Seanergy Maritime - 20-F annual report 2021

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report contains certain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and other statements that are other than statements of historical fact.  In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements.  The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties.  Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.  As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements.

Many of these statements are based on our assumptions about factors that are beyond our ability to control or predict and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are described more fully in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors.” Any of these factors or a combination of these factors could materially affect our future results of operations and the ultimate accuracy of the forward-looking statements. In addition to these important factors, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include among other things:

Should one or more of the foregoing risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.  Consequently, there can be no assurance that actual results or developments anticipated by us will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects, on us. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable laws.  If one or more forward-looking statements are updated, no inference should be drawn that additional updates will be made with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in this annual report, the terms “Company,” “Seanergy,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. and any or all of its subsidiaries, and “Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp.” refers only to Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. and not to its subsidiaries.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

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Not applicable.

Some of the following risks relate principally to the industry in which we operate and others relate to our business in general or our common stock.  If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be materially adversely affected and the trading price of our securities could decline.

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below under the headings “Risks Relating to Our Industry,” “Risks Relating to Our Company” and “Risks Relating to Our Common Shares” and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Annual Report on Form 20-F and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, before making an investment decision regarding our common stock.

Charter hire rates for dry bulk vessels are cyclical and volatile and the dry bulk market remains significantly below its historic high. This may adversely affect our earnings, revenue and profitability and our ability to comply with our loan covenants or covenants in other financing agreements.

The volatility in the dry bulk charter market, from which we derive substantially all of our revenues, has affected the dry bulk shipping industry and has harmed our business. The Baltic Dry Index, or the BDI, a daily average of charter rates for key dry bulk routes published by the Baltic Exchange Limited, has long been viewed as the main benchmark to monitor the movements of the dry bulk vessel charter market and the performance of the entire dry bulk shipping market and has been very volatile in recent years. The BDI, declined from a high of 11,793 in May 2008 to a low of 290 on February 10, 2016, which represents a decline of 98%. In the following years volatility was also apparent, albeit less extreme. In 2021, the BDI ranged from a low of 1,303 on February 10, 2021 and a high of 5,650 on October 7, 2021. During 2022, the BDI has ranged from 1,296 to 2,727.

The degree of charter hire rate volatility among different types of dry bulk vessels has varied widely. If we enter into a charter when charter hire rates are low, our revenues and earnings will be adversely affected and we may not be able to successfully charter our vessels at rates sufficient to allow us to operate our business profitably or meet our obligations. Further, if low charter rates in the dry bulk market decline further for any significant period, this could have an adverse effect on our vessel values and ability to comply with the financial covenants in our loan agreements or other financing agreements. In such a situation, unless our lenders are willing to provide waivers of covenant compliance or modifications to our covenants, our lenders could accelerate our debt and we could face the loss of our vessels. We expect continued volatility in market rates for our vessels in the foreseeable future with a consequent effect on our short and medium-term liquidity.

Global public health threats, such as the novel coronavirus first identified in China in the end of 2019, or COVID-19, influenza and other highly communicable diseases or viruses, outbreaks of which have from time to time occurred in various parts of the world in which we operate, including China, could adversely impact our operations, as well as the operations of our customers. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has, among other things, caused factory closures and restrictions on travel, as well as labor shortages or lack of berths, delays and uncertainties relating to newbuildings, drydockings, vessel inspections, shortages or a lack of access to required spare parts and other functions of shipyards.

The ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 has already caused severe global disruptions and may continue to negatively impact the economic conditions regionally as well as globally and otherwise impact our operations and the operations of our customers and suppliers. Governments in affected countries continue to impose travel bans, quarantines and other emergency public health measures. Companies are also taking precautions, such as requiring employees to work remotely, imposing travel restrictions and temporarily closing businesses. These restrictions, and future prevention and mitigation measures, are likely to continue to have an adverse impact on global economic conditions, which could materially and adversely affect our future operations. Uncertainties regarding the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is likely to result in sustained market turmoil, which could also negatively impact our business, financial condition and cash flows. As a result of these measures, our vessels may not be able to call on ports, or may be restricted from disembarking from ports, located in regions affected by the outbreak. In addition we may experience severe operational disruptions and delays, unavailability of normal port infrastructure and services including limited access to equipment, critical goods and personnel, disruptions to crew changes, quarantine of ships and/or crew, counterparty solidity, closure of ports and custom offices, as well as disruptions in the supply chain and industrial production, which may lead to reduced cargo demand, amongst other potential consequences attendant to epidemic and pandemic diseases.

COVID-19 and measures to contain its spread have negatively impacted regional and global economies and trade patterns in markets in which we operate, the way we operate our business, and the businesses of our charterers and suppliers. These negative impacts could continue or worsen, even after the pandemic itself diminishes or ends. Companies, including us, have also taken precautions, such as requiring employees to work remotely and imposing travel restrictions, while some other businesses have been required to close entirely. Moreover, we face significant risks to our personnel and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our crews face risk of exposure to COVID-19 as a result of travel to ports in which cases of COVID-19 have been reported. Our shore-based personnel likewise face risk of such exposure, as we maintain offices in areas that have been impacted by the spread of COVID-19.

Measures against COVID-19 in a number of countries have restricted crew rotations on our vessels and other vessels we may acquire, which may continue or become more severe. As a result, in 2021, vessel operators experienced and may continue to experience disruptions to normal vessel operations caused by increased deviation time associated with positioning vessels to countries in which they can undertake a crew rotation in compliance with such measures. Our crews generally work on a rotation basis, relying exclusively on international air transport for crew changes plan fulfillment. Any such disruptions could impact the cost of rotating our crew further, and possibly impact our ability to maintain a full crew synthesis onboard our vessels and other vessels we may acquire at any given time. Delays in crew rotations have furthermore led to issues with crew fatigue and may continue to do so, which may result in delays or other operational issues. Additionally, we are particularly vulnerable to our crew members getting sick, as if even one of our crew members gets sick, local authorities could require us to detain and quarantine our vessels and their crew for an unspecified amount of time, disinfect and fumigate our vessels and cargo onboard, or take similar precautions, which would add costs, decrease our utilization, and substantially disrupt our cargo operations. We expect to incur increased expenses due to incremental fuel consumption and days in which our vessels and other vessels we may acquire are unable to earn revenue in order to deviate to certain ports on which we would ordinarily not call during a typical voyage. We may also incur additional expenses associated with testing, personal protective equipment, quarantines, and travel expenses such as airfare costs in order to perform crew rotations in the current environment.

COVID-19 and measures in place against the spread of the virus have led to a highly difficult environment with regards to the disposal of vessels given the difficulty to physically inspect vessels. The impact of COVID-19 has also resulted in reduced industrial activity in China with temporary closures of factories and other facilities, labor shortages and restrictions on travel. We believe these disruptions along with other seasonal factors, including lower demand for some of the cargoes we carry such as iron ore and coal, contributed to lower drybulk rates in 2021.

Epidemics may also affect personnel operating payment systems through which we receive revenues from the chartering of our vessels or pay for our expenses, resulting in delays in payments. Organizations across industries, including ours, are rightly focusing on their employees’ well-being, while making sure that their operations continue undisrupted and at the same time, adapting to the new ways of operating. As such employees are encouraged or even required to operate remotely which significantly increases the risk of cyber security attacks.

Effects of the current pandemic may also in the future result in reduced access to capital, including the ability to refinance any existing obligations, as a result of any credit tightening generally or due to continued declines in global financial markets, including to the prices of publicly-traded securities of us, our peers and of listed companies generally. We note that future impacts cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, may take some time to materialize and may not be fully reflected in the results for the year ended December 31, 2021

At present, it is not possible to ascertain the overall impact of COVID-19 on our business. However, the occurrence of any of the foregoing events or other epidemics or an increase in the severity or duration of the COVID-19 or other epidemics could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition, value of our vessels, and ability to pay dividends.

The extent of the COVID-19 outbreak’s effect on our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including the duration, spread and intensity of the outbreak, any resurgence or mutation of the virus, the continued availability of vaccines and their global deployment, the development of effective treatments, the imposition of effective public safety and other protective measures and the public’s response to such measures. There continues to be a high level of uncertainty relating to how the pandemic will evolve, how governments and consumers will react and progress on the approval and distribution of vaccines, all of which are uncertain and difficult to predict, considering the rapidly evolving landscape. As a result, the ultimate severity of the COVID-19 outbreak is uncertain at this time and therefore we cannot predict the impact it may have on our future operations, which impact could be material and adverse, particularly if the pandemic continues to evolve into a severe worldwide health crisis.

We are currently dependent on index-linked or fixed rate charters, while until the recent past a part of our fleet was additionally employed on the spot market. Any decrease in spot charter rates or indexes in the future may adversely affect our earnings.

We currently have 15 of our vessels employed on time charters whose daily rates are linked to the Baltic Capesize Index, or BCI. The other two are employed on time charters with fixed rates. Although none of our vessels are currently operating in the spot market, we may employ any additional vessels we may acquire in the spot market, or on index-linked or fixed rate time charters.

Although the number of vessels in our fleet that participate in the spot market or have index-linked or fixed rate charters will vary from time to time, we anticipate that a significant portion of our fleet will be affected by the spot market or the BCI. As a result, our financial performance will be significantly affected by conditions in the dry bulk spot market or the BCI and only our vessels that would operate under fixed-rate time charters would, during the period in which such vessels operate under such time charters, provide a fixed source of revenue to us.

Historically, spot charter rates and dry bulk charter indexes have been volatile as a result of the many conditions and factors that can affect the price, supply of and demand for dry bulk capacity. The successful operation of our vessels in the competitive spot charter market depends upon, among other things, obtaining profitable spot charters and minimizing, to the extent possible, time spent waiting for charters and time spent traveling unladen to pick up cargo. The spot market is very volatile, and, in the past, there have been periods when spot rates have declined below the operating cost of vessels. If future spot charter rates or the BCI decline, then we may be unable to operate our vessels trading in the spot market or on BCI-linked charters profitably or to meet our other obligations, including payments on indebtedness. Furthermore, as charter rates for spot charters are fixed for a single voyage, which may last up to several weeks, during periods in which spot charter rates are rising, we will generally experience delays in realizing the benefits from such increases.

