foreign currencies against which the U.S. dollar falls in value can increase, decreasing our results from operations. We have not hedged our currency exposure, and, as a result, our results of operations and financial condition, denominated in U.S. dollars, and our ability to pay dividends could suffer.

If volatility in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, occurs, it could affect our profitability, earnings and cash flow.

The interest rates borne by the CIT Loan Facility fluctuates with changes in SOFR (which replaced the previously used LIBOR), which fluctuations would affect the amount of interest payable on those debts, which, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our profitability, earnings and cash flow. CIT Loan Facility now bears interest at Term SOFR, which is a forward looking term SOFR, plus a margin of 3.35%.

In order to manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations under SOFR, or any other alternative rate, we have and may from time to time use interest rate derivatives to effectively fix some of our floating rate debt obligations. No assurance can however be given that the use of these derivative instruments, if any, may effectively protect us from adverse interest rate movements. The use of interest rate derivatives may affect our results through mark to market valuation of these derivatives. Also, adverse movements in interest rate derivatives may require us to post cash as collateral, which may impact our free cash position.

We may have to pay tax on U.S. source shipping income.

Under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, 50% of the gross shipping income of a vessel-owning or chartering corporation that is attributable to transportation that begins or ends, but that does not both begin and end, in the United States is characterized as U.S. source shipping income and such income is subject to a 4% U.S. federal income tax without allowance for deductions, unless that corporation qualifies for exemption from tax under section 883 of the Code and the U.S. Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, which we refer to as the Section 883 Exemption, or through the application of a comprehensive income tax treaty between the United States and the corporation’s country of residence. The eligibility of Globus Maritime and our subsidiaries to qualify for the Section 883 Exemption is determined each taxable year and is dependent on certain circumstances related to the ownership of our shares and on interpretations of existing U.S. Treasury regulations, each of which could change. We can therefore give no assurance that we will in fact be eligible to qualify for the Section 883 Exemption for all taxable years. In addition, changes to the Code, the U.S. Treasury regulations or the interpretation thereof by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, or the courts could adversely affect the ability of Globus Maritime and our subsidiaries to take advantage of the Section 883 Exemption.

If we are not entitled to the Section 883 Exemption or an exemption under a tax treaty for any taxable year in which any company in the group earns U.S. source shipping income, any company earning such U.S. source shipping income, would be subject to a 4% U.S. federal income tax on the gross amount of the U.S. source shipping income for the year (or an effective rate of 2% on shipping income attributable to the transportation of freight to or from the United States). The imposition of this taxation could have a negative effect on our business and revenues and would result in decreased earnings available for distribution to our shareholders.

For a more complete discussion, please read the section entitled “Item 10.E. Taxation— United States Tax Considerations— United States Federal Income Taxation of the Company.”

U.S. tax authorities could treat us as a “passive foreign investment company,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. shareholders.

A foreign corporation will be treated as a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either at least 75% of its gross income for any taxable year consists of certain types of “passive income” or at least 50% of the average value of the corporation’s assets produce or are held for the production of those types of “passive income.” For purposes of these tests, “passive income” includes dividends, interest and gains from the sale or exchange of investment property, and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties that are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. For purposes of these tests, income derived from the performance of services does not constitute “passive income.”

U.S. shareholders of a PFIC are subject to a disadvantageous U.S. federal income tax regime with respect to the income derived by the PFIC, the distributions they receive from the PFIC, and the gain, if any, they derive from the sale or other disposition of their shares in the PFIC, unless those shareholders make an election available under the Code (which election could itself have adverse consequences for such shareholders).

In particular, U.S. shareholders who are individuals would not be eligible for the preferential tax rate on qualified dividends. Please read “Item 10.E. Taxation—United States Tax Considerations—United States Federal Income Taxation of United States Holders” for a more comprehensive discussion of the U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. shareholders if we are treated as a PFIC.

Based on our current operations and anticipated future operations, we believe we should not be treated as a PFIC. In this regard, we intend to treat gross income we derive or are deemed to derive from our time chartering activities as services income, rather than rental income. Accordingly, we believe that our income from our time chartering activities should not constitute “passive income,” and that the assets we own and operate in connection with the production of that income do not constitute assets that produce or are held for the production of “passive income.”

