We are a New York City-based company incorporated in the Marshall Islands in 2004. We transport iron ore, coal, grain, steel products and other drybulk cargoes along worldwide shipping routes through the ownership and operation of drybulk carrier vessels. Our fleet currently consists of 58 drybulk carriers, including 17 Capesize drybulk carriers, two Panamax drybulk carriers, six Ultramax drybulk carriers, 20 Supramax drybulk carriers, and 13 Handysize drybulk carriers, with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 5,075,000 deadweight tons (“dwt”). The average age of our current fleet is approximately 9.0 years. All of the vessels in our fleet were built in shipyards with reputations for constructing high-quality vessels. Of the vessels in our fleet, 30 are currently on spot market voyage charters, two are currently on spot market-related time charters, and 26 are on fixed-rate time charter contracts and we are currently time chartering-in six third party vessels.
In 2017, we began implementing initiatives to expand our commercial platform and more actively manage the employment of our vessels. We hired commercial directors for our major bulk and minor bulk fleets and have begun employment of our vessels directly with cargo owners under cargo contracts. To better capitalize on opportunities to employ our vessels, we expanded our global commercial presence with the establishment of new offices in Singapore and Copenhagen. Additionally, we have withdrawn our vessels from pools and have reallocated our freight exposure to the Atlantic basin to seek to capture the earnings premium historically offered. Overall, our fleet deployment strategy remains weighted towards short-term fixtures, which provide optionality in a potentially rising freight rate environment. In addition to both short and long-term time charters, we fix our vessels on spot market voyage charters as well as spot market-related time charters depending on market conditions and management’s outlook.
In 2017, we began a fleet renewal program to modernize its fleet by replacing older vessels with newer vessels having greater fuel efficiency and other improved specifications. Please see below under “Vessel Sales” and “Vessel Acquisitions for further details.