An over-supply of dry bulk vessel capacity may depress the current charter rates and, in turn, adversely affect our profitability.

If dry bulk vessel capacity increases but the demand for vessel capacity does not increase or increases at a slower rate, charter rates could materially decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If economic conditions throughout the world decline, it will negatively impact our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and could cause the market price of our common shares to decline.

The world economy is facing a number of actual and potential challenges, including the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, current trade tension between the United States and China, political instability in the Middle East and the South China Sea region and other geographic countries and areas, geopolitical events such as the withdrawal of the U.K. from the European Union, or Brexit, terrorist or other attacks, war (or threatened war) or international hostilities, such as those between the United States and North Korea or Iran, and epidemics or pandemics, such as COVID-19. For example, due in part to fears associated with the spread of COVID-19 (as more fully described above), global financial markets experienced volatility and a steep and abrupt downturn followed by a recovery, which volatility may continue as the pandemic or a new wave or mutations continue. In addition, the recent developments in Ukraine led to increased economic uncertainty amidst fears of a more generalized military conflict or significant inflationary pressures, due to the increases in fuel prices following the sanctions imposed on Russia. Such events may contribute to economic instability in global financial markets or cause a decrease in worldwide demand for certain goods and, thus, shipping. We cannot predict how long current market conditions will last.

The European Union, or EU, and other parts of the world were recently in a recession and uncertainty surrounds the potential for continued economic growth. Moreover, there is uncertainty related to certain European member countries' ability to refinance their sovereign debt, including Greece, despite the country's return to the sovereign debt markets in 2019. As a result, the credit markets in the United States and Europe have recently experienced significant contraction, deleveraging and reduced liquidity, and the U.S. federal and state governments and European authorities have implemented a broad variety of governmental action and new regulation of the financial markets and may implement additional regulations in the future. As a result, global economic conditions and global financial markets have been, and continue to be, volatile. Further, credit markets and the debt and equity capital markets have been distressed and the uncertainty surrounding the future of the global credit markets has resulted in reduced access to credit worldwide.

In Europe, large sovereign debts and fiscal deficits, low growth prospects and high unemployment rates in a number of countries have contributed to the rise of Euroskeptic parties, which would like their countries to leave the Euro. Brexit further increases the risk of additional trade protectionism. Brexit, or similar events in other jurisdictions, could continue to impact global markets, including foreign exchange and securities markets; any resulting changes in currency exchange rates, tariffs, treaties and other regulatory matters could in turn adversely impact our business, cash flows and operations.

In addition, the recent economic slowdown in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in China, may exacerbate the effect of the weak economic trends in the rest of the world. Before the global economic financial crisis that began in 2008, China had one of the world's fastest growing economies in terms of gross domestic product, or GDP, which had a significant impact on shipping demand. The quarterly year-over-year growth rate of China's GDP was approximately 8.1% for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2.3% for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 6.0% for the year ended December 31, 2019. It is possible that China and other countries in the Asia Pacific region will continue to experience volatile, slowed or even negative economic growth in the near future. Changes in the economic conditions of China, and changes in laws or policies adopted by its government or the implementation of these laws and policies by local authorities, including with regards to tax matters and environmental concerns (such as achieving carbon neutrality), could affect our vessels that are either chartered to Chinese customers or that call to Chinese ports, our vessels that undergo dry docking at Chinese shipyards and the financial institutions with whom we have entered into financing agreements, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Furthermore, governments may turn to trade barriers to protect their domestic industries against foreign imports, thereby depressing shipping demand. In particular, as indicated, the United States has sought to implement more protective trade measures. There is significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States, China, and other exporting countries, including with respect to trade policies, treaties, government regulations, and tariffs. Protectionist developments, or the perception that they may occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions, and may significantly reduce global trade. Moreover, increasing trade protectionism may cause an increase in (i) the cost of goods exported from regions globally, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region, (ii) the length of time required to transport goods and (iii) the risks associated with exporting goods. Such increases may further reduce the quantity of goods to be shipped, shipping time schedules, voyage costs and other associated costs, which could have an adverse impact on our charterers' business, operating results and financial condition and could thereby affect their ability to make timely charter hire payments to us and to renew and increase the number of their time charters with us. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We face risks attendant to the trends in the global economy, such as changes in interest rates, instability in the banking and securities markets around the world, the risk of sovereign defaults, reduced levels of growth, and trade protectionism, among other factors. Major market disruptions and the current adverse changes in market conditions and regulatory climate worldwide may adversely affect our business or impair our ability to borrow under our loan agreements or any future financial arrangements. We cannot predict how long the current market conditions will last. However, these recent and developing economic and governmental factors, together with depressed charter rates and vessel values, may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows and the trading price of our common stock. In the absence of available financing, we may also be unable to complete vessel acquisitions, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures.

Terrorist attacks and international hostilities could affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Risks associated with operating ocean-going vessels could affect our business and reputation, which could adversely affect our revenues and expenses.

The operation of an ocean-going vessel carries inherent risks.  These risks include the possibility of:

Any of these circumstances or events could increase our costs or lower our revenues. Such circumstances could result in death or injury to persons, loss of property or environmental damage, delays in the delivery of cargo, loss of revenues from or termination of charter contracts, governmental fines, penalties or restrictions on conducting business, litigation with our employees, customers or third parties, higher insurance rates, and damage to our reputation and customer relationships generally. Although we maintain hull and machinery and war risks insurance, as well as protection and indemnity insurance, which may cover certain risks of loss resulting from such occurrences, our insurance coverage may be subject to deductibles, caps or not cover such losses and any of these circumstances or events could increase our costs or lower our revenues. The involvement of our vessels in an environmental disaster may harm our reputation as a safe and reliable vessel owner and operator. Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our cash flows.

Rising fuel prices may adversely affect our profits.

The cost of fuel is a significant factor in negotiating charter rates. As a result, an increase in the price of fuel may adversely affect our profitability. The price and supply of fuel is unpredictable and fluctuates based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments, supply and demand for oil and gas, actions by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil producing countries and regions, regional production patterns and environmental concerns and regulations. Furthermore, fuel has and may become much more expensive in the future, including as a result of the recent developments in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, the imposition of recent sulfur oxide emissions limits in January 2020 and reductions of carbon emissions from January 2023 under new regulations adopted by the International Maritime Organization, or the IMO, which may reduce the profitability and competitiveness of our business versus other forms of transportation, such as truck or rail.

Upon redelivery of vessels at the end of a period of time or voyage time charter, we may be obligated to repurchase bunkers on board at prevailing market prices, which could be materially higher than fuel prices at the inception of the charter period. In addition, fuel is a significant, if not the largest, expense that we would incur with respect to vessels operating on voyage charter.

Voyage charter contracts generally provide that the vessel owner bears the cost of fuel in the form of bunkers, which is a material operating expense. We currently cannot guarantee that we will hedge our fuel costs, and, therefore, an increase in the price of fuel may affect in a negative way our profitability and our cash flows, in case we consider voyage charter contracts in the future.

Our revenues are subject to seasonal fluctuations, which could affect our operating results and ability to service our debt or pay dividends.

We operate our vessels in markets that have historically exhibited seasonal variations in demand and, as a result, in charter hire rates. This seasonality may result in quarter-to-quarter volatility in our operating results. The dry bulk shipping market is typically stronger in the fall and winter months in anticipation of increased consumption of coal and other raw materials in the northern hemisphere during the winter months. In addition, unpredictable weather patterns in these months tend to disrupt vessel schedules and supplies of certain commodities. As a result, our revenues may be weaker during the fiscal quarters ending March 31 and June 30, and, conversely, our revenues may be stronger in fiscal quarters ending September 30 and December 31. This seasonality should not affect our operating results if our vessels are employed on fixed rate period time charters, but because our vessels or the vessels we may acquire may be employed in the spot market or on index-linked or fixed rate charters, seasonality may materially affect our operating results and our ability to pay dividends in the future.

Climate change and greenhouse gas restrictions may be imposed.

Due to concern over the risk of climate change, a number of countries and the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These regulatory measures may include, among others, the adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, increased efficiency standards and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. For instance, the International Maritime Organization imposed a global 0.5% sulfur cap on marine fuels which came into force on January 1, 2020. In addition, the International Maritime Organization has adopted an initial strategy which identifies “levels of ambition” toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including (1) decreasing the carbon intensity from ships; (2) reducing carbon dioxide emissions per transport work, as an average across international shipping, by at least 40% by 2030, pursuing efforts towards 70% by 2050, compared to 2008 emission levels; and (3) reducing the total annual greenhouse emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 while pursuing efforts towards phasing them out entirely. These regulations and any additional regulations addressing similar goals could cause us to incur additional substantial expenses. See “Business Overview—Environmental and Other Regulations” for a discussion of these and other environmental regulations applicable to our operations.

In addition, although the emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping currently are not subject to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (this task was delegated under the Kyoto Protocol to the IMO for action), which required adopting countries to implement national programs to reduce emissions of certain gases, a new treaty may be adopted in the future that includes restrictions on shipping emissions. Compliance with changes in laws, regulations and obligations relating to climate change could increase our costs related to operating and maintaining our vessels and require us to install new emission controls, acquire allowances or pay taxes related to our greenhouse gas emissions, or administer and manage a greenhouse gas emissions program. Revenue generation and strategic growth opportunities may also be adversely affected.

Adverse consequences of climate change, including growing public concern about the environmental impact of climate change, may also adversely affect demand for our services. For example, increased regulation of greenhouse gases or other concerns relating to climate change may reduce the demand for coal in the future, one of the primary cargoes carried by our vessels. In addition, the physical effects of climate change, including changes in weather patterns, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and scarcity of water resources, may negatively impact our operations. Any long-term economic consequences of climate change could have a significant financial and operational adverse impact on our business that we cannot predict with certainty at this time.

Increased scrutiny of environmental, social and governance matters may impact our business and reputation.