There are legal uncertainties involved in this determination because there is no direct legal authority under the PFIC rules addressing our current and projected future operations. Moreover, a case decided in 2009 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that, contrary to the position of the IRS in that case, and for purposes of a different set of rules under the Code, income received under a time charter of vessels should be treated as rental income rather than services income. If the reasoning of this case were extended to the PFIC context, the gross income we derive or are deemed to derive from our time chartering activities would be treated as rental income, and we would be a PFIC unless an active leasing exception applies. Although the IRS has announced that it will not follow the reasoning of this case, and that it intends to treat the income from standard industry time charters as services income, no assurance can be given that a U.S. court will not follow the aforementioned case. Moreover, no assurance can be given that we would not constitute a PFIC for any future taxable year if there were to be changes in our assets, income or operations.

If the IRS were to find that we are or have been a PFIC for any taxable year, our U.S. shareholders will face adverse U.S. tax consequences and information reporting obligations, as more fully described under “Item 10.E. Taxation—United States Tax Considerations—United States Federal Income Taxation of United States Holders.” 

We could face penalties under European Union, United States or other economic sanctions.  

Our business could be adversely impacted if we are found to have violated economic sanctions under the applicable laws of the European Union, the United States or another applicable jurisdiction against countries such as Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, and Cuba. U.S. economic sanctions, for example, prohibit a wide scope of conduct, target numerous countries and individuals, are frequently updated or changed and have vague application in many situations.

Many economic sanctions relate to our business, including prohibitions on certain kinds of trade with countries, such as exportation or re-exportation of commodities, or prohibitions against certain transactions with designated nationals who may be operating under aliases or through non-designated companies. The imposition of economic sanctions on Russian persons, first imposed in March 2014 and further in 2022, is an example of economic sanctions with a potentially widespread and unpredictable impact on shipping. Certain of our charterers or other parties with whom we have entered into contracts regarding our vessels may be affiliated with persons or entities that are the subject of sanctions imposed by the U.S. government, the European Union and/or other international bodies relating to the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the current conflict in Ukraine. If we determine that such sanctions require us to terminate existing contracts or if we are found to be in violation of such applicable sanctions, our results of operations may be adversely affected or we may suffer reputational harm.

Additionally, the U.S. Iran Threat Reduction Act (which was signed into law in 2012) amended the Exchange Act to require issuers that file annual or quarterly reports under Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act to include disclosure in their annual and quarterly reports as to whether the issuer or its affiliates have knowingly engaged in certain activities prohibited by sanctions against Iran or transactions or dealings with certain identified persons. We are subject to this disclosure requirement.

There can be no assurance that we will be in compliance with all applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations in the future, particularly as the scope of certain laws may be unclear and may be subject to changing interpretations. Any such violation could result in fines or other penalties and could severely impact our ability to access U.S. capital markets and conduct our business, and could result in some investors deciding, or being required, to divest their interest, or not to invest, in us. Even inadvertent violations of economic sanctions can result in the imposition of material fines and restrictions and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, our reputation, and the market price of our common shares.

Our vessels may call on ports subject to economic sanctions or embargoes.

From time to time on charterers’ instructions, our vessels may call on ports located in countries subject to sanctions and embargoes imposed by the United States government and countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Syria. It is also possible for us to call on a port in Russia. The U.S. sanctions and embargo laws and regulations vary in their application, as they do not all apply to the same covered persons or proscribe the same activities, and such sanctions and embargo laws and regulations may be amended or strengthened over time.

