Marshall Islands-incorporated dry bulk owner and operator Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. has obtained waiver and deferral for major financial covenants from four of its senior lenders until the

second quarter of 2018.

According to Stamatis Tsantanis, CEO of Seanergy, even though the company was not in a breach of

covenants in any of its facilities, the company approached its banks well in advance “to resolve any issue that could arise in the next 13 to 15 months.”

“These agreements are a result of our strong relationships with our lenders and are aimed to align the application date of certain major financial covenants starting in the second quarter of 2018.

“Currently, we are seeing rising freight rates and asset values within the dry bulk market and we believe this strategic agreement will also allow us to operate with significantly more financial flexibility as we look to grow our fleet,” Tsantanis added.

The announcement comes one week after the company secured an early termination of a credit facility with one of its senior lenders, resulting in a material gain of around USD 11.4 million.

The gain, which represents a reduction of some 29% of the outstanding facility, should be recorded upon closing of the transaction in the second or third quarter of 2017, the company said.

In the past six months Seanergy raised funds from the equity capital markets and used the capital to grow its platform and enhance shareholder value.

Seaenergy owns a fleet of ten dry bulk carriers, consisting of eight Capesizes and two Supramaxes, with a combined cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 1,503,369 DWT and an average fleet age of about 8.1 years.