In addition to the importance of their financial performance, companies are increasingly being judged by their performance on a variety of environmental, social and governance matters, or ESG, which are considered to contribute to the long-term sustainability of companies' performance.

A variety of organizations measure the performance of companies on such ESG topics, and the results of these assessments are widely publicized. In addition, investment in funds that specialize in companies that perform well in such assessments are increasingly popular, and major institutional investors have publicly emphasized the importance of such ESG measures to their investment decisions. Topics taken into account in such assessments include, among others, the company's efforts and impacts on climate change and human rights, ethics and compliance with law, and the role of the company's board of directors in supervising various sustainability issues.

We actively manage a broad range of such ESG matters, taking into consideration their expected impact on the sustainability of our business over time, and the potential impact of our business on society and the environment. As far as the environmental aspect is concerned, since 2018 we   have commenced implementing technical and operational measures aiming to improve the energy efficiency of our vessels and in extension reduce the CO2 emissions of the fleet. In 2021 we have completed an EEXI evaluation in accordance with IMO’s MEPC 75 and in cooperation with DNV, in preparation for the upcoming regulations. In addition, we have commenced biofuel trials in cooperation with leading charterers and operators. Scrubber and ballast water treatment system installations, Existing Vessel Design Index, or EVDI, upgrades, and Energy Saving Device and electronic performance monitoring system installations constitute examples of the environmental practices we have adopted and aim to continue adopting on most of our vessels. We participate in various environmental initiatives in our industry and technical committees on ESG matters and have also managed to secured sustainability-linked financing for one of our vessels. However, in light of investors' increased focus on ESG matters, there can be no certainty that we will manage such issues successfully, or that we will successfully meet society's expectations as to our proper role. Any failure or perceived failure by us in this regard could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and on our business, share price, financial condition, or results of operations, including the sustainability of our business over time.

Our vessels may call on ports located in or may operate in countries that are subject to restrictions or sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union or other governments that could result in fines or other penalties imposed on us and may adversely affect our reputation and the market price of our common stock.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, none of our vessels called on ports located in countries subject to comprehensive sanctions and embargoes imposed by the U.S. government or countries identified by the U.S. government or other authorities as state sponsors of terrorism; however, our vessels may call on ports in these countries from time to time in the future on our charterers' instructions. The U.S. sanctions and embargo laws and regulations vary in their application, as they do not all apply to the same covered persons or proscribe the same activities, and such sanctions and embargo laws and regulations may be amended or strengthened over time.

We believe that we are currently in compliance with all applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations.  In order to maintain compliance, we monitor and review the movement of our vessels on a daily basis.

We endeavor to provide that all or most of our future charters include provisions and trade exclusion clauses prohibiting the vessels from calling on ports where there is an existing U.S. embargo. Furthermore, as of the date hereof, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have entered into or have any plans to enter into, directly or indirectly, any contracts, agreements or other arrangements with the governments of Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba or any entities controlled by the governments of these countries.

Due to the nature of our business and the evolving nature of the foregoing sanctions and embargo laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that we will be in compliance at all times in the future, particularly as the scope of certain laws may be unclear and may be subject to changing interpretations.  Any such violation could result in fines, penalties or other sanctions that could severely impact our ability to access U.S. capital markets and conduct our business, and could result in some investors deciding, or being required, to divest their interest, or refrain from investing, in us.  In addition, certain institutional investors may have investment policies or restrictions that prevent them from holding securities of companies that have contracts with countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism.  The determination by these investors not to invest in, or to divest from, our common stock may adversely affect the price at which our common stock trades.  Moreover, our charterers may violate applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations as a result of actions that do not involve us or our vessels, and those violations could in turn negatively affect our reputation.  In addition, our reputation and the market for our securities may be adversely affected if we engage in certain other activities, such as entering into charters with individuals or entities in countries subject to U.S. sanctions and embargo laws that are not controlled by the governments of those countries, or engaging in operations associated with those countries pursuant to contracts with third parties that are unrelated to those countries or entities controlled by their governments.

Sulfur regulations to reduce air pollution from ships have required retrofitting of vessels and may cause us to incur significant costs.

Since January 1, 2020, IMO regulations have required vessels to comply with a global cap on the sulfur in fuel oil used on board of 0.5%, down from the previous cap of 3.5%. The interpretation of “fuel oil used on board” includes use in main engine, auxiliary engines and boilers. Compliance with this regulation is achieved by (i) using 0.5% sulfur fuels on board, which are available at a higher cost; (ii) installing “scrubbers” for cleaning of the exhaust gas; or (iii) retrofitting vessels to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which may not yet be an economically viable option due to the lack of supply network and high costs involved in this process. We have installed scrubbers on six vessels of our current fleet in cooperation with first-class charterers who currently employ the vessels on time charters. As part of these agreements, the charterers covered the installation costs. Furthermore, two vessels with scrubbers were purchased during 2021. The remaining nine vessels in our fleet comply by burning low sulfur fuel (0.5% or 0.1%). All engineering officers, engineering crew and deck officers employed on our vessels since January 1, 2020 have been required to undergo training and complete a certain e-module regarding the use of low sulfur fuels. We have further developed ship specific implementation plans for safeguarding the smooth transition with the usage of compliant fuels for such vessels that will not be equipped with scrubbers. Costs of ongoing compliance may have a material adverse effect on our future performance, results of operations, cash flows and financial position. See Item 4. “Information on the Company—B. Business Overview— Environmental and Other Regulations—The International Maritime Organization.”

We are subject to regulation and liability under environmental laws that could require significant expenditures and affect our cash flows and net income.

Our business and the operation of our vessels are materially affected by government regulation in the form of international conventions, national, state and local laws and regulations in force in the jurisdictions in which the vessels operate, as well as in the country or countries of their registration, including those governing oil spills, discharges to air and water, ballast water management, and the handling and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes.  These requirements include, but are not limited to, EU regulations, the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or OPA, the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA, the U.S. Clean Air Act, including its amendments of 1977 and 1990, or the CAA, the U.S. Clean Water Act, or the CWA, the U.S. Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, or the MTSA, and regulations of the IMO, including, but not limited to, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969, as from time to time amended and generally referred to as CLC, the IMO International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships of 1973, as from time to time amended and generally referred to as MARPOL, including the designation of emission control areas, or ECAs, thereunder, the IMO International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974, as from time to time amended and generally referred to as SOLAS, the IMO International Convention on Load Lines of 1966, as from time to time amended and generally referred to as the LL Convention, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, generally referred to as the Bunker Convention, the IMO's International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, generally referred to as the ISM Code, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, generally referred to as the BWM Convention, and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, or ISPS.

We may also incur additional costs in order to comply with other existing and future regulatory obligations, including, but not limited to, costs relating to the 0.5% sulfur cap on marine fuels, air emissions including greenhouse gases, the management of ballast water, maintenance and inspection, development and implementation of emergency procedures and insurance coverage or other financial assurance of our ability to address pollution incidents. These costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and our available cash.  Because such conventions, laws and regulations are often revised, we cannot predict the ultimate cost of complying with such conventions, laws and regulations or the impact thereof on the resale price or useful life of vessels we may acquire in the future.  Additional conventions, laws and regulations may be adopted which could limit our ability to do business or increase the cost of our doing business and which may materially adversely affect our operations.

Regulations relating to ballast water discharge may adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

The IMO has imposed updated guidelines for ballast water management systems specifying the maximum amount of viable organisms allowed to be discharged from a vessel's ballast water.  Depending on the date of the IOPP renewal survey, existing vessels constructed before September 8, 2017 must comply with the updated D-2 standard on or after September 8, 2019.  For most vessels, compliance with the D-2 standard will involve installing on-board systems to treat ballast water and eliminate unwanted organisms.  Ships constructed on or after September 8, 2017 are to comply with the D-2 standards on or after September 8, 2017. Vessels are required to meet the discharge standard D-2 by installing an approved Ballast Water Management System (or BWMS). Pursuant to the BWM Convention amendments that entered into force in October 2019, BWMSs installed on or after October 28, 2020 shall be approved in accordance with BWMS Code, while BWMSs installed before October 23, 2020 must be approved taking into account guidelines developed by the IMO or the BWMS Code. Ships sailing in U.S. waters are required to employ a type-approved BWMS which is compliant with USCG regulations. The USCG has approved a number of BWMS.  Amendments to the BWM Convention will enter into force in June 2022 concerning commissioning testing of BWMS and the form of the International Ballast Water Management Certificate. Currently fourteen of our vessels comply with the updated guidelines and we have made arrangements for the installation of ballast water treatment systems in our remaining vessels, prior to the respective compliance deadlines.  The costs of compliance may be substantial and affect our profitability.

Furthermore, United States regulations are currently changing.  Although the 2013 Vessel General Permit, or VGP, program and U.S. National Invasive Species Act, or NISA, are currently in effect to regulate ballast discharge, exchange and installation, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, or VIDA, which was signed into law on December 4, 2018, requires that the U.S. Coast Guard develop implementation, compliance, and enforcement regulations regarding ballast water.  On October 26, 2020, the EPA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Vessel Incidental Discharge National Standards of Performance under VIDA, and in November 2020, held virtual public meetings. The new regulations could require the installation of new equipment, which may cause us to incur substantial costs. Under VIDA, all provisions of the 2013 VGP and USCG ballast water regulations remain in force and effect as currently written until the EPA publishes standards and the corresponding Coast Guard regulations are published.

Increased inspection procedures, tighter import and export controls and new security regulations could increase costs and disrupt our business.

International shipping is subject to security and customs inspection and related procedures in countries of origin, destination and trans-shipment points. Since the events of September 11, 2001, there have been a variety of initiatives intended to enhance vessel security, such as the MTSA. These security procedures can result in delays in the loading, discharging or trans-shipment and the levying of customs duties, fines or other penalties against exporters or importers and, in some cases, vessels. Future changes to the existing security procedures may be implemented that could affect the dry bulk sector. These changes have the potential to impose additional financial and legal obligations on vessels and, in certain cases, to render the shipment of certain types of goods uneconomical or impractical. These additional costs could reduce the volume of goods shipped, resulting in a decreased demand for vessels and have a negative impact on our business, revenues and customer relations.

