Castor Maritime Inc. Announces the Sale and Leaseback of the M/V Magic Perseus
Rhea-AI Summary
Castor Maritime (NASDAQ: CTRM) signed a sale and leaseback for the M/V Magic Perseus, a 2013 Kamsarmax bulk carrier, with a Japanese counterparty. The transaction includes $15.6 million bareboat financing, an 11-year term, a counterparty put option at year eight, and a Company purchase option starting at the end of year two. The agreement is expected to conclude during January 2026. Castor’s fleet comprises 9 vessels with aggregate capacity of 0.6 million dwt. The release includes standard forward-looking cautionary language.
Positive
- $15.6 million bareboat financing secured
- 11-year leaseback provides long-term financing certainty
- Company purchase option available from end of year two
Negative
- Transaction transfers vessel ownership under sale and leaseback
- Counterparty put option at year eight may limit long-term control
News Market Reaction – CTRM
On the day this news was published, CTRM declined NaN%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +2.3% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 3 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
Marine shipping peers showed mixed moves: GLBS -7.52%, USEA +4.12%, PSHG +1.39%, EDRY 0%, OP +7.81%. With CTRM up 2.42%, the pattern points to stock-specific factors rather than a broad sector rotation.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 03 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | +9.4% | Strong Q3 net income and EBITDA despite lower vessel revenues. |
| Oct 15 | Debt & redemption | Positive | +2.3% | New $50M term loan and full redemption of Series E preferred. |
| Oct 01 | Q2 2025 earnings | Negative | -0.5% | Significant YoY revenue and net income declines with lower TCE rates. |
| Sep 15 | AGM results | Neutral | +2.8% | Approval of director re-election and auditor appointment at AGM. |
| Aug 11 | Q1 2025 earnings | Negative | +0.0% | Large net loss driven by unrealized losses and weaker vessel revenues. |
Recent news events, whether operational, financing, or governance-related, have most often seen price moves aligned with the apparent news sentiment, with only one divergence on weak earnings.
Over the last six months, Castor Maritime reported several pivotal developments. Earnings in Q1 2025 and Q2 2025 showed sharply weaker performance and vessel disposals, while Q3 2025 delivered net income of $21.0M on vessel revenues of $11.4M. The company executed balance-sheet actions including a $50.0M sustainability-linked term loan and full redemption of 60,000 Series E preferred shares. Governance items at the 2025 AGM focused on director re-election and auditor appointment. Today’s vessel sale-and-leaseback continues this capital-structure and fleet-optimization trajectory.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement details a $15.6M bareboat sale-and-leaseback for the 2013-built M/V Magic Perseus, adding long-duration 11-year financing plus embedded put and purchase options. It follows a series of capital-structure and fleet actions, including debt refinancing, preferred share redemption, and prior vessel disposals. With a fleet of 9 vessels totaling 0.6M dwt, future updates on charter coverage, additional asset transactions, and how such financings translate into earnings and cash flow will be important reference points.
Key Terms
sale and leaseback financial
bareboat financing financial
put option financial
purchase option financial
forward-looking statements regulatory
safe harbor provisions regulatory
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, Jan. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Castor Maritime Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRM), (“Castor” or the “Company”), a diversified global shipping and energy company, announces the signing of a sale and leaseback agreement for the M/V Magic Perseus, a 2013-built Kamsarmax bulk carrier vessel with a Japanese counterparty. The transaction is expected to conclude during January 2026.
The bareboat financing amounts to
About Castor Maritime Inc.
Castor Maritime Inc. is a diversified global shipping and energy company, with activities directly and indirectly in asset management, vessel ownership, technical and commercial ship management and energy infrastructure projects.
Castor’s fleet comprises 9 vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 0.6 million dwt. Castor is also the majority shareholder of the Frankfurt-listed asset manager MPC Münchmeyer Petersen Capital AG.
For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.castormaritime.com. Information on our website does not constitute a part of this press release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. We are including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “project”, “plan”, “potential”, “will”, “may”, “should”, “expect”, “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of current or 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 forward-looking statements, including these expectations, beliefs or projections. In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward‐looking statements include generally: the effects of the spin-off of our tanker business, the effects of our acquisition of MPC Münchmeyer Petersen Capital AG, our business strategy, expected capital spending and other plans and objectives for future operations, dry bulk and containership market conditions and trends, including volatility in charter rates (particularly for vessels employed in short-term time charters or index linked period time charters), factors affecting supply and demand, fluctuating vessel values, opportunities for the profitable operations of dry bulk and container vessels and the strength of world economies, changes in the size and composition of our fleet, our ability to realize the expected benefits from our past or future vessel acquisitions, increased transactions costs and other adverse effects (such as lost profit) due to any failure to consummate any sale of our vessels, our relationships with our current and future service providers and customers, including the ongoing performance of their obligations, dependence on their expertise, compliance with applicable laws, and any impacts on our reputation due to our association with them, our ability to borrow under existing or future debt agreements or to refinance our debt on favorable terms and our ability to comply with the covenants contained therein, in particular due to economic, financial or operational reasons, our continued ability to enter into time or voyage charters with existing and new customers and to re-charter our vessels upon the expiry of the existing charters, changes in our operating and capitalized expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking, insurance costs, costs associated with regulatory compliance, and costs associated with climate change, our ability to fund future capital expenditures and investments in the acquisition and refurbishment of our vessels (including the amount and nature thereof and the timing of completion thereof, the delivery and commencement of operations dates, expected downtime and lost revenue), instances of off-hire, due to vessel upgrades and repairs, competition in the shipping and energy infrastructure management business, our ability to identify and develop new investment projects, our ability to maintain and increase the volume of the assets under our management and therefore our ability to earn fees, the financial performance or our investees over which we do not exercise control, fluctuations in interest rates and currencies, including the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, any malfunction or disruption of information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on or any impact of a possible cybersecurity breach, existing or future disputes, proceedings or litigation, future sales of our securities in the public market and our ability to maintain compliance with applicable listing standards, volatility in our share price, including due to high volume transactions in our shares by retail investors, potential conflicts of interest involving affiliated entities and/or members of our board of directors, senior management and certain of our service providers that are related parties, general domestic and international political conditions or events, including armed conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, acts of piracy or maritime aggression, such as recent maritime incidents involving vessels in and around the Red Sea, sanctions, “trade wars”, tariffs, global public health threats and major outbreaks of disease, changes in seaborne and other transportation, including due to the maritime incidents in and around the Red Sea, fluctuating demand for dry bulk and container vessels and/or disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events, international sanctions, international hostilities and instability, piracy or acts of terrorism, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, including changes to environmental regulations applicable to the shipping industry, accidents, the impact of adverse weather and natural disasters and any other factors described in our filings with the SEC. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication, except to the extent required by applicable law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all or any of these factors. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these foregoing and other risks and uncertainties. These factors and the other risk factors described in this press release are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed in any of our forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
CONTACT DETAILS
For further information please contact:
Investor Relations
Castor Maritime Inc.
Email: ir@castormaritime.com
Media Contact:
Kevin Karlis
Capital Link
Email: castormaritime@capitallink.com
FAQ
What did Castor Maritime (CTRM) announce on January 5, 2026 about the M/V Magic Perseus?
How will the $15.6 million bareboat financing affect CTRM's balance sheet?
When can Castor Maritime (CTRM) repurchase the M/V Magic Perseus after the sale and leaseback?
What contract provisions in the sale and leaseback could affect CTRM's control of the vessel?
When is the M/V Magic Perseus sale and leaseback expected to close for CTRM?
