Top Ships has moved to draw a line under a dispute with Antonio Zacchello’s Magellano Marine by repossessing a bareboat chartered products carrier.

Evangelos Pistiolis
A new long term bareboat charter at $9,000 a day with United Arab Shipping Co (UASC) has been fixed for the 50,000-dwt Ionian Wave (built 2009) which is the rate that Magellano imposed after claiming it could not continue to pay an agreed $14,300 a day.

The UASC charter is for a minimum of seven years with a further three one yearly options so it worth at least $23m and maybe up to $33m.

Evangelos Pistiolis led Top Ships said it was now examining its options over the broker deal.

These include a negotiated settlement, or if this does not prove possible arbitration or litigation.

The Magellano charter still has several years to run so a claim of at least $10m or maybe even double this figure is in prospect.

The Ionian Wave has a breakeven rate in the $6,000 to $7,000 a day range so Top Ships is in the money on the deal while swapping Zacchello for UASC as a charterer.

Top Ships has also fixed the 76,000-dwt bulk carrier Cyclades (built 2000) to a South Korean charter for three years at a gross rate of $20,000 a day.

This makes the deal worth almost $22m. The word in the market is that the timecharterer is the Daeyang group.