Acts of piracy on ocean-going vessels have increased in frequency, which could adversely affect our business.

Acts of piracy have historically affected ocean-going vessels trading in regions of the world such as the South China Sea, Strait of Malacca, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Guinea. Sea piracy incidents continue to occur , particularly in the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, in the Gulf of Guinea and the Strait of Malacca, with dry bulk vessels particularly vulnerable to such attacks.  Although the frequency of sea piracy worldwide has generally decreased since 2013, sea piracy incidents continue to occur.  Acts of piracy could result in harm or danger to the crews that man our vessels.  Additionally, if piracy attacks result in regions in which our vessels are deployed being characterized as “war risk” zones by insurers or if our vessels are deployed in Joint War Committee “war and strikes” listed areas, premiums payable for insurance coverage could increase significantly and such insurance coverage may be more difficult to obtain. In addition, crew and security equipment costs, including costs which may be incurred to employ onboard security armed guards, could increase in such circumstances. Furthermore, while we believe the charterer remains liable for charter payments when a vessel is seized by pirates, the charterer may dispute this and withhold charter hire until the vessel is released. A charterer may also claim that a vessel seized by pirates was not “on-hire” for a certain number of days and is therefore entitled to cancel the charterparty, a claim that we would dispute. We may not be adequately insured to cover losses from these incidents, which could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, any detention hijacking as a result of an act of piracy against our vessels, or an increase in cost, or unavailability, of insurance for our vessels could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The operation of dry bulk vessels has particular operational risks.

The operation of dry bulk vessels has certain unique risks. With a dry bulk vessel, the cargo itself and its interaction with the vessel can be an operational risk. By their nature, dry bulk cargoes are often heavy, dense, easily shifted, and react badly to water exposure. In addition, dry bulk vessels are often subjected to battering treatment during discharging operations with grabs, jackhammers (to pry encrusted cargoes out of the hold) and small bulldozers. This treatment may cause damage to the vessel. Vessels damaged due to treatment during discharging procedures may affect a vessel’s seaworthiness while at sea. Hull fractures in dry bulk vessels may lead to the flooding of the vessels’ holds. If a dry bulk vessel suffers flooding in its forward holds, the bulk cargo may become so dense and waterlogged that its pressure may buckle the vessel’s bulkheads, leading to the loss of a vessel. If we are unable to adequately maintain our vessels, we may be unable to prevent these events. Any of these circumstances or events could negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

If any of our vessels fails to maintain its class certification or fails any annual survey, intermediate survey, or special survey, or if any scheduled class survey takes longer or is more expensive than anticipated, this could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

The hull and machinery of every commercial vessel must be certified by a classification society authorized by its country of registry. The classification society certifies that a vessel is safe and seaworthy in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the country of registry of the vessel and the SOLAS.

A vessel must undergo annual, intermediate and special surveys. The vessel’s machinery may be on a continuous survey cycle, under which the machinery would be surveyed periodically over a five-year period. At the beginning, in between and in the end of this cycle, every vessel is required to undergo inspection of her underwater parts that usually includes dry-docking. These surveys and dry-dockings can be costly and can result in delays in returning a vessel to operation.

If any vessel does not maintain its class, the vessel will not be allowed to carry cargo between ports and cannot be employed or insured. Any such inability to carry cargo or be employed, or any related violation of the covenants under our loans or other financing agreements, could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Because seafaring employees we employ are covered by industry-wide collective bargaining agreements, failure of industry groups to renew those agreements may disrupt our operations and adversely affect our earnings.

We employ a large number of seafarers. All the seafarers employed on the vessels in our fleet are covered by industry-wide collective bargaining agreements that set minimum standards in wages and labor conditions. We cannot assure you that these agreements will be renewed as necessary or will prevent labor interruptions. Any labor interruptions could disrupt our operations and harm our financial performance.

Maritime claimants could arrest or attach one or more of our vessels, which could interrupt our cash flows.

Crew members, suppliers of goods and services to a vessel, shippers of cargo and other parties may be entitled to a maritime lien against a vessel for unsatisfied debts, claims or damages. In many jurisdictions, a maritime lien holder may enforce its lien by arresting a vessel through foreclosure proceedings. The arrest or attachment of one or more of our vessels could interrupt our cash flow and require us to pay large sums of funds to have the arrest lifted, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, in some jurisdictions, such as South Africa, under the “sister ship” theory of liability, a claimant may arrest both the vessel which is subject to the claimant’s maritime lien and any “associated” vessel, which is any vessel owned or controlled by the same owner. Claimants could try to assert “sister ship” liability against one of our vessels for claims relating to another of our vessels.

Governments could requisition our vessels during a period of war or emergency, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and available cash.

A government could requisition for title or hire one or more of our vessels. Requisition for title occurs when a government takes control of a vessel and becomes the owner. Also, a government could requisition a vessel for hire. Requisition for hire occurs when a government takes control of a vessel and effectively becomes the charterer at dictated charter rates. Generally, requisitions occur during a period of war or emergency. Government requisition of one or more of our vessels could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The market values of our vessels may decrease, which could limit the amount of funds that we can borrow or trigger certain financial covenants under our loan agreements and other financing agreements, and we may incur an impairment or, if we sell vessels following a decline in their market value, a loss.

The fair market values of our vessels are related to prevailing freight charter rates. While the fair market value of vessels and the freight charter market have a very close relationship as the charter market moves from trough to peak, the time lag between the effect of charter rates on market values of ships can vary. A decrease in the market value of our vessels could require us to raise additional capital in order to remain compliant with our loan covenants or the covenants in the other financing agreements and could result in the loss of our vessels (including, through foreclosure by our lenders and lessors) and adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.

In addition, as vessels grow older, they generally decline in value. If the fair market value of our vessels declines, we may not be in compliance with certain covenants in our loan agreements and other financing agreements, and our lenders or lessors could accelerate our indebtedness or require us to pay down our indebtedness to a level where we are again in compliance with the covenants under our loans and other financing agreements. If any of our loans and other financing agreements are accelerated, we may not be able to refinance our debt or obtain additional funding. We expect that we will enter into more loan agreements and other financing agreements in connection with our vessels or with future acquisitions of vessels.  For more information regarding our current loan facilities and other financing agreements, please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – B. Liquidity and Capital Resources – Loan Arrangements – Credit Facilities.”

In addition, if vessel values decline, we may have to record an impairment adjustment in our financial statements, which could adversely affect our financial results. Furthermore, if we sell one or more of our vessels at a time when vessel prices have fallen, the sale price may be less than the vessel’s carrying value on our consolidated financial statements, resulting in a loss on sale or an impairment loss being recognized, leading to a reduction in earnings.

Newbuilding projects are subject to risks that could cause delays.

We may enter into newbuilding contracts in connection with our vessel acquisition strategy. Newbuilding construction projects are subject to risks of delay inherent in any large construction project from numerous factors, including shortages of equipment, materials or skilled labor, unscheduled delays in the delivery of ordered materials and equipment or shipyard construction, failure of equipment to meet quality and/or performance standards, financial or operating difficulties experienced by equipment vendors or the shipyard, unanticipated actual or purported change orders, inability to obtain required permits or approvals, design or engineering changes and work stoppages and other labor disputes, adverse weather conditions or any other events of force majeure. A shipyard’s failure to deliver a vessel on time may result in the delay of revenue from the vessel. Any such failure or delay could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

We may acquire additional vessels in the future, and if those vessels are not delivered on time or are delivered with significant defects, our earnings and financial condition could suffer.

We have recently expanded our fleet significantly and may acquire additional vessels in the future. A delay in the delivery of any vessels to us, the failure of the contract counterparty to deliver a vessel at all, or us not taking delivery of a vessel could cause us to breach our obligations under a related time charter or could otherwise adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the delivery of any vessel with substantial defects could have similar consequences.

Substantial debt levels could limit our flexibility to obtain additional financing and pursue other business opportunities.

Our ability to service our indebtedness will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, as well as the interest rates applicable to our outstanding indebtedness. If our operating income is not sufficient to service our indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions, such as reducing or delaying our business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our debt or seeking additional equity capital. We may not be able to effect any of these remedies on satisfactory terms, or at all. In addition, a lack of liquidity in the debt and equity markets could hinder our ability to refinance our debt or obtain additional financing on favorable terms in the future. For more information regarding our current loan arrangements, please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – B. Liquidity and Capital Resources – Loan Arrangements.”

Our loan agreements and other financing arrangements contain, and we expect that other future loan agreements and financing arrangements will contain, restrictive covenants that may limit our liquidity and corporate activities, which could limit our operational flexibility and have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, because of the presence of cross-default provisions in our loan agreements and financing arrangements, a default by us under one loan or financing agreement could lead to defaults under multiple loans and financing agreements.

Our loan agreements and other financial arrangements contain, and we expect that other future loan agreements and financing arrangements will contain, customary covenants and event of default clauses, financial covenants, restrictive covenants and performance requirements, which may affect operational and financial flexibility. Such restrictions could affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability to pay dividends, incur additional indebtedness, create liens, sell assets, or engage in mergers or acquisitions. These restrictions could limit our ability to plan for or react to market conditions or meet extraordinary capital needs or otherwise restrict corporate activities. There can be no assurance that such restrictions will not adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs.

As a result of these restrictions, we may need to seek permission from our lenders and other financing counterparties in order to engage in some corporate actions. Our lenders' and other financing counterparties' interests may be different from ours and we may not be able to obtain their permission when needed. This may prevent us from taking actions that we believe are in our best interests, which may adversely impact our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

A failure by us to meet our payment and other obligations, including our financial covenants and any security coverage requirements, could lead to defaults under our financing arrangements. Likewise, a decrease in vessel values or adverse market conditions could cause us to breach our financial covenants or security requirements (the market values of dry bulk vessels have generally experienced high volatility). In the event of a default that we cannot remedy, our lenders and other financing counterparties could then accelerate their indebtedness and foreclose on the respective vessels in our fleet. The loss of any of our vessels could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Because of the presence of cross-default provisions in our loan agreements and financing agreements, a default by us under a loan or financing agreement and the refusal of any lender or financing counterparty to grant or extend a waiver could result in the acceleration of our indebtedness under our other loans and financing agreements. A cross-default provision means that if we default on one loan, we would then default on our other loans containing a cross-default provision.

