Athens-based dry bulk vessel owner and charterer Diana Shipping has agreed to become a strategic partner and invest in a newly established joint venture, Ecogas Holding, with an 80 per cent equity interest in a transaction for the construction of two 7,500-cubic-metre, semi-refrigerated LPG newbuildings, with an option for two additional vessels.
Diana Shipping expects to take delivery of the first vessel in the first quarter of 2027 and the second vessel in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Diana Shipping's fleet currently consists of 37 dry bulk vessels (four Newcastlemax, eight Capesize, four Post-Panamax, six Kamsarmax, six Panamax and nine Ultramax).
The company also expects to take delivery of two methanol dual-fuel newbuilding Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels by the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028, respectively.
As of Friday, March 21, the combined carrying capacity of the company's fleet, excluding the two vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 4.1 million DWT with a weighted average age of 11.39 years.
A table describing the current Diana Shipping fleet can be found on the company’s website.