Safe Bulkers revealed that it moved a bigger share of its fleet in the spot market as the outfit reported steady third-quarter results.

But it kept its biggest ships locked into period employment.

The New York-listed shipowner, which has Polys Hajioannou as its chief executive and biggest shareholder, said it had 16 ships in the spot market as of Friday, which is up from nine vessels in the spot market when it last reported earnings in July.