In the recent past, we have obtained waivers, deferrals and amendments of certain financial covenants, payment obligations and events of default under our loan facilities with our lenders. However, there can be no assurance that we will obtain similar waivers and deferrals from our lenders in the future, if needed, as we have obtained in the past.

For more information regarding our current loan facilities, see please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – B. Liquidity and Capital Resources – Loan Arrangements.”

If we fail to manage our planned growth properly, we may not be able to successfully expand our market share.

Our fleet currently consists of 17 Capesize vessels, and we may acquire additional vessels in the future. Our ability to manage our growth will primarily depend on our ability to:

Growing any business by acquisitions presents numerous risks such as obtaining acquisition financing on acceptable terms or at all, undisclosed liabilities and obligations, difficulty in obtaining additional qualified personnel, managing relationships with customers and suppliers and integrating newly acquired operations into existing infrastructures. We may not be successful in executing our growth plans and we may incur significant additional expenses and losses in connection therewith.

Purchasing and operating secondhand vessels, such as our current fleet, may result in increased operating costs and vessel off-hire, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

All 17 of the vessels in our fleet are secondhand vessels. Our inspection of these or other secondhand vessels prior to purchase does not provide us with the same knowledge about their condition and the cost of any required or anticipated repairs that we would have had if these vessels had been built for and operated exclusively by us. We have not received in the past, and do not expect to receive in the future, the benefit of warranties on any secondhand vessels we acquire.

As the vessels in our fleet or other secondhand vessels we may acquire age, they may become less fuel efficient and costlier to maintain and will not be as advanced as recently constructed vessels due to improvements in design, technology and engineering, including improvements required to comply with government regulations. Rates for cargo insurance, paid by charterers, also increase with the age of a vessel, making older vessels less desirable to charterers.

Governmental regulations, safety or other equipment standards related to the age or condition of vessels may require expenditures for alterations, or the addition of new equipment, to our vessels and may restrict the type of activities in which the vessels may engage. As our vessels age, market conditions may not justify those expenditures or enable us to operate our vessels profitably during the remainder of their useful lives.

In addition, unless we maintain cash reserves for vessel replacement, we may be unable to replace the vessels in our fleet upon the expiration of their useful lives. We estimate the useful life of our vessels to be 25 years from the date of initial delivery from the shipyard. Our cash flows and income are dependent on the revenues we earn by chartering our vessels to customers. If we are unable to replace the vessels in our fleet upon the expiration of their useful lives, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected. Any reserves set aside for vessel replacement would not be available for other cash needs or dividends.

Increased regulatory oversight, uncertainty relating to the LIBOR calculation process and phasing out of LIBOR may adversely affect the amounts of interest we pay under our debt arrangements and our results of operations.

The calculation of interest in most financing agreements in our industry has been based on published LIBOR rates. LIBOR has historically been volatile, with the spread between LIBOR and the prime lending rate widening significantly at times. These conditions are the result of the disruptions in the international credit markets. Because the interest rates borne by our outstanding indebtedness primarily fluctuate with changes in LIBOR, and if such volatility were to occur in the future, or if LIBOR is replaced as the reference rate under our debt obligations, it could affect the amount of interest payable on our debt which, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our profitability, earnings and cash flow.

On July 27, 2017, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that it would phase-out LIBOR by the end of 2021. On November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”), the administrator of LIBOR, with the support of the United States Federal Reserve and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, announced plans to consult on ceasing publication of U.S. Dollar LIBOR on December 31, 2021 for only the one-week and two-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR tenors, and on June 30, 2023 for all other U.S. Dollar LIBOR tenors. This announcement coincided with an announcement by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) that the IBA announcement was not a triggering event which would set the spread to be used in its derivative contracts as part of the risk-free rate determination process. As a result, lenders have insisted on fallback provisions that entitle the lenders, in their discretion, to replace published LIBOR as the basis for the interest calculation with successor benchmark rates, such as their cost-of-funds rate. Various alternative reference rates are being considered in the financial community. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) has been proposed by the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (“ARRC”), a committee convened by the U.S. Federal Reserve that includes major market participants and on which regulators participate, as an alternative rate to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR. SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement (repo) market. The daily transaction volumes underlying SOFR are approximately $1 trillion, giving the ARRC confidence that SOFR will be reliable through a wide range of market conditions. SOFR is being adopted by most lenders in our industry as replacement benchmark rate and one of our loan facilities has adopted SOFR as a benchmark rate. However, it is not possible at this time to know the ultimate impact a phase-out of LIBOR and its potential replacement with SOFR may have, or how any such changes or alternative methods for calculating benchmark interest rates would be applied to any particular agreement containing terms based on LIBOR, which generally have alternative calculation provisions. All our floating rate financing agreements, currently in place, are linked to the 1-month and 3-months tenors of the U.S. dollar LIBOR which will continue to be published until June 30, 2023; additionally they contain benchmark replacement provisions that protect the lender from a mismatch between the cost of funding for the respective loan and a potential replacement benchmark rate. If, however, these are implicated, the interest payable on these particular agreements could be subject to volatility and the underlying lending costs could increase, which would have an adverse effect on the borrowers’ profitability, earnings and cash flow.

The failure of our counterparties to meet their obligations under our charter agreements could cause us to suffer losses or otherwise adversely affect our business.

The ability and willingness of each of our counterparties to perform its obligations under charter agreements with us will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control and may include, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the dry bulk shipping industry and the industries in which our counterparties operate and the overall financial condition of the counterparties. From time to time, those counterparties may account for a significant amount of our chartering activity and revenues. In addition, in challenging market conditions, there have been reports of charterers renegotiating their charters or defaulting on their obligations under charter agreements, and so our customers may fail to pay charter hire or attempt to renegotiate charter rates. Should a counterparty fail to honor its obligations under agreements with us, it may be difficult to secure substitute employment for such vessel, and any new charter arrangements we secure in the spot market or on time charters could be at lower rates. If our charterers fail to meet their obligations to us or attempt to renegotiate our charter agreements, we could suffer significant losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Rising crew costs may adversely affect our profits.

Crew costs are expected to be a significant expense for us. Recently, the limited supply of and increased demand for highly skilled and qualified crew, due to the increase in the size of the global shipping fleet, has created upward pressure on crewing costs. Increases in crew costs may adversely affect our profitability if we are not able to increase our rates.

We may not be able to attract and retain key management personnel and other employees in the shipping industry, which may negatively affect the effectiveness of our management and our results of operations.

Our success will depend to a significant extent upon the abilities and efforts of our management team, including our ability to retain key members of our management team and the ability of our management to recruit and hire suitable employees. The loss of any of these individuals could adversely affect our business prospects and financial condition. Difficulty in hiring and retaining personnel could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our vessels may suffer damage, and we may face unexpected repair costs, which could adversely affect our cash flow and financial condition.

If our vessels suffer damage, they may need to be repaired at a shipyard facility. The costs of repairs are unpredictable and can be substantial. The loss of earnings while our vessels are being repaired and repositioned, as well as the actual cost of these repairs, would decrease our earnings and reduce the amount of any dividends in the future. We may not have insurance that is sufficient to cover all or any of these costs or losses and may have to pay repair costs not covered by our insurance.

We are exposed to U.S. dollar and foreign currency fluctuations and devaluations that could harm our reported revenue and results of operations.

We generate all of our revenues and incur the majority of our operating expenses in U.S. dollars, but we currently incur many of our general and administration expenses in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, primarily the euro. Because such portion of our expenses is incurred in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, our expenses may from time to time increase relative to our revenues as a result of fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly between the U.S. dollar and the euro, which could affect the amount of net income that we report in future periods. We may use financial derivatives to operationally hedge some of our currency exposure. Our use of financial derivatives involves certain risks, including the risk that losses on a hedged position could exceed the nominal amount invested in the instrument and the risk that the counterparty to the derivative transaction may be unable or unwilling to satisfy its contractual obligations, which could have an adverse effect on our results.

We maintain cash with a limited number of financial institutions including financial institutions that may be located in Greece, which will subject us to credit risk.

We maintain all of our cash with a limited number of financial institutions, including institutions that are located in Greece. These financial institutions located in Greece may be subsidiaries of international banks or Greek financial institutions. Economic conditions in Greece have been, and continue to be, uncertain as a result of recent sovereign weakness. Although Moody's Investor Services Inc. upgraded the bank financial strength ratings, as well as the deposit and debt ratings, of several Greek banks in September 2021 to reflect improving prospects, the stand-alone financial strength of the banks and the anticipated additional pressures stemming from the legacy of the country's multi-year debt crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to create challenging economic prospects.

We are a holding company and we depend on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute funds to us in order to satisfy financial obligations or to pay dividends.

We are a holding company and our subsidiaries, which are all wholly-owned by us either directly or indirectly, conduct all of our operations and own all of our operating assets. We have no significant assets other than the equity interests in our wholly-owned subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to make dividend payments depends on our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute funds to us. The ability of a subsidiary to make these distributions could be affected by the covenants in our loan agreements, a claim or other action by a third party, including a creditor, and the laws of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Liberia, Malta and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, where our vessel-owning subsidiaries are incorporated, which regulate the payment of dividends by companies. If we are unable to obtain funds from our subsidiaries, we may not be able to satisfy our financial obligations.

