Safe Bulkers, Inc. (a Marshall Islands corporation) 5,000,000 Shares of Common Stock UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

Exhibit 1.1

 

EXECUTION VERSION

 

 

Safe Bulkers, Inc.

 

(a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands corporation)

 

5,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

Dated: November 13, 2013

 

Safe Bulkers, Inc.
(a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands corporation)

5,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

November 13, 2013

 

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC

▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Safe Bulkers, Inc., a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement with ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC (“▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇”) and each of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ is acting as representative (in such capacity, the “Representative”), with respect to the issue and sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”) set forth in said Schedule A, and with respect to the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of 750,000 additional shares of Common Stock. The aforesaid 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Initial Securities”) to be purchased by the Underwriters and all or any part of the 750,000 shares of Common Stock subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities.” To the extent there are no additional underwriters named in Schedule A, the term “Representative” as used herein shall mean you, as Underwriter, and the term “Underwriters” shall mean either the singular or the plural, as the context requires.

 

The Company is entering into a Subscription Agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”), pursuant to which Bellapais Maritime Inc., a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands corporation (“Bellapais”), which is controlled by Polys Hajioannou, has agreed to acquire 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company at the initial public offering price of the Securities set forth on Schedule B to this Agreement.

 

The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representative deems advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.

 

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (No. 333-186977), including the related preliminary prospectus or prospectuses, which registration statement has become effective under the rules and regulations of the Commission (the “1933 Act Regulations”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Such registration statement covers the registration of the sale of the Securities under the 1933 Act. Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B (“Rule 430B”) of the 1933 Act Regulations and paragraph (b) of Rule 424 (“Rule 424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. Any information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that

is deemed to be part of and included in such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B is referred to as “Rule 430B Information.” Each prospectus used in connection with the offering of the Securities that omitted Rule 430B Information, is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” Such registration statement, at any given time, including the amendments thereto to such time, the exhibits and any schedules thereto at such time, the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 6 of Form F-3 under the 1933 Act at such time and the documents otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or included therein by 1933 Act Regulations, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The Registration Statement at the time it originally became effective is herein called the “Original Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein referred to as the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and after such filing the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The final prospectus in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Securities, including the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 6 of Form F-3 under the 1933 Act at the time of the execution of this Agreement and any preliminary prospectuses that form a part thereof, is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“▇▇▇▇▇”).

 

As used in this Agreement:

 

“Applicable Time” means 8:45 a.m. (New York City time) on November 13, 2013 or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representative.

 

“General Disclosure Package” means any Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, the prospectus (including any documents incorporated therein by reference) that is included in the Registration Statement as of the Applicable Time and the information included on Schedule B hereto, all considered together.

 

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), relating to the Securities that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is a “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

 

“Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors (other than a “bona fide electronic road show” as defined in Rule 433), as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule D hereto.

 

“Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.

 

“Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the prospectus relating to the Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof.

 

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or

the Prospectus (or other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) which is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, such preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be.

 

SECTION 1. Representations and Warranties.

 

(a) Representations and Warranties by the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Time referred to in Section 2(c) hereof, and as of each Date of Delivery (if any) referred to in Section 2(b) hereof, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

 

(i) Registration Statement, Prospectus and Disclosure at Time of Sale. The Company meets the requirements for the use of Form F-3 under the 1933 Act. Each of the Original Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto have become effective under the 1933 Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement (including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement) has been issued under the 1933 Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with.

 

At the respective times the Original Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and each post-effective amendment thereto became effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any amendments and supplements thereto complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

Neither the Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements thereto (including any prospectus wrapper), at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

Each preliminary prospectus (including the prospectus or prospectuses filed as part of the Original Registration Statement or any amendment thereto) complied when so filed in all material respects with the 1933 Act Regulations and each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to ▇▇▇▇▇, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

As of the Applicable Time, neither (x) the General Disclosure Package, nor (y) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state

any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representative as described in Section 3(e), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.

 

The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein (the “Underwriter Information”).

 

At the time of filing the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations.

