In a statement issued Friday morning the New York-listed bulker operator said the buy-back programme was approved by its board of directors.

“The company is not, however, obligated to repurchase any shares under the plan,” it added without elaborating further.

In the same announcement the Athens-based bulker owner told investors that it recently drained a $30m loan facility backed by The Export-Import Bank of China to partially finance the acquisition of two newbuildings that hit the water earlier this year.

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