In the highly competitive international shipping industry, we may not be able to compete for charters with new entrants or established companies with greater resources, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

We employ our vessels in a highly competitive market that is capital intensive and highly fragmented. Competition arises primarily from other vessel owners, some of whom may have substantially greater resources than we do. Competition for the transportation of dry bulk cargoes by sea is intense and depends on price, location, size, age, condition and the acceptability of the vessel and its operators to the charterers. Due in part to the highly fragmented market, competitors with greater resources could enter the dry bulk shipping industry and operate larger fleets through consolidations or acquisitions and may be able to offer lower charter rates and higher quality vessels than we are able to offer. Although we believe that no single competitor has a dominant position in the markets in which we compete, we are aware that certain competitors may be able to devote greater financial and other resources to their activities than we can, resulting in a significant competitive threat to us. We cannot give assurances that we will continue to compete successfully with our competitors or that these factors will not erode our competitive position in the future.

Due to our lack of fleet diversification, adverse developments in the maritime dry bulk shipping industry would adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.

Our business currently depends on the transportation of dry bulk commodities, and our fleet consists exclusively of Capesize vessels. Our current lack of diversification could make us vulnerable to adverse developments in the maritime dry bulk shipping industry and demand for Capesize vessels in particular, which would have a significantly greater impact on our business, financial condition and operating results than it would if we maintained more diverse assets or lines of business.

We may be subject to litigation that, if not resolved in our favor and not sufficiently insured against, could have a material adverse effect on us.

We may be, from time to time, involved in various litigation matters. These matters may include, among other things, contract disputes, personal injury claims, environmental claims or proceedings, asbestos and other toxic tort claims, employment matters, governmental claims for taxes or duties, and other litigation that arises in the ordinary course of our business. Although we intend to defend these matters vigorously, we cannot predict with certainty the outcome or effect of any claim or other litigation matter, and the ultimate outcome of any litigation or the potential costs to resolve them may have a material adverse effect on us. Insurance may not be applicable or sufficient in all cases or insurers may not remain solvent, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, or FCPA, could result in fines, criminal penalties, and an adverse effect on our business.

We operate throughout the world, including countries with a reputation for corruption.  We are committed to doing business in accordance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics which is consistent and in full compliance with the FCPA.  We are subject, however, to the risk that we, our affiliated entities or our or their respective officers, directors, employees and agents may take action determined to be in violation of such anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA.  Any such violation could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties, curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions, and might adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.  In addition, actual or alleged violations could damage our reputation and ability to do business.  Furthermore, detecting, investigating, and resolving actual or alleged violations is expensive and can consume significant time and attention of our senior management.

We depend significantly on third-party technical and commercial managers for crewing and certain aspects of technical and commercial management of some of our ships. Our operations could be negatively affected if third-party managers fail to perform their services satisfactorily.

Seanergy Shipmanagement Corp., or Seanergy Shipmanagement, our wholly owned ship management subsidiary, provides certain technical management services to the Dukeship, Fellowship, Friendship, Goodship, Knightship, Lordship and Worldshipand it is expected to undertake the technical management of more vessels of our fleet in the future. Seanergy Management Corp., or Seanergy Management, our wholly owned subsidiary, provides us with certain other management services. Moreover, we also depend significantly on third-party technical and commercial managers. V.Ships and V.Ships Greece provide us with certain technical, general administrative and support services (including vessel maintenance, crewing, purchasing, shipyard supervision, assistance with regulatory compliance, accounting related to vessels and provisions).   Anglo-Eastern Crew Management (Asia) Limited, or Anglo-Eastern, provide crew management services to the Worldshipand Dukeship. Fidelity provides us with commercial management services for our vessels.

Our operational success depends significantly upon V.Ships’, V.Ships Greece’s, Anglo-Eastern’s and Fidelity’s satisfactory performance of these services. Our business would be harmed if V.Ships, V.Ships Greece, Anglo-Eastern or Fidelity failed to perform these services satisfactorily. In addition, if our management agreements with any of V.Ships, V. Ships Greece or Fidelity were to be terminated or if their terms were to be altered, our business could be adversely affected, as we may not be able to immediately replace such services, and even if replacement services were immediately available, the terms offered could be less favorable than those under our existing management agreements.

In addition, our ability to compete for and enter into new period time and spot charters and to expand our relationships with our existing charterers depends significantly on our relationship with our third-party commercial manager, Fidelity. If Fidelity fails to perform its obligations, it may harm our ability to renew existing charters upon their expiration, obtain new charters, and maintain satisfactory relationships with our charterers and suppliers.

The failure of our third-party managers to perform their obligations satisfactorily could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Because our third-party managers are each privately held companies, we and our shareholders might have little advance warning of financial or other problems affecting them even though their financial or other problems could have a material adverse effect on us. Although we may have rights against our third-party managers if they default on their obligations to us, our shareholders will share that recourse only indirectly to the extent that we recover funds.

Management fees will be payable to our managers regardless of our profitability, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Pursuant to our technical and crew management agreements we pay management fees to our managers as described in “Item 4.B. History and Development – Business Overview – Management of our fleet” in exchange for provision of technical, support and administrative services. The management fees do not cover expenses such as voyage expenses, vessel operating expenses, maintenance expenses and crewing costs, for which we reimburse the technical manager. The management fees are payable whether or not our vessels are employed and regardless of our profitability, and we have no ability to require our managers to reduce the management fees if our profitability decreases, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of our common stock.

A foreign corporation will be treated as a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either (1) at least 75% of its gross income for any taxable year consists of certain types of “passive income” or (2) at least 50% of the average value of the corporation's assets produce or are held for the production of those types of “passive income.” For purposes of these tests, “passive income” includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property, and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties which are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. For purposes of these tests, income derived from the performance of services does not constitute “passive income.” U.S. shareholders of a PFIC are subject to a disadvantageous U.S. federal income tax regime with respect to the income derived by the PFIC, the distributions they receive from the PFIC and the gain, if any, they derive from the sale or other disposition of their shares in the PFIC.

Based upon our current and anticipated method of operations, we do not believe that we should be a PFIC with respect to our 2021 taxable year, and we do not expect to become a PFIC in any future taxable year. In this regard, we intend to treat our gross income from time charters as active services income, rather than rental income. Accordingly, our income from our time chartering activities should not constitute “passive income,” and the assets that we own and operate in connection with the production of that income should not constitute passive assets. There is substantial legal authority supporting this position including case law and U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, pronouncements concerning the characterization of income derived from time charters and voyage charters as services income for other tax purposes. However, it should be noted that there is also authority which characterizes time charter income as rental income rather than services income for other tax purposes. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the IRS or a court of law will accept this position, and there is a risk that the IRS or a court of law could determine that we are a PFIC. Moreover, no assurance can be given that we would not constitute a PFIC for any future taxable year if the nature and extent of our operations change.

If the IRS were to find that we are or have been a PFIC for any taxable year, our U.S. shareholders would face adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and certain information reporting requirements. Under the PFIC rules, unless those shareholders make an election available under the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended, or the Code (which election could itself have adverse consequences for such shareholders), such shareholders would be liable to pay U.S. federal income tax at the then prevailing income tax rates on ordinary income plus interest upon excess distributions and upon any gain from the disposition of their shares of our common stock, as if the excess distribution or gain had been recognized ratably over the shareholder's holding period of the shares of our common stock. Similar consequences would apply to holders of our warrants. See “Item 10.E. Tax Considerations – United States Federal Income Tax Consequences – United States Federal Income Taxation of U.S. Holders – Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” for a more comprehensive discussion of the U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. shareholders if we are treated as a PFIC.

We may have to pay tax on U.S. source income, which would reduce our earnings.

Under the Code, 50% of the gross shipping income of a vessel-owning or chartering corporation, such as us and our subsidiaries, that is attributable to transportation that begins or ends, but that does not both begin and end, in the United States, exclusive of certain U.S. territories and possessions, or “U.S. source gross shipping income” may be subject to a 4% U.S. federal income tax without allowance for deduction, unless that corporation qualifies for exemption from tax under Section 883 of the Code and the applicable Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

We believe that we qualify for exemption from the 4% tax under Section 883 of the Code for our 2021 taxable year.  However, there are factual circumstances beyond our control that could cause us not to have the benefit of the tax exemption under Section 883 in 2022 or future years and thereby cause us to become subject to U.S. federal income tax on our U.S. source shipping income. For example, there is a risk that we could fail to qualify for exemption under Section 883 of the Code for a particular taxable year if “non-qualified” shareholders with a five percent or greater interest in our stock were, in combination with each other, to own 50% or more of the outstanding shares of our stock on more than half the days during the taxable year. See the description of the ownership tests which must be satisfied to qualify for exemption under Section 883 of the Code in “Item 10.E. Tax Considerations – United States Federal Income Tax Consequences – Exemption of Operating Income from United States Federal Income Taxation.”

Because the availability of the exemption depends on factual circumstances beyond our control, we can give no assurances on the tax-exempt status of ourselves or that of any of our subsidiaries for our 2022 or subsequent taxable years. If we or our subsidiaries are not entitled to exemption under Section 883, we or our subsidiaries will be subject to the 4% U.S. federal income tax on 50% of any shipping income such companies derive that is attributable to the transport of cargoes to or from the United States. This tax is a cost, which, if unreimbursed, has a negative effect on our business and results in decreased earnings available for distribution to our shareholders.

We may be subject to tax in the jurisdictions in which we or our vessel-owning subsidiaries are incorporated or operate.

In addition to the tax consequences discussed herein, we may be subject to tax in one or more other jurisdictions where we or our vessel-owning subsidiaries are incorporated or conduct activities. We are subject to a corporate flat tax for our subsidiaries in Malta for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 and could be subject to additional taxation in the future in Malta or other jurisdictions where our subsidiaries are incorporated or do business. The amount of any such tax imposed upon our operations or on our subsidiaries' operations may be material and could have an adverse effect on our earnings.

We are a “foreign private issuer,” which could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.

We are a “foreign private issuer,” as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act. As a “foreign private issuer” the rules governing the information that we disclose differ from those governing U.S. corporations pursuant to the Exchange Act. We are not required to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or provide current reports on Form 8-K disclosing significant events within four days of their occurrence. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and related rules with respect to their purchase and sales of our securities. Our exemption from the rules of Section 16 of the Exchange Act regarding sales of common stock by insiders means that you will have less data in this regard than shareholders of U.S. companies that are subject to the Exchange Act. Moreover, we are exempt from the proxy rules, and proxy statements that we distribute will not be subject to review by the Commission. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning us than there is for other U.S. public companies. These factors could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection of our independent accounting firm could lead to adverse findings in our auditors' reports and challenges to the accuracy of our published audited consolidated financial statements.