 

(ii) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”), and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, (a) at the time the Original Registration Statement became effective, (b) at the earlier of the time the Prospectus was first used and the date and time of the first contract of sale of Securities in this offering and (c) at the Closing Time (and if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(iii) Independent Accountants. The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement are an independent public accounting firm as required by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations.

 

(iv) No Restrictions. There are no restrictions on subsequent transfers of the Securities under the laws of the Republic of The ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands.

 

(v) Financial Statements; Non-GAAP Financial Measures. The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial

information included in the documents in the General Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus constitute a fair summary of the information purported to be summarized and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the 1933 Act. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or incorporated by reference therein regarding “non GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the 1934 Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act to the extent applicable.

 

(vi) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, except as otherwise disclosed therein, (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and (C) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company or, other than to the Company, any Subsidiary (as defined in Section 1(a)(viii) hereof) on any class of its capital stock.

 

(vii) Good Standing of Company. The Company is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the Republic of The ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its respective obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(viii) Good Standing of Subsidiaries. Each subsidiary of the Company (each a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each such Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued and is fully paid and non assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through wholly-owned Subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity except for those arising under Credit Facilities (as hereinafter defined) as disclosed in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any security holder of such Subsidiary. The only vessel-owning Subsidiaries of the Company are the Subsidiaries listed on Schedule F-1 hereto and the only Subsidiaries that have

contracted to acquire vessels are listed on Schedule F-2 hereto. Other than the Subsidiaries listed on Schedule F-1 and Schedule F-2 hereto, there are no material Subsidiaries of the Company.

 

(ix) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth under the caption “Capitalization and Indebtedness” in the Prospectus; no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue or rights to convert any obligation into or exchange any security for shares of capital stock or equity interests in the Company are outstanding, except pursuant to the Stockholder Rights Agreement between the Company and the rights agent party thereto (the “Stockholder Rights Agreement”) as disclosed in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The shares of issued and outstanding capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any security holder of the Company.

 

(x) Authorization and Description of Securities. The Securities have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the consideration set forth herein, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; the class of Common Stock conforms to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and such description conforms in all material respects to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same; no holder of the Securities will be subject to personal liability solely by reason of being such a holder and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any security holder of the Company.

 

(xi) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

 

(xii) Stockholder Rights Agreement. The Stockholder Rights Agreement between the Company and the rights agent party thereto constitutes a valid and binding agreement of each such party enforceable against each such party in accordance with its terms; subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in proceeding in equity or at law); and when issued in accordance with the terms of the Stockholder Rights Agreement, the preferred stock purchase rights, including those associated with the Securities, constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company and the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus contain a summary of the terms of the Stockholder Rights Agreement, which summary is accurate and fair in all material respects.

 

(xiii) Transaction Documents. Each Memoranda of Agreement to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, as each may be amended and which has not been terminated, (the “MoAs” and each, an “MoA”) to purchase, or newbuilding contract to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, as each may be amended and which has not been terminated, (the “Newbuilding Contracts” and each, a “Newbuilding Contract”) for the construction of, the vessels to be acquired by the Company, as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (each, an “Identified Vessel”), has been duly authorized and has been executed and delivered by the respective parties thereto and the Company has no reason to believe that such MoAs and Newbuilding Contracts do not constitute valid and binding agreements of each such party enforceable in all material respects against each such party in accordance with its terms, as may be amended. Any required consent in connection with the

transactions contemplated by any MoA, any Newbuilding Contract, any charter (the “Charters”) or any credit facility or loan agreement (“Credit Facilities”) to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party has been obtained. Any descriptions of the terms of the MoAs, the Newbuilding Contracts, the Charters and the Credit Facilities, as applicable, that are contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are accurate and fair in all material respects.

 

(xiv) Absence of Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of its charter or by-laws or in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”) except for such violations or defaults, singly or in the aggregate, that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities by the Company) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, (A) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws of the Company or any Subsidiary, or (B) conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect), or result in any violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any Subsidiary or any of their assets, properties or operations except for such violations that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any Subsidiary.

 

(xv) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company, any of the Company’s affiliates or any Subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any Subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xvi) Absence of Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any Subsidiary, which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which could reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the properties or assets thereof or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder; the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective property or assets is the subject which are not described in the

Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xvii) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as exhibits thereto which have not been so described and filed as required.