Although we believe that we have been in compliance with all applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations, and intend to maintain such compliance, there can be no assurance that we will be in compliance in the future as such regulations and sanctions may be amended over time. Any such violation could result in fines, penalties or other sanctions that could severely impact our ability to access U.S. capital markets and conduct our business, and could result in some investors deciding, or being required, to divest their interest, or not to invest, in us. In addition, certain institutional investors may have investment policies or restrictions that prevent them from holding securities of companies that have contracts with countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism. The determination by these investors not to invest in, or to divest from, our common shares may adversely affect the price at which our common shares trade. Moreover, our charterers may violate applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations as a result of actions that do not involve us or our vessels, and those violations could in turn negatively affect our reputation. In addition, our reputation and the market for our securities may be adversely affected if we engage in certain other activities, such as entering into charters with individuals or entities in countries subject to U.S. sanctions and embargo laws that are not controlled by the governments of those countries, or engaging in operations associated with those countries pursuant to contracts with third parties that are unrelated to those countries or entities controlled by their governments. Investor perception of the value of our common shares may be adversely affected by the consequences of war, the effects of terrorism, civil unrest and governmental actions in these and surrounding countries. 

As a Marshall Islands corporation with principal executive offices in Greece, and also having subsidiaries in the Marshall Islands and other offshore jurisdictions such as Malta, our operations may be subject to economic substance requirements.

On March 12, 2019, the Council of the European Union published a list of “non-cooperative jurisdictions” for tax purposes in which the Republic of the Marshall Islands, among others, was placed by the E.U. on this list for failing to implement certain commitments previously made to the E.U. by the agreed deadline. However, it was announced by the Council of the European Union on October 10, 2019 that the Marshall Islands had been removed from that list, but was put back on the list in February 2023. E.U. member states have agreed upon a set of measures, which they can choose to apply against the listed countries, including increased monitoring and audits, withholding taxes and non-deductibility of costs. The European Commission has stated it will continue to support member states' efforts to develop a more coordinated approach to sanctions for the listed countries in 2019. E.U. legislation prohibits certain E.U. funds from being channeled or transited through entities in non-cooperative jurisdictions. 

We are a Marshall Islands corporation with principal executive offices in Greece. Our management company is also a Marshall Islands entity and one of our subsidiaries is organized in Malta. The Marshall Islands has enacted economic substance regulations with which we may be obligated to comply. Those regulations require certain entities that carry out particular activities to comply with an economic substance test whereby the entity must show that it (i) is directed and managed in the Marshall Islands in relation to that relevant activity, (ii) carries out core income-generating activity in relation to that relevant activity in the Marshall Islands (although it is being understood and acknowledged by the regulators that income-generated activities for shipping companies will generally occur in international waters) and (iii) having regard to the level of relevant activity carried out in the Marshall Islands has (a) an adequate amount of expenditures in the Marshall Islands, (b) adequate physical presence in the Marshall Islands and (c) an adequate number of qualified employees in the Marshall Islands.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under this legislation or any similar law applicable to us in any other jurisdictions, we could be subject to financial penalties and spontaneous disclosure of information to foreign tax officials, or could be struck from the register of companies, in related jurisdictions. Any of the foregoing could be disruptive to our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and operating results.

We do not know: if the E.U. will remove the Marshall Islands from the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, or add Malta to that list; how quickly the E.U. would react to any changes in legislation of the Marshall Islands or Malta; or how E.U. banks or other counterparties will react while we or any of our subsidiaries remain as entities organized and existing under the laws of listed countries. The effect of the E.U. list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, and any noncompliance by us with any legislation adopted by applicable countries to achieve removal from the list, including economic substance regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and operating results.

It may be difficult to serve us with legal process or enforce judgments against us, our directors or our management.

Our business is operated primarily from our offices in Greece. In addition, a majority of our directors and officers are non-residents of the United States, and all of our assets and a substantial portion of the assets of these non-residents are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States if you believe that your rights have been infringed under securities laws or otherwise. You may also have difficulty enforcing, both within and outside of the United States, judgments you may obtain in the United States courts against us or these persons in any action, including actions based upon the civil liability provisions of United States federal or state securities laws. There is also substantial doubt that the courts of the Marshall Islands or Greece would enter judgments in original actions brought in those courts predicated on United States federal or state securities laws.

The international nature of our operations may make the outcome of any bankruptcy proceedings difficult to predict.

