Newlead bags panamax COA

The contract is for the transportation of 704,000 tons of aggregate over 11 voyages that should be completed within a year from the first shipment this month.

Michael Zolotas, chairman and ceo of NewLead, stated, "We have succeeded in securing solid employment of the Newlead Markela for the year 2015 while the dry bulk market is at historical lows. We intend to capitalise on our strong commercial relationships with charterers and trading companies to capture trading opportunities despite unfavourable market conditions in the dry bulk sector."

For its five dry bulk vessels and six tankers, Newlead has around 43.2% and 45.4% of operating days fixed respectively for 2015, with two vessels on time charters and the rest trading on the spot market.

Newlead intends to continue expanding its fleet during 2015 while "taking advantage of market opportunities."