 

(xviii) Possession of Intellectual Property. The Company and the Subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them in any material respect, and none of the Company or any Subsidiary has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any Subsidiary therein, and which infringement or conflict (in the case of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xix) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations or state securities laws.

 

(xx) Absence of Manipulation. Neither the Company nor any affiliate of the Company has taken, nor will the Company or any affiliate take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which would be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

 

(xxi) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and each Subsidiary possess such permits, licenses, certificates, approvals, financial assurances, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate international, national, state or local regulatory agencies or bodies (collectively, “Governmental Authorities”) necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; the Company and each Subsidiary are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and none of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xxii) Title to Property. The Company and each Subsidiary has good and marketable title to all real property owned by them and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except such as (a) are described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and Prospectus or (b) would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries holds properties described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any Subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such Subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease in any material respect.

 

(xxiii) Vessels. (A) All of the vessels described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except for the Contracted Vessels (each of which a Subsidiary has contracted to acquire), are owned directly by Subsidiaries); each of the vessels listed on Schedule F-1 (the “Owned Vessels”) hereto has been duly registered as a vessel under the laws and regulations and flag of the jurisdiction set forth opposite its name on Schedule F-1 in the sole ownership of the Subsidiary set forth opposite its name on Schedule F-1 and no other action is necessary to establish and perfect such entity’s title to and interest in such vessel as against any charterer or third party; each such Subsidiary has good title to the applicable Owned Vessel, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests and claims and all defects of the title of record except for those liens arising under Credit Facilities, each as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and such other encumbrances which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and each such Owned Vessel is in good standing with respect to the payment of past and current taxes, fees and other amounts payable under the laws of the jurisdiction where it is registered as would affect its registry with the ship registry of such jurisdiction except for failures to be in good standing which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. Upon delivery to and acceptance by the relevant Subsidiary under the MoAs and the Newbuilding Contracts described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and Prospectus, each of the vessels listed on Schedule F-2 hereto and specified as being under contract (the “Contracted Vessels”) for delivery to and acceptance by a Subsidiary will be duly registered as a vessel under the laws of the jurisdiction set forth opposite its name on Schedule F-2, or under the laws of a generally accepted shipping industry flag jurisdiction, in the sole ownership of the Subsidiary set forth opposite its name on Schedule F-2, on such date, each such Subsidiary will have good title to the applicable Contracted Vessel, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims and all defects of the title of record, except for any mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests or claims arising from any financing arrangement which the Company or Subsidiary may enter to finance the acquisition of the Contracted Vessel and except such encumbrances which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and each such Contracted Vessel will be in good standing with respect to the payment of past and current taxes, fees and other amounts payable under the laws of the jurisdiction where it is registered as would affect its registry with the ship registry of such jurisdiction.

 

(B) Each Owned Vessel is, and the Company will use reasonable commercial efforts to ensure that each Contracted Vessel will be, operated in compliance with the rules, codes of practice, conventions, protocols, guidelines or similar requirements or restrictions imposed, published or promulgated by any Governmental Authority, classification society or insurer

applicable to the respective vessel (collectively, “Maritime Guidelines”) and all applicable international, national, state and local conventions, laws, regulations, orders, Governmental Licenses and other requirements (including, without limitation, all Environmental Laws), except where such failure to be in compliance would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and each applicable Subsidiary are, and with respect to the Contracted Vessels will be, qualified to own or lease, as the case may be, and operate such vessels under all applicable international, national, state and local conventions, laws, regulations, orders, Governmental Licenses and other requirements (including, without limitation, all Environmental Laws) and Maritime Guidelines, including the laws, regulations and orders of each such vessel’s flag state, except where such failure to be so qualified would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(C) Each Owned Vessel is, and each Contracted Vessel will be, classed by any of Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas or a classification society which is a full member of the International Association of Classification Societies and each Owned Vessel is, and the Company will use reasonable commercial efforts to ensure each Contracted Vessel will be, in class with valid class and trading certificates, without any overdue recommendations.