We redomiciled into the Marshall Islands and our subsidiaries are incorporated under the laws of the Marshall Islands or Malta, we have limited operations in the United States, and we maintain limited assets, if any, in the United States. Consequently, in the event of any bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or similar proceeding involving us or any of our subsidiaries, bankruptcy laws other than those of the United States could apply. The Marshall Islands does not have a bankruptcy statute or general statutory mechanism for insolvency proceedings. If we become a debtor under U.S. bankruptcy law, bankruptcy courts in the United States may seek to assert jurisdiction over all of our assets, wherever located, including property situated in other countries. There can be no assurance, however, that we would become a debtor in the United States, or that a U.S. bankruptcy court would accept, or be entitled to accept, jurisdiction over such a bankruptcy case, or that courts in other countries that have jurisdiction over us and our operations would recognize a U.S. bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction if any other bankruptcy court would determine it had jurisdiction. These factors may delay or prevent us from entering bankruptcy in the United States and may affect the ability of our shareholders to receive any recovery following our bankruptcy. 

Risks Relating to our Common Shares

Our stock price has been volatile and no assurance can be made that it will not substantially depreciate.

Our stock price has been volatile recently. The closing price of our common shares within 2022 has ranged from a peak of $2.57 on April 20, 2022 to a low of $1.05 on December 30, 2022, representing a decrease of 59%. We can offer no comfort or assurance that our stock price will stop being volatile or not substantially depreciate. Our stock price was $1.10 on March 15, 2023.  

We may continue to incur rapid and substantial increases or decreases in our stock price in the foreseeable future that may not coincide in timing with the disclosure of news or developments by or affecting us. Accordingly, the market price of our common shares may decline or fluctuate rapidly, regardless of any developments in our business. Overall, there are various factors, many of which are beyond our control, that could negatively affect the market price of our common shares or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common shares, which include but are not limited to:

• investor reaction to our business strategy;

• the sentiment of the significant number of retail investors whom we believe to hold our common shares, in part due to direct access by retail investors to broadly available trading platforms, and whose investment thesis may be influenced by views expressed on financial trading and other social media sites and online forums;

• the amount and status of short interest in our common shares, access to margin debt, trading in options and other derivatives on our common shares and any related hedging and other trading factors;

• our continued compliance with the listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market;

• regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries, especially changes in laws or regulations applicable to our industry;

• variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

• our ability or inability to raise additional capital and the terms on which we raise it;

• our dividend strategy;

• our continued compliance with our debt covenants;

• variations in the value of our fleet;

• declines in the market prices of stocks generally;

• trading volume of our common shares;

• sales of our common shares by us or our shareholders;

• speculation in the press or investment community about our Company or industry;

• general economic, industry and market conditions; and

• other events or factors, including those resulting from such events, or the prospect of such events, including war, terrorism and other international conflicts, public health issues including health epidemics or pandemics, including worldwide pandemics similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters such as fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados or other adverse weather and climate conditions, whether occurring in the United States or elsewhere, could disrupt our operations or result in political or economic instability.

In addition, some companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their common shares have been subject to securities class-action litigation. If instituted against us, such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and growth prospects. There can be no guarantee that the price of our common shares will remain at its current level or that future sales of our common shares will not be at prices lower than those sold to investors.

We may issue additional common shares or other equity securities without shareholder approval, which would dilute our existing shareholders’ ownership interests and may depress the market price of our common shares.

We may issue additional common shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future without shareholder approval for cash or in connection with, among other things, future vessel acquisitions, the repayment of outstanding indebtedness, and the conversion of convertible financial instruments.

Our issuance of additional common shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in these situations would have the following effects:

· our existing shareholders’ proportionate ownership interest in us would decrease;

· the proportionate amount of cash available for dividends payable on our common shares could decrease;

· the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common share could be diminished; and

· the market price of our common shares could decline.

