Top Ships, Inc. (NASDAQ: TOPS) is engaged as an international shipping company, which utilizes modern, fuel efficient, “eco” tanker vessels. Shares of the shipping company are jumping 55% through early trading on Monday, February 13, 2023. Over the past three months, Top Ships has seen average daily volume of 2.98 million shares. However, volume of 26.38 million shares or dollar volume of around $49.59 million, has already exchanged hands through early trading.
Shares of Top Ships are surging after the company announced that it has entered into a time charter employment contact with a “high-quality counterparty” for the company’s product/chemical tanker M/T Eco Marina Del Rey. The new time charter will begin immediately following the expiration of the current contract during the first quarter of 2024. The new contract will also have a firm duration of three years with an additional year option available to the charterer. Top Ships expects to generate revenue of $22.4 million from the contract and $30.6 million if the charterer exercises its fourth-year option.
With the new time charter in consideration, Top Ships’ currently-contracted projected charter coverage is already full for 2023 and nearing full capacity for 2024. The follow charter coverage:
| Year | Operating fleet |
| 2023 | 100% |
| 2024 | 80% |
| 2025 | 29% |
| 2026 | 25% |
| 2027 | 15% |
| 2028 to Q1 2037 | 13%” |
Evangelos Pistiolis, the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company, said: “We are very happy to have concluded this new fixture of M/T Eco Marina Del Rey more than a year ahead of the expiry of its present employment and at a daily rate which is about 36% higher than the current rate, thereby taking advantage of the strong rates prevailing in the current tanker market. After considering this fixture, the total gross revenue backlog for the firm time charter period of our operating vessels, as of December 31, 2022, stands at about $259 million, increasing to about $280 million when adding the 50% of our joint venture vessels.
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