 

(xxiv) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will not be required, to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

 

(xxv) Compliance with Environmental Laws. (i) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any applicable international, national, state or local convention, law, regulation, order, Governmental License or other requirement relating to pollution or protection of human health or safety (as they relate to exposure to Materials of Environmental Concern (as defined below)) or protection of the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or protection of natural resources, including without limitation, conventions, laws or regulations relating to emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum and petroleum products (collectively, “Materials of Environmental Concern”), or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Materials of Environmental Concern (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received any written communication, whether from a Governmental Authority, citizens group, employee or otherwise, that alleges that the Company or any such Subsidiary is in violation of any Environmental Law or Governmental License required pursuant to Environmental Law; except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) there is no claim, action or cause of action filed with a court or Governmental Authority and no investigation, or other action with respect to which the Company or any Subsidiary has received written notice alleging potential liability for investigatory costs, cleanup costs, governmental response costs, natural resources damages, property damages, personal injuries, attorneys’ fees or penalties arising out of, based on or resulting from the presence, or release into the environment, of any Material of Environmental Concern at any location owned, leased or operated by the Company or any Subsidiary, now or in the past, or from any vessel owned, leased or operated by the Company or any Subsidiary, now or in the past (collectively, “Environmental Claim”), pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary or any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Company or any

Subsidiary has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no past or present actions, activities, circumstances, conditions, events or incidents, including, without limitation, the release, emission, discharge, presence or disposal of any Material of Environmental Concern, that reasonably would be expected to result in a violation of any Environmental Law, require expenditures to be incurred pursuant to Environmental Law, or form the basis of an Environmental Claim against the Company, any Subsidiary or against any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Company or any Subsidiary has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iv) none of the Company or any Subsidiary is subject to any pending proceeding under Environmental Law to which a Governmental Authority is a party and which the Company reasonably believes is likely to result in monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more.

 

(xxvi) Effect of Environmental Laws. The Company has reasonably concluded that associated costs and liabilities arising under Environmental Laws and resulting from the business, operations or properties of the Company or any Subsidiary would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(xxvii) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered by the Company under the 1933 Act, which have not been validly waived in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the 90-day period after the date hereof as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

 

(xxviii) Accounting Controls. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the 1934 Act Regulations) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (1) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (2) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (3) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (4) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (I) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (II) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 and Rule 15d-15 under the 1934 Act Regulations) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

(xxix) Compliance with the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act”) that are in effect and which the Company is required to comply with.

 

(xxx) Taxes. No capital gains, income, withholding or other taxes are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriters to the Republic of Greece, the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands (assuming that none of the Underwriters are citizens or residents of the Republic of The ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands or are carrying on business or conducting transactions in the Republic of The ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands), Cyprus or Liberia, or to any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with the issuance, sale and delivery by the Company of the Securities to or for the respective accounts of the Underwriters or the sale and delivery by the Underwriters of the Securities to the initial purchasers thereof.

 

(xxxi) Payment of Taxes. Except as would not cause a Material Adverse Effect, all United States federal income tax returns of the Company and its Subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided. The United States federal income tax returns of the Company through the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 have been filed and no assessment in connection therewith has been made against the Company. The Company and Subsidiaries have filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law except insofar as the failure to file such returns would not result in a Material Adverse Effect and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and Subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xxxii) Transfer Taxes. There are no documentary, stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties or similar fees or charges under U.S. federal law or the laws of any U.S. state, the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands (assuming that none of the Underwriters are citizens or residents of the Republic of The ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands or are carrying on business or conducting transactions in the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands), Liberia or Greece, or any political subdivision of any thereof, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance, sale and delivery by the Company of the Securities to or for the respective accounts of the Underwriters or the sale and delivery by the Underwriters of the Securities to the initial purchasers thereof.

 

(xxxiii) Insurance. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with financially sound and reputable insurers, in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably considers adequate for the conduct of its business and the value of its properties and as is generally maintained by companies or insurance clubs of established repute engaged in the same or similar business, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. There are no material claims by or on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause and neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is currently

required to make any payment, or is aware of any facts which would require the Company or any Subsidiary to make any payment, in respect of a call by, or a contribution to, any insurance club, except for any payment or claims which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any Subsidiary will not be able (A) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (B) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xxxiv) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.