In addition, we may be obligated to issue, upon exercise or conversion of outstanding agreements and warrants pursuant to the terms thereof:

In addition:

Our issuance of additional common shares upon the exercise of such warrants and agreements would cause the proportionate ownership interest in us of our existing shareholders, other than the exercising warrant or agreement holder, to decrease; the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common share held by our existing shareholders to decrease; and, depending on our share price when and if these warrants are exercised, may result in dilution to our shareholders. Because we are a foreign private issuer, we are not bound by Nasdaq rules that require shareholder approval for issuances of our securities. We therefore can issue securities in such amounts and at such times as we feel appropriate, all without shareholder approval. See “Item 16G. Corporate Governance.”

Future issuances or sales, or the potential for future issuances or sales, of our common shares may cause the trading price of our securities to decline and could impair our ability to raise capital through subsequent equity offerings.

We have issued a significant number of our common shares and may do so in the future. Shares to be issued pursuant to the exercise of our outstanding warrants could cause the market price of our common shares to decline and could have an adverse effect on our earnings per share. In addition, future sales of our common shares or other securities in the public or private markets, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common shares to decline, and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional securities.

The market price of our common shares could decline due to sales, or the announcements of proposed sales, of a large number of common shares in the market, including sales of common shares by our large shareholders, or the perception that these sales could occur. These sales or the perception that these sales could occur could also depress the market price of our common shares and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities or make it more difficult or impossible for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate. We cannot predict the effect that future sales of common shares or other equity-related securities would have on the market price of our common shares.

The market price of our common shares may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses for investors who purchase our shares; and the volatility in the stock prices of other companies may contribute to volatility in our stock price. 

Our common shares have experienced price and volume fluctuations and may continue to experience volatility in the future. The closing price of our common shares within 2022 has ranged from a peak of $2.57 on April 20, 2022 to a low of $1.05 on December 30, 2022, representing a decrease of 59%. You may not be able to sell your shares quickly or at the latest market price if trading in our stock is not active or the volume is low. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common shares to fluctuate include:

●       the trading of our ships, and whether one or more ships are not trading or otherwise offhire;

●       regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;

●       the recruitment or departure of key personnel;

●       the level of expenses related to our business or to comply with changing laws, including in relation to environmental laws;

●       actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results or recommendations by securities analysts;

●       announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;

●       sales of our securities by us, our insiders, or other shareholders, and the exercise of our warrants and other convertible securities and instruments;

●       variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

●       changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, that cover our stock;

●       market conditions in the shipping industry and dry bulk sector; and

●       general economic, industry, and market conditions.

On December 30, 2022, the closing price of our common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $1.05 per share, as compared to $1.10, which was the closing price on March 15, 2023 . In addition, there has been volatility for our intra-day common share price. For example, the high and low intra-day prices on March 7, 2022 were $2.59 and $2.02, respectively, and the high and low intra-day prices on October 5, 2022 were $1.74 and $1.30, respectively. As a result, there is a potential for rapid and substantial decreases in the price of our common shares, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects.

In recent years, the stock market in general, Nasdaq, and the markets for shipping companies, has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations and depressions that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to changes in the operating performance of the companies whose stock is experiencing those price and volume fluctuations. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common shares, regardless of our actual operating performance. Following periods of such volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Because of the potential volatility of our stock price, we may become the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business. 

A possible “short squeeze” due to a sudden increase in demand of our common shares that largely exceeds supply may lead to further price volatility in our common shares.

Investors may purchase our common shares to hedge existing exposure in our common shares or to speculate on the price of our common shares. Speculation on the price of our common shares may involve long and short exposures. To the extent aggregate short exposure exceeds the number of common shares available for purchase in the open market, investors with short exposure may have to pay a premium to repurchase our common shares for delivery to lenders of our common shares. Those repurchases may in turn, dramatically increase the price of our common shares until investors with short exposure are able to purchase additional common shares to cover their short position. This is often referred to as a “short squeeze.” A short squeeze could lead to volatile price movements in common shares that are not directly correlated to the performance or prospects of our company and once investors purchase the common shares necessary to cover their short position the price of our common shares may decline. 

Our common shares could be delisted from Nasdaq, which could affect their market price and liquidity.

