All statements in this annual report (and in the documents incorporated by reference herein) that are not statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The disclosure and analysis set forth in this annual report includes assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events in a number of places, particularly in relation to our operations, cash flows, financial position, plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in our business and the markets in which we operate. These statements are intended as “forward-looking statements”. In some cases, predictive, future-tense or forward-looking words such as “believe”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “project”, “forecast”, “plan”, “potential”, “may”, “should”, “could” and “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. In addition, we and our representatives may from time to time make other oral or written statements which are forward-looking statements, including in our periodic reports that we file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), other information sent to our security holders, and other written materials. We caution that these and other forward-looking statements included in this annual report (and in the documents incorporated by reference herein) represent our estimates and assumptions as of the date of this annual report (and in the documents incorporated by reference herein) or the date on which such oral or written statements are made, as applicable, about factors that are beyond our ability to control or predict, and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results.
Factors that might cause future results to differ include, but are not limited to, the following:
| • | general market conditions and shipping industry trends, including charter rates, vessel values and the future supply of, and demand for, ocean-going containership and dry bulk shipping services; |
| • | our continued ability to enter into time charters with existing and new customers, and to re-charter on favorable terms our vessels upon the expiry of existing charters; |
| • | our future financial condition and liquidity, including our ability to make required payments under our credit facilities, and comply with our loan covenants; |
| • | our ability to finance our capital expenditures, acquisitions and other corporate activities; |
| • | risks related to our dry bulk operating platform, including uncertainty related to the introduction of a new line of business for the Company, the fact that the chartering-in and chartering-out of dry bulk vessels is inherently more volatile than traditional vessel ownership and risks associated with derivative instruments such as forward freight agreements and bunker hedging; |
| • | risks related to our leasing business, including uncertainty related to the introduction of a new line of business for the Company, as well as exposure to new financial, counterparty and legal risks; |
| • | the effects of a possible worldwide economic slowdown; |
| • | disruption of world trade due to rising protectionism or the breakdown of multilateral trade agreements; |
| • | environmental and regulatory conditions, including changes in laws and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities; |
| • | business disruptions and economic uncertainty resulting from epidemics or pandemics; |
| • | business disruptions due to natural disasters or other disasters outside our control; |
| • | fluctuations in interest rates and currencies, including the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies; |
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| • | technological advancements in the design, construction and operations of containerships and dry bulk vessels and opportunities for the profitable operations of our vessels; |
| • | the financial health of our customers, our lenders and other counterparties, and their ability to perform their obligations; |
| • | potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events, sanctions, piracy or acts by terrorists and armed conflicts; |
| • | future, pending or recent acquisitions of vessels or other assets, the recent commencement of operations of our dry bulk platform, our business strategy, areas of possible expansion and expected capital spending or operating expenses, including the recent investment in a leasing business; |
| • | expectations relating to dividend payments and our ability to make such payments; |
| • | the availability of existing secondhand vessels or newbuild vessels to purchase, the time that it may take to construct and take delivery of new vessels or the useful lives of our vessels; |
| • | the availability of key employees and crew, the length and number of off-hire days, dry-docking requirements, fuel and insurance costs; |
| • | our anticipated general and administrative expenses, including our fees and expenses payable under our management and services agreements, as may be amended from time to time; |
| • | our ability to leverage to our advantage our managers’ relationships and reputation within the international shipping industry; |
| • | our ability to maintain long-term relationships with major liner companies; |
| • | expected cost of, and our ability to comply with, governmental regulations and maritime self-regulatory organization standards, as well as requirements imposed by classification societies and standards demanded by our charterers; |
| • | any malfunction or disruption of information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on or any impact of a possible cybersecurity breach; |
| • | risks inherent in vessel operation, including perils of the sea, terrorism, piracy and discharge of pollutants; |
| • | potential liability from current or future litigation; |
| • | our business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations; and |
We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this annual report, whether as a result of new information, future events, a change in our views or expectations or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all 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.
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