 

(xxxv) Pending Proceedings and Examinations. The Registration Statement is not the subject of a pending proceeding or examination under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act, and the Company is not the subject of a pending proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.

 

(xxxvi) Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or affiliates, nor any director, officer, or employee, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent or representative of the Company or of any of its Subsidiaries or affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any “government official” (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) to influence official action or secure an improper advantage; and the Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintain and will continue to maintain policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein.

 

(xxxvii) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(xxxviii) OFAC. (i) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor any director or officer thereof, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is (A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the

United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union (“EU”), Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”) (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (B) located, organized or resident in Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

 

(ii) The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person to fund or facilitate any activities or business of any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions and would be impermissible for a U.S. Person; or

 

(iii) Other than as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, for the past five years, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in and will not knowingly engage in any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions and would be impermissible for a U.S. Person.

 

(xxxix) Commissions and Fees. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or, to the Company’s knowledge, any arrangements, agreements, understandings, payments or issuance with respect to the Company or any of its officers, directors, shareholders, partners, employees, subsidiaries or affiliates that may affect the Underwriters’ compensation as determined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

 

(xl) No Association with FINRA. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is a person associated with (within the meaning of Article I (dd) of the bylaws of the FINRA), any member firm of the FINRA.

 

(xli) No Outstanding Loans or Other Indebtedness. There are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees or indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of the family members of any of them.

 

(xlii) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any Underwriter.

 

(xliii) Immunity from Jurisdiction. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of the United States, the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands, Liberia, Cyprus or Greece or any political subdivisions thereof.

 

(xliv) Foreign Private Issuer Status. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act.

(xlv) PFIC Status. As described in the Registration Statement (and subject to the limitations and restrictions therein) the Company believes that it did not qualify as a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) within the meaning of Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for its most recently completed taxable year, if any, and believes that it is not likely to qualify as a PFIC in its current or a subsequent taxable year.

 

(xlvi) Dividends and Distributions. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company is not prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends, from making any other distribution, from repaying any loans or advances or from transferring any of its property or assets. All dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the shares of capital stock of the Company may, under the current laws and regulations of the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands, Greece and any political subdivisions thereof, be paid in United States dollars and may be freely transferred out of the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands or Greece and all such dividends and other distributions will not be subject to withholding or other taxes under the laws and regulations of the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands (so long as not paid to a citizen or resident of the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands) or Greece and are otherwise free and clear of any other tax, withholding or deduction and without the necessity of obtaining any consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, licenses, registrations, clearances and qualifications of or with any court or governmental agency or body or any stock exchange authority in the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands or Greece.

 

(xlvii) Distributions from Subsidiaries. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no encumbrances or restrictions on the ability of any Subsidiary (A) to pay dividends or make other distributions on such Subsidiary’s capital stock or to pay any indebtedness to the Company and any such dividends and other distributions, under the current laws and regulations of the jurisdictions where such Subsidiaries are organized, may be freely transferred out of such jurisdictions and all such dividends and other distributions will not be subject to withholding or other taxes under the laws and regulations of such jurisdictions, (B) to make loans or advances or pay any indebtedness to the Company or (C) to transfer any of its property or assets to the Company.

 

(xlviii) Forward-Looking Statements. Each “forward-looking statement” (within the meaning of Section 27A of the 1933 Act or Section 21E of the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed with a reasonable basis and has been disclosed in good faith.

 

(xlix) Submission to Jurisdiction. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 16 of this Agreement has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court in the State of New York, County of New York, and has the power to designate, appoint and empower, and pursuant to Section 16 of this Agreement has legally, validly and effectively designated, appointed and empowered, an agent for service of process in any suit or proceeding based on or arising under this Agreement in any federal or state court in the State of New York.

 

(l) XBRL. The interactive data in eXtensibile Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

(li) Exempt Placement. The offer, sale and issuance of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Subscription Agreement will be exempt from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act and the securities laws of any state having jurisdiction with respect thereto.

 

(b) Officer’s Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.

 

SECTION 2. Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.