We are required to meet certain qualitative and financial tests (including a minimum bid price for our common shares of $1.00 per share, at least 500,000 publicly held shares, at least 300 public holders, a market value of publicly held securities of $1 million and net income from continuing operations of $500,000), as well as other corporate governance standards, to maintain the listing of our common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq. It is possible that we could fail to satisfy one or more of these requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with the minimum bid price, shareholders’ equity, number of publicly held shares, net income requirements or other listing standards in the future. We may receive notices from Nasdaq that we have failed to meet its requirements, and proceedings to delist our stock could be commenced. We have received in the past, and most recently on March 6, 2020, received a written notification from Nasdaq, indicating that because the closing bid price of our common stock for the last 30 consecutive business days was below $1.00 per share, we no longer meet the minimum bid price continued listing requirement for Nasdaq, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). We were able to regain compliance within the grace period prescribed pursuant to a reverse stock split effective October 21, 2020. We discuss this reverse stock split and others further in this annual report on Form 20-F. See “Item 4.A. History and Development of the Company— History relating to our shares.” In such event, Nasdaq rules permit us to appeal any delisting determination to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel. If we are unable to maintain or regain compliance in a timely manner and our common shares are delisted, it could be more difficult to buy or sell our common shares and obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our shares could suffer a material decline. Delisting may also impair our ability to raise capital. Delisting of our shares may breach our CIT Loan Facility, which contains cross default provisions, and the purchase agreement pursuant to which we sold some of our outstanding warrants. There could also be adverse tax consequences—please read “Item 10.E Taxation – United States Tax Considerations - United States Federal Income Taxation of United States Holders – Distributions” for further information.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with the minimum bid price, shareholders’ equity, number of publicly held shares or other listing standards in the future. We may receive notices from Nasdaq that we have failed to meet its requirements, and proceedings to delist our stock could be commenced. If we are unable to maintain or regain compliance in a timely manner and our common shares are delisted, it could be more difficult to buy or sell our common shares and obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our shares could suffer a material decline. The Company agreed, in its securities purchase agreements relating to share and warrant issuances in 2020 and 2021, to use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the listing or quotation of the common shares on Nasdaq, and to take all action reasonably necessary to continue the listing and trading of our common shares on Nasdaq. 

Our ability to declare and pay dividends to holders of our common shares will depend on a number of factors and will always be subject to the discretion of our board of directors.

If we are not in compliance with our loan covenants and received a notice of default and were unable to cure it under the terms of our loan covenants, we may be forbidden from issuing dividends. There can be no assurance that dividends will be paid to holders of our shares in any anticipated amounts and frequency at all. We may incur other expenses or liabilities that would reduce or eliminate the cash available for distribution as dividends, including as a result of the risks described in this section of this annual report on Form 20-F.

For instance, the CIT Loan Facility presently prohibits our declaration and payment of dividends under some circumstances. Under the CIT Loan Facility Globus Maritime Limited is prohibited from making dividends (other than up to $500,000 annually on or in respect of its preferred shares) in cash or redeem or repurchase its shares unless there is no event of default under the CIT Loan Facility, the net loan to value ratio is less than 60% before the making of the dividend and Globus Maritime Limited is in compliance with the debt service coverage ratio, and Globus Maritime Limited must prepay the CIT Loan Facility in an equal amount of the dividend. Please read “Item 5.B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness” for further information.

We may also enter into new financing or other agreements that may restrict our ability to pay dividends even without an event of default or make it less desirable for us to do so. In addition, we may pay dividends to the holders of our preferred shares prior to the holders of our common shares, depending on the terms of the preferred shares.

If we pay a dividend, the terms of our outstanding warrants provide that the exercise price shall be decreased by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each common share in respect of such dividend in order that subsequent thereto upon exercise of the warrants the holder of the warrants may obtain the equivalent benefit of such dividend.

The declaration and payment of dividends to holders of our shares will be subject at all times to the discretion of our board of directors, and will be paid equally on a per-share basis between our common shares and our Class B shares, to the extent any are issued and outstanding. We can provide no assurance that dividends will be paid in the future.