Auditors of U.S. public companies are required by law to undergo periodic Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, inspections that assess their compliance with U.S. law and professional standards in connection with performance of audits of financial statements filed with the SEC. For several years certain European Union countries, including Greece, did not permit the PCAOB to conduct inspections of accounting firms established and operating in such European Union countries, even if they were part of major international firms. Accordingly, unlike for most U.S. public companies, the PCAOB was prevented from evaluating our auditor's performance of audits and its quality control procedures, and, unlike stockholders of most U.S. public companies, we and our stockholders were deprived of the possible benefits of such inspections. Since 2015, Greece agreed to allow the PCAOB to conduct inspections of accounting firms operating in Greece. In the future, such PCAOB inspections could result in findings in our auditors' quality control procedures, question the validity of the auditor's reports on our published consolidated financial statements and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, and cast doubt upon the accuracy of our published audited financial statements.

Changing laws and evolving reporting requirements could have an adverse effect on our business.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to reporting requirements, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, may create additional compliance requirements for us. To maintain high standards of corporate governance and public disclosure, we have invested in, and continue to invest in, reasonably necessary resources to comply with evolving standards.

GDPR broadens the scope of personal privacy laws to protect the rights of European Union citizens and requires organizations to report on data breaches within 72 hours and be bound by more stringent rules for obtaining the consent of individuals on how their data can be used. Non-compliance with GDPR may expose entities to significant fines or other regulatory claims which could have an adverse effect on our business, and results of operations.

A cyber-attack could materially disrupt our business.

We rely on information technology systems and networks in our operations and administration of our business. Our business operations could be targeted by individuals or groups seeking to sabotage or disrupt our information technology systems and networks, or to steal data. A successful cyber-attack could materially disrupt our operations, including the safety of our operations, or lead to unauthorized release of information or alteration of information in our systems. Any such attack or other breach of our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, the unavailability of the information systems or the failure of these systems to perform as anticipated for any reason could disrupt our business and could result in decreased performance and increased operating costs, causing our business and results of operations to suffer. Any significant interruption or failure of our information systems or any significant breach of security could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Additionally, any changes in the nature of cyber threats might require us to adopt additional procedures for monitoring cybersecurity, which could require additional expenses and/or capital expenditures. Most recently, the escalation in conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been accompanied by cyber-attacks against the Ukrainian government and other countries in the region. It is possible that these attacks could have collateral effects on additional critical infrastructure and financial institutions globally, which could adversely affect our operations. It is difficult to assess the likelihood of such threat and any potential impact at this time.

The smuggling of drugs or other contraband onto our vessels may lead to governmental claims against us.

Our vessels may call in ports in South America and other areas where smugglers attempt to hide drugs and other contraband on vessels, with or without the knowledge of crew members. Under some jurisdictions, vessels used for the conveyance of illegal drugs could subject the vessels to forfeiture to the government of such jurisdiction. To the extent our vessels are found with contraband, whether inside or attached to the hull of our vessel and whether with or without the knowledge of any member of our crew, we may face reputational damage and governmental or other regulatory claims or penalties which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, as well as our ability to maintain cash flows, including cash available for distributions to pay dividends to our unitholders. Under some jurisdictions, vessels used for the conveyance of illegal drugs could subject result in forfeiture of the vessel to forfeiture to the government of such jurisdiction.

We may issue additional common shares or other equity securities without shareholder approval, which would dilute our existing shareholders' ownership interests and may depress the market price of our common shares.

We may issue additional common shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future without shareholder approval in connection with, among other things, future vessel acquisitions, the repayment of outstanding indebtedness, and the conversion of convertible financial instruments.

Our issuance of additional common shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in these situations would have the following effects:

Our issuance of additional common shares upon the exercise of such warrants and convertible notes would cause the proportionate ownership interest in us of our existing shareholders, other than the exercising warrant or note holders, to decrease; the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common share held by our existing shareholders to decrease; and, depending on our share price when and if these warrants or notes are exercised, may result in dilution to our shareholders.

The market price of our common shares has been and may in the future be subject to significant fluctuations. Further, there is no guarantee of a continuing public market to resell our common shares.

The market price of our common shares has been and may in the future be subject to significant fluctuations as a result of many factors, some of which are beyond our control. Among the factors that have in the past and could in the future affect our stock price are:

The stock markets in general, and the markets for dry bulk shipping and shipping stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that has sometimes been unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Additionally, there is no guarantee of a continuing public market to resell our common shares. Our common shares commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on October 15, 2008. Since December 21, 2012, our common shares have traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We cannot assure you that an active and liquid public market for our common shares will continue.

On July 15, 2019, we received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market, indicating that because the closing bid price of our common stock for 30 consecutive business days, from May 31, 2019 to July 12, 2019, was below the minimum $1.00 per share bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the applicable grace period to regain compliance was 180 days, or until January 13, 2020. On January 14, 2020, we received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market, indicating that we were granted an additional 180-day grace period, until July 13, 2020, to cure our non-compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). We received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market dated April 17, 2020, granting an extension of the grace period to cure such non-compliance from July 13, 2020 to September 25, 2020. The extension was granted as part of Nasdaq’s determination to toll the compliance periods for all public companies, not meeting the continued listing requirements, such as the bid price requirement, due to the extraordinary market conditions and unprecedented turmoil in U.S financial markets. On June 30, 2020, we conducted a 1-for-16 reverse stock split. On July 15, 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market confirmed that we regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) concerning the minimum bid price of the Company’s common stock.

On September 30, 2020, we again received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that because the closing bid price of our common stock for 30 consecutive business days, from August 18, 2020 to September 29, 2020, was below the minimum $1.00 per share bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the applicable grace period to regain compliance was 180 days, or until March 29, 2021. On February 11, 2021, the Nasdaq Stock Market confirmed that we regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) concerning the minimum bid price of the Company’s common stock and this matter is now closed.

On January 26, 2022, we again received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that because the closing bid price of our common stock for 30 consecutive business days, from December 13, 2021 to January 25, 2022, was below the minimum $1.00 per share bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the applicable grace period to regain compliance was 180 days, or until July 25, 2022. On February 14, 2022, the Nasdaq Stock Market confirmed that we regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) concerning the minimum bid price of the Company’s common stock and this matter is now closed.

A possible “short squeeze” due to a sudden increase in demand of our common stock that largely exceeds supply may lead to further price volatility in our common shares.

Investors may purchase our common shares to hedge existing exposure in our common shares or to speculate on the price of our common shares. Speculation on the price of our common shares may involve long and short exposures. To the extent aggregate short exposure exceeds the number of common shares available for purchase in the open market, investors with short exposure may have to pay a premium to repurchase our common shares for delivery to lenders of our common shares. Those repurchases may in turn, dramatically increase the price of our common shares until investors with short exposure are able to purchase additional common shares to cover their short position. This is often referred to as a “short squeeze.” Following such a short squeeze, once investors purchase the shares necessary to cover their short position, the price of our common shares may rapidly decline. A short squeeze could lead to volatile price movements in our shares that are not directly correlated to the performance or prospects of our company.

The declaration and payment of dividends will always be subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors. Our board of directors may not declare dividends in the future.

The declaration, timing and amount of any dividend is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon our earnings, financial condition, market prospects, capital expenditure requirements, investment opportunities, restrictions in our loan agreements, the provisions of Marshall Islands law affecting the payment of dividends to shareholders, overall market conditions and other factors. Our board of directors may not declare dividends in the future.

Further, Marshall Islands law generally prohibits the payment of dividends if the company is insolvent or would be rendered insolvent upon payment of such dividend, and dividends may be declared and paid out of our operating surplus. Dividends may also be declared or paid out of net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and for the preceding fiscal year. We may be unable to pay dividends in any anticipated amount or at all.

In addition, we have entered into a shareholders rights agreement that makes it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the support of our board of directors. See “Description of Securities” filed as Exhibit 2.9 hereto for a description of our shareholders rights agreement. These anti-takeover provisions, along with provisions of our shareholders rights agreement, could substantially impede the ability of our shareholders to impose a change in control and, as a result, may adversely affect the market price of our common shares and your ability to realize any potential change of control premium.

Issuance of preferred shares, such as our Series B Preferred Shares, may adversely affect the voting power of our common shareholders and have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a merger or acquisition, which could adversely affect the market price of our common shares.

Our restated articles of incorporation, as amended, currently authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, with respect to, among other things, dividends, conversion, voting, redemption, liquidation and the number of shares constituting any series without shareholders' approval. Our board of directors has issued, and may in the future issue, preferred shares with voting rights superior to those of the common shares, such as the Series B Preferred Shares. If our board of directors determines to issue preferred shares, such issuance may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition that shareholders may consider favorable. The issuance of preferred shares with voting and conversion rights may also adversely affect the voting power of the holders of common shares. This could substantially impede the ability of public shareholders to benefit from a change in control and, as a result, may adversely affect the market price of our common shares and our shareholders' ability to realize any potential change of control premium.

We are incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which does not have a well-developed body of corporate law, which may negatively affect the ability of shareholders to protect their interests.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our restated articles of incorporation, as amended, our third amended and restated bylaws and by the Marshall Islands Business Corporations Act, or the BCA. The provisions of the BCA resemble provisions of the corporation laws of a number of states in the United States. However, there have been few judicial cases in the Republic of the Marshall Islands interpreting the BCA. The rights and fiduciary responsibilities of directors under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands are not as clearly established as the rights and fiduciary responsibilities of directors under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in certain U.S. jurisdictions. Shareholder rights may differ as well. While the BCA does specifically incorporate the non-statutory law, or judicial case law, of the State of Delaware and other states with substantially similar legislative provisions, shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions by the management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a U.S. jurisdiction.

