Dryships will not negotiate...

... to lower charter rates to their customers, unless, it's a company connected to the chairman of Dryships, George Economou.

The only exception was “if we have to accept it because we have no recourse or if we are wrong”.

An example was the capesize Brisbane, which has been chartered to Classic Maritime, an Economou-backed independent operating company. DryShips conceded a reduced rate — apparently from $57,000 to $25,000 a day — as the charterer threatened to cancel, based on an alleged problem in the vessel’s suitability for a key ore trade, Mr Economou said.

click here for article from Lloyds List