There may be a high degree of variability from period to period in the amount of cash, if any, that is available for the payment of dividends based upon, among other things:

Marshall Islands law generally prohibits the payment of dividends other than from surplus or certain net profits, or while a company is insolvent or would be rendered insolvent by the payment of such a dividend. We may not have sufficient funds, surplus, or net profits to make distributions.

We may incur expenses or liabilities or be subject to other circumstances in the future that reduce or eliminate the amount of cash that we have available for distribution as dividends, if any. Our growth strategy contemplates that we will finance the acquisition of our newbuildings or selective acquisitions of vessels through a combination of our operating cash flow and debt financing through our subsidiaries or equity financing. If financing is not available to us on acceptable terms, our board of directors may decide to finance or refinance acquisitions with a greater percentage of cash from operations to the extent available, which would reduce or even eliminate the amount of cash available for the payment of dividends. We may also enter into other agreements that will restrict our ability to pay dividends or make it less desirable for us to do so.

The amount of cash we generate from our operations may differ materially from our net income or loss for the period, which will be affected by non-cash items. We may incur other expenses or liabilities that could reduce or eliminate the cash available for distribution as dividends. As a result of these and the other factors mentioned above, we may pay dividends during periods when we record losses and may not pay dividends during periods when we record net income, if we pay dividends at all.

We are a holding company, and we will depend on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute funds to us in order to satisfy our financial obligations or to make dividend payments.

We are a holding company and our subsidiaries, which are all directly and wholly owned by us, will conduct all of our operations and own all of our operating assets. We have no significant assets other than the equity interests in our wholly owned subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to make dividend payments depends on our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute funds to us. If we are unable to obtain funds from our subsidiaries, our board of directors may exercise its discretion not to declare or pay dividends. In addition, our subsidiaries are subject to limitations on the payment of dividends under Marshall Islands or Maltese law.

Provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws may have anti-takeover effects, which could depress the trading price of our common shares.

Several provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws, which are summarized below, may have anti-takeover effects. These provisions are intended to avoid costly takeover battles, lessen our vulnerability to a hostile change of control and enhance the ability of our board of directors to maximize shareholder value in connection with any unsolicited offer to acquire our company. However, these anti-takeover provisions could also discourage, delay or prevent the merger or acquisition of our company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise that a shareholder may consider in its best interest and the removal of incumbent officers and directors, which could affect the desirability of our shares and, consequently, our share price.

Multi Class Stock.

Our multi-class stock structure, which consists of common shares, Class B common shares, and preferred shares, can provide holders of our Class B common shares or preferred shares a significant degree of control over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets, because our different classes of shares can have different numbers of votes.

For instance, while our common shares have one vote on matters before the shareholders, each of our 10,300 outstanding Series B preferred shares has 25,000 votes on matters before the shareholders; provided however, that no holder of Series B preferred shares may exercise voting rights pursuant to any Series B preferred shares that would result in the total number of votes a holder is entitled to vote on any matter submitted to a vote of shareholders of the Company to exceed 49.99% of the total number of votes eligible to be cast on such matter. No Class B common shares are presently outstanding, but if and when we issue any, each Class B common share will have 20 votes on matters before the shareholders.

At present, and until a substantial number of additional securities are issued, our holder of Series B preferred shares exerts substantial control of the Company’s votes and is able to exert substantial control over our management and all matters requiring shareholder approval, including electing directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger. Such holder’s interest could differ from other shareholders’ interests.

Blank Check Preferred Shares.

Under the terms of our articles of incorporation, our board of directors has authority, without any further vote or action by our shareholders, to issue up to 100 million “blank check” preferred shares, almost all of which currently remain available for issuance. Our board could authorize the issuance of preferred shares with voting or conversion rights that could dilute the voting power or rights of the holders of common shares, in addition to preferred shares that are already outstanding. The issuance of preferred shares, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us or the removal of our management and may harm the market price of our common shares.

Classified Board of Directors.