Additionally, the Republic of the Marshall Islands does not have a legal provision for bankruptcy or a general statutory mechanism for insolvency proceedings. As such, in the event of a future insolvency or bankruptcy, our shareholders and creditors may experience delays in their ability to recover for their claims after any such insolvency or bankruptcy. Further, in the event of any bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or similar proceeding involving us or any of our subsidiaries, bankruptcy laws other than those of the United States could apply. If we become a debtor under U.S. bankruptcy law, bankruptcy courts in the United States may seek to assert jurisdiction over all of our assets, wherever located, including property situated in other countries. There can be no assurance, however, that we would become a debtor in the United States, or that a U.S. bankruptcy court would be entitled to, or accept, jurisdiction over such a bankruptcy case, or that courts in other countries that have jurisdiction over us and our operations would recognize a U.S. bankruptcy court's jurisdiction if any other bankruptcy court would determine it had jurisdiction.

As a Marshall Islands corporation with principal executive offices in Greece, and also having subsidiaries in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and other offshore jurisdictions such as Liberia, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands, our operations may be subject to economic substance requirements.

In March 2019, the Council of the European Union, or the Council, published a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, the 2019 Conclusions. In the 2019 Conclusions, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, among others, was placed by the E.U. on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for failing to implement certain commitments previously made to the E.U. by the agreed deadline. However, it was announced by the Council in October 2019 that the Marshall Islands had been removed from the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. E.U. member states have agreed upon a set of measures, which they can choose to apply against the listed countries, including, inter alia, increased monitoring and audits, withholding taxes and non-deductibility of costs. The European Commission has stated it will continue to support member states' efforts to develop a more coordinated approach to sanctions for the listed countries. E.U. legislation prohibits E.U. funds from being channelled or transited through entities in non-cooperative jurisdictions.

We are a Marshall Islands corporation with principal executive offices in Greece. Several of our subsidiaries are organized in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Liberia, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands. The Marshall Islands have enacted economic substance regulations with which we are obligated to comply. The Marshall Islands economic substance regulations require certain entities that carry out particular activities to comply with a three-part economic substance test whereby the entity must show that it (i) is directed and managed in the Marshall Islands in relation to that relevant activity, (ii) carries out core income-generating activity in relation to that relevant activity in the Marshall Islands (although it is being understood and acknowledged by the regulators that income-generated activities for shipping companies will generally occur in international waters) and (iii) having regard to the level of relevant activity carried out in the Marshall Islands has (a) an adequate amount of expenditures in the Marshall Islands, (b) adequate physical presence in the Marshall Islands and (c) an adequate number of qualified employees in the Marshall Islands. Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands have enacted similar legislation.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under such legislation or any similar law applicable to us in any other jurisdictions, we could be subject to financial penalties and spontaneous disclosure of information to foreign tax officials, or could be struck from the register of companies, in related jurisdictions. Any of the foregoing could be disruptive to our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and operating results.

We do not know (i) if the E.U. will once again add the Marshall Islands, Liberia, Bermuda or the British Virgin Islands to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, (ii) how quickly the E.U. would react to any changes in legislation of the relevant jurisdictions, or (iii) how E.U. banks or other counterparties will react while we or any of our subsidiaries remain as entities organized and existing under the laws of listed countries. The effect of the E.U. list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, and any noncompliance by us with any legislation adopted by applicable countries to achieve removal from the list, including economic substance regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and operating results.

We and all of our subsidiaries are incorporated in jurisdictions outside the U.S. and substantially all of our assets and those of our subsidiaries are located outside the U.S. In addition, most of our directors and officers are non-residents of the U.S., and all or a substantial portion of the assets of these non-residents are located outside the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for U.S. investors to serve process within the U.S. upon us, our subsidiaries or our directors and officers or to enforce a judgment against us for civil liabilities in U.S. courts. In addition, you should not assume that courts in the countries in which we or our subsidiaries are incorporated or where our assets or the assets of our subsidiaries are located (1) would enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions against us or our subsidiaries based upon the civil liability provisions of applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws or (2) would enforce, in original actions, liabilities against us or our subsidiaries based on those laws.

We are an international shipping company specializing in the worldwide seaborne transportation of dry bulk commodities. We currently operate 17 Capesize vessels with a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 3,011,083 dwt and an average fleet age of 12.1 years. We are the only pure-play Capesize shipowner publicly listed in the U.S.

We believe we have established a reputation in the international dry bulk shipping industry for operating and maintaining vessels with high standards of performance, reliability and safety. We have assembled a management team comprised of executives who have extensive experience operating large and diversified fleets, and who have strong ties to a number of international charterers.

We were incorporated under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, pursuant to the BCA, on January 4, 2008, originally under the name Seanergy Merger Corp.  We changed our name to Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. on July 11, 2008. Our executive offices are located at 154 Vouliagmenis Avenue, 166 74 Glyfada, Greece and our telephone number is + 30 213 0181507. Our website is www.seanergymaritime.com. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that we file electronically at www.sec.gov.

Business Development and Capital Expenditures and Divestitures

At the opening of trading on March 20, 2019, we effected a one-for-fifteen reverse split of our common stock in order to cure the deficiency of the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement originally communicated to us on April 23, 2018.

In December 2019, we completed our initial program of installation of scrubbers in anticipation of the IMO's low sulfur fuel oil requirements in effect from January 1, 2020.  We retrofitted five Capesize vessels with scrubbers.

On April 2, 2020, we sold 2,536,468 units (including the full exercise of the over-allotment option of 330,843 units granted to the underwriters) at a price of $2.72 per unit in a public offering for gross proceeds of $6.9 million. As of the date of this annual report, 4,368,750 Class D Warrants at an exercise price of $3.40, issued in connection with this offering, remain outstanding. The Class D Warrants expire on April 2, 2025.

Between April 23, 2020 and June 26, 2020, we issued 2,263,421 of our common shares pursuant to exercises of outstanding Class D Warrants with gross proceeds of $4.1 million.

Between April and May 2020, we sold 11,690,625 of our common shares in four registered direct offerings concurrently with private placements of 11,690,625 warrants for a purchase price ranging between $2.16 and $1.92 per common share and warrant. The gross proceeds were approximately $23.2 million.

During May and June 2020, a total of 11,690,625 shares were issued pursuant to the exercises of all warrants issued under the four private placements, for gross proceeds of approximately $16.9 million.

On May 26, 2020, we entered into a definitive agreement with an unaffiliated third party to purchase a Japanese 2005- built Capesize vessel having a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 177,500 dwt, the Goodship. The vessel was delivered to us on August 7, 2020. The gross purchase price of $11.4 million was funded with cash on hand at delivery and subsequently through the ABB Loan Facility (as defined below).

At the opening of trading on June 30, 2020, we effected a one-for-sixteen reverse stock split of our common stock in order to cure the deficiency of the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement originally communicated to us on July 15, 2019.

In August 2020, we sold 35,714,286 units at a price of $0.70 per unit in an underwritten public offering. As of the date of this annual report, 8,632,713 Class E warrants at an exercise price of $0.70 per share, issued in connection with this offering, remain outstanding. The Class E warrants expire on August 20, 2025.

On September 30, 2020, we received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that because the closing bid price of our common stock for 30 consecutive business days, from August 18, 2020 to September 29, 2020, was below the minimum $1.00 per share bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the applicable grace period to regain compliance was 180 days, or until March 29, 2021. On February 11, 2021, the Nasdaq Stock Market confirmed that we regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) concerning the minimum bid price of the Company’s common stock.

Between January 15, 2021 and October 1, 2021, we issued 32,263,715 of our common shares pursuant to exercises of outstanding Class E warrants with gross proceeds of $22.6 million.

On February 12, 2021, we entered into a definitive agreement with an unaffiliated third party to purchase a Japanese 2006-built Capesize vessel having a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 177,000 dwt, the Tradership. The vessel was delivered to us on June 9, 2021. The gross purchase price of $17 million was funded with cash on hand at delivery and subsequently through the ABB Loan Facility (as defined below).

On February 19, 2021, we issued 44,150,000 of our common shares in a registered direct offering for a purchase price of $1.70 per common share, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $75.0 million.

On March 10, 2021, we entered into a definitive agreement with an unaffiliated third party to purchase a Japanese 2013-built Capesize vessel having a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 176,500 dwt, the Flagship. The vessel was delivered to us on May 6, 2021. The gross purchase price of approximately $28.4 million was funded with cash on hand at delivery and subsequently through a sale and leaseback transaction with Cargill.

On March 11, 2021, we entered into a definitive agreement with unaffiliated third parties to purchase a Japanese 2010-built Capesize vessel having a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 182,000 dwt, the Patriotship. The vessel was delivered to us on June 1, 2021. The gross purchase price of $26.6 million was funded with cash on hand at delivery and subsequently through though a sale and leaseback agreement with CMB Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (“CMBFL”).

On March 19, 2021, we entered into a definitive agreement with an unaffiliated third party to purchase a Japanese 2012-built Capesize vessel having a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 181,00 dwt, the Hellasship. The vessel was delivered to us on May 6, 2021. The gross purchase price of $28.6 million was funded with cash on hand at delivery and subsequently through a sale and leaseback agreement with CMBFL.

On December 13, 2021, our previously-issued Class A Warrants, trading under the symbol SHIPW, expired.

On February 28, 2022, we voluntarily prepaid the remaining balance of $1.85 million of the Second JDH Loan using cash on hand. All obligations under the Second JDH Loan were irrevocably and unconditionally discharged pursuant to the deed of release dated February 28, 2022.

We are an international shipping company specializing in the worldwide seaborne transportation of dry bulk commodities.  We currently operate 17 Capesize vessels, with a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 3,011,083 dwt and an average fleet age of 12.1 years. We are the only pure-play Capesize shipping company listed in the U.S.

We believe we have established a reputation in the international dry bulk shipping industry for operating and maintaining vessels with high standards of performance, reliability and safety. We have assembled a management team comprised of executives who have extensive experience operating large and diversified fleets, and who have strong ties to a number of international charterers.

Our Current Fleet

The following table lists the vessels in our fleet as of the date of this annual report: