Surprise Surprise

I've been questioning the financial viability of DryShips for quite some time now, so I do not find any of this information surprising.

In a research note moving DryShips to ‘Sell’, an analyst at Dahlman Rose said that on a charter-free basis, DryShips’ current loan-to-value was beyond 100%.

DRYSHIPS’ ... admitted that $752m of its debt was in breach of covenants with two of its leading banks.

In addition, the George Economou led company was “in communication” regarding breach of loan covenants with a third lender holding $650m of debt.

The disclosure, along with news that three bulker sales the company negotiated last year have unravelled, was contained in a new shelf registration with market regulators to cover the possible issue of up to $500m in new shares.

In a similar exercise launched last November, DryShips filed for 25m shares but although most of the offering was sold its proceeds amounted to $167m rather than the $500m initially expected.

and DryShips is also having some problems with a dispute regarding a cancellation of a ship purchase

GEORGE Economou’s DryShips has been given extra time by a US district judge to present its side of the story in a maritime attachment dispute involving Canadian shipowner Fednav.

Fednav brought a Rule B attachment complaint in New York two weeks ago, naming DryShips associate Kerkyra Traders as the main defendant.

Fednav’s complaint, had it been granted on an ex parte basis, would have allowed it to attach DryShips assets in the US without informing DryShips.

However, Judge Leonard Sand of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said in an order dated January 22, that “this question is too close to be resolved based only upon ex parte submissions by plaintiff”.