Our articles of incorporation provide for the division of our board of directors into three classes of directors, with each class as nearly equal in number as possible, serving staggered, three-year terms beginning upon the expiration of the initial term for each class. Approximately one-third of our board of directors is elected each year. This classified board provision could discourage a third party from making a tender offer for our shares or attempting to obtain control of us. It could also delay shareholders who do not agree with the policies of our board of directors from removing a majority of our board of directors for up to two years.

Election of Directors.

Our articles of incorporation do not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors. Our bylaws require parties, other than the chairman of the board of directors, board of directors and shareholders holding 30% or more of the voting power of the aggregate number of our shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, to provide advance written notice of nominations for the election of directors. These provisions may discourage, delay or prevent the removal of incumbent officers and directors.

Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals and Director Nominations.

Our bylaws provide that shareholders, other than shareholders holding 30% or more of the voting power of the aggregate number of our shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, seeking to nominate candidates for election as directors or to bring business before an annual meeting of shareholders must provide timely notice of their proposal in writing to the corporate secretary.

Generally, to be timely, a shareholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 150 days or more than 180 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of shareholders. Our bylaws also specify requirements as to the form and content of a shareholder’s notice. These provisions may impede a shareholder’s ability to bring matters before an annual meeting of shareholders or make nominations for directors at an annual meeting of shareholders.

Calling of Special Meetings of Shareholders

Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our shareholders may be called only by the chairman of our board of directors, by resolution of our board of directors or by holders of 30% or more of the voting power of the aggregate number of our shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at such meeting.

Action by Written Consent in Lieu of a Meeting

Our articles permit any action which may or is required by the BCA to be taken at a meeting of the shareholders to be authorized by consents in writing signed by the holders of outstanding shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted. Presently and until and unless we issue a significant number of securities, Goldenmare Limited, a company affiliated with our Chief Executive Officer, holds Series B preferred shares controlling a significant portion of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Goldenmare could, together with shareholders possessing a relatively small number of shares, act by written consent in lieu of a meeting and authorize major transactions on behalf of the Company, all without calling a meeting of shareholders.

Business Combinations

Our articles prohibit us from engaging in a business combination with an interested shareholder for a period of three years following the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested shareholder, subject to certain exceptions. Please see “Item 10B.—Memorandum and Articles of Association—Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws—Business Combinations.”

We are subject to Marshall Islands corporate law, which is not well-developed.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of incorporation, our bylaws and by the Marshall Islands Business Corporations Act, or the BCA. The provisions of the BCA resemble provisions of the corporation laws of a number of states in the United States. However, there have been few judicial cases in the Marshall Islands interpreting the BCA. The rights and fiduciary responsibilities of directors under the laws of the Marshall Islands are not as clearly established as the rights and fiduciary responsibilities of directors under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in certain United States jurisdictions. The rights of shareholders of corporations incorporated in or redomiciled into the Marshall Islands may differ from the rights of shareholders of corporations incorporated in the United States. While the BCA provides that it is to be applied and construed to make the laws of the Marshall Islands, for non-resident entities such as us, with respect of the subject matter of the BCA, uniform with the laws of the State of Delaware and other states with substantially similar legislative provisions (and adopts their case law to the extent it does not conflict with the BCA), there have been few court cases interpreting the BCA in the Marshall Islands and we cannot predict whether Marshall Islands courts would reach the same conclusions as United States courts. Thus, you may have more difficulty in protecting your interests in the face of actions by our management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a United States jurisdiction that has developed a more substantial body of case law in the corporate law area.

Increases in interest rates may cause the market price of our shares to decline.

An increase in interest rates may cause a corresponding decline in demand for equity investments in general. Any such increase in interest rates or reduction in demand for our shares resulting from other relatively more attractive investment opportunities may cause the trading price of our shares to decline. If the relevant SOFR increases, then our payments pursuant to certain existing loan will increase. See “Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.” 

The public market may not continue to be active and liquid enough for our shareholders to resell our common shares in the future.

The price of our common shares may be volatile and may fluctuate due to factors such as:

The dry bulk shipping industry has been highly unpredictable and volatile. The market for our common shares may be equally volatile.