the ransom amount was $2.3 million. The pirate group initially wanted $9 million, but negotiations resulted in a lower amount. The ship's owners, Free Bulkers SA, did not comment about the ransom payment claims.
[February 2]UKMTO received a call from the CSO of Free Goddess stating that he could not contact the vessel. The Free Goddess was en route from Adabiya, Egypt to Singapore, carrying 19,475 mt of steel cable with a crew of 21 Filipinos on board. The vessel is not responding to any calls. UKMTO Dubai also administers the Voluntary Reporting Scheme, under which merchant vessels are encouraged to send regular reports, providing their position/course/speed and ETA at their next port whilst transiting the region bound by Suez, 78°E and 10°S. UKMTO Dubai subsequently tracks vessels and the positional information is passed to CMF and EU headquarters.
9107045 FREE GODDESS A8UM4 Bulker 22051 1995
CEO Ion Varouxakis founded FreeSeas in 2004
Ion G. Varouxakis
Chairman of the Board
of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and President FreeSeas, Inc.
Piraeus , GR
Sector: SERVICES / Shipping
Officer since January 2006
39 Years Old
Ion G. Varouxakis is one of our founders and is the Chairman of our board of directors. He also serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer. In 2003, Mr. Varouxakis founded Free Bulkers, the beginning of a single-vessel, self-financed entrepreneurial venture that led to FreeSeas founding and NASDAQ listing in 2005.
Under Mr. Varouxakis? leadership, FreeSeas has grown to be a leader in the Handysize and Handymax segment in the U.S. capital market. Prior to founding Free Bulkers, Mr. Varouxakis held since 1997 management positions in private shipping companies operating in the drybulk sector.
Mr. Varouxakis holds a candidature degree in law from the Catholic University of Saint Louis in Brussels and a bachelor of science degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Varouxakis is a member of the Hellenic Committee of the Korean Register of Shipping and is an officer of the reserves of the Hellenic Army. Mr. Varouxakis is the brother of Alexis Varouxakis, our Secretary.
Compensation for 2006
Salary $150,000.00
Bonus $0.00
Restricted stock awards $0.00
All other compensation $0.00
Option awards $ $0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation $0.00
Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings $0.00
Total Compensation $150,000.00
FreeSeas Frees Up Cash For Acquisitions 03.24.09
FreeSeas has secured waivers on its debt and refinanced an existing credit facility, and with its newfound financial freedom, it wants to do some bottom feeding.
FreeSeas (nasdaq: FREE - news - people ) Chief Executive Ion Varouxakis made a bullish call on the dry-bulk market, saying the waivers on $153.0 million in debt will allow it to take advantage of plunging asset values in the market. The company also refinanced the existing credit facility for its vessel the Free Maverick. "These modifications to our loan agreements, coupled with recent charter announcements, have provided FreeSeas with a greater level of operational and financial flexibility," said Ion Varouxakis.
"To a lesser extent, we believe these waivers position us for growth as we see unprecedented opportunities for acquisitions at current market prices."
FreeSeas is taking a more aggressive stance than its rival Diana Shipping, which last month said it would wait until asset values dropped further before jumping into any acquisitions.
Meanwhile, FreeSeas said it agreed with Hollandsche Bank - Unie N.V. to refinance a balloon payment of $27.1 million due Aug. 1 on the loan for its ship Free Maverick. The balloon payment will be replaced by a new three and a half year facility, which is payable through 13 quarterly installments of $600,000 beginning on Aug. 1, and one installment of $19.3 million payable on Nov. 1, 2012, the company said.
Home port: Monrovia Class society: Bureau Veritas Build year: 1995 Builder*: Saiki Heavy Industries Saiki, Japan
Owner: Freeseas - Athens, Greece
Manager: Free Bulkers - Athens, Greece
Former name(s):
- Bbc Barranquilla (Until 2007 Oct 31)
- Barranquilla (Until 2006 Nov 17)
- Ubc Barranquilla (Until 2004 May 05)
- Bernes (Until 2001 Nov 19)
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