 

(a) Initial Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, at the price per share set forth in Schedule C, the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional number of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof.

 

(b) Option Securities. In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of Common Stock at the price per share set forth in Schedule C, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities. The option hereby granted will expire 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part from time to time upon notice by the Representative to the Company setting forth the number of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities. Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by the Representative, but shall not be later than seven full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time, as hereinafter defined. If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Securities then being purchased which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial Securities, subject in each case to such adjustments as the Representative in its discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.

 

(c) Payment. Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of the Initial Securities shall be made at the offices of ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Bockius LLP, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, at 9:00 A.M. (New York City time) on the third (fourth, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 P.M. (New York City time) on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).

 

In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of such Option Securities shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representative to the Company.

 

Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Company, against delivery to the Representative for the respective accounts of

the Underwriters of the Securities to be purchased by them. It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representative, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, which it has agreed to purchase. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities or the Option Securities, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

 

(d) Denominations; Registration. The Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representative may request in writing at least one full business day before the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.

 

SECTION 3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:

 

(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430B and will notify the Representative immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement relating to the Securities shall become effective, or any supplement to the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement, the filing of a new registration statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or any document incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or such new registration statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will effect all filings required under Rule 424(b), in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)), and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424(b) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order and, if any stop order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment.

 

(b) Filing of Amendments and Exchange Act Documents. The Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement (including any filing under Rule 462(b)) or new registration statement relating to the Securities or any amendment, supplement or revision to either any preliminary prospectus (including any prospectus included in the Original Registration Statement or amendment thereto at the time it became effective) or to the Prospectus, whether pursuant to the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or otherwise, and the Company will furnish the Representative with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object. The Company has given the Representative notice of any

filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the execution of this Agreement; the Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to make any such filing from the execution of this Agreement to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representative with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing and will not file or use any such document to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.

 

(c) Delivery of Registration Statements. The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies of the Original Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof) and signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representative, without charge, a conformed copy of the Original Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Original Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to ▇▇▇▇▇, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

(d) Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to ▇▇▇▇▇, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

(e) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the reasonable opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order that the Prospectus will not include any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser, or if it shall be necessary, in the reasonable opinion of such counsel, at any such time to amend the Registration Statement or to file a new registration statement amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 3(b), such amendment, supplement or new registration statement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to comply with such requirements, the Company will use its best efforts to have such amendment or new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable (if it is not an automatic shelf registration statement with respect to the Securities) and the Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment, supplement or new registration statement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information

contained in the Registration Statement (or any other registration statement relating to the Securities) or the Statutory Prospectus or any preliminary prospectus or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

 

(f) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will use its best efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other applicable jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representative may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect for a period of not less than one year from the date hereof; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.

 

(g) Rule 158. The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Underwriters the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.

 

(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”

 

(i) Listing. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect the listing of the Securities on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

(j) Restriction on Sale of Securities. During a period of 90 days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any share of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (B) any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon the exercise of an option outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the Prospectus, (C) any shares of Common Stock issued or options to purchase Common Stock granted pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the Prospectus or (D) any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to any non-employee director stock plan.

 

(k) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

(l) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the Representative, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed by the Company with the Commission under Rule 433. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representative or by the Company and the Representative, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.

 

(m) Subscription Agreement. The Company and Bellapais will consummate the transactions contemplated in the Subscription Agreement immediately after the Closing Time in accordance with the terms of that agreement.

 

SECTION 4. Payment of Expenses. (a) Expenses. The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of this Agreement, any agreement among Underwriters and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other advisors, (v) the qualification of the Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(f) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (vi) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, and of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (viii) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (ix) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and the Company’s proportionate share of the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show, (x) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with, the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (xi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Securities on the New York Stock Exchange and (xii) the costs and expenses (including without limitation any damages or other amounts payable in connection with legal and contractual liability) associated with the reforming of any contracts for sale of the Securities made by the Underwriters caused by a breach of the representation contained in the third sentence of Section 1(a)(i).

 

(b) Termination of Agreement. If this Agreement is terminated by the Representative in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 or Section 9(a)(i) hereof, the Company shall reimburse the

Underwriters for all of their out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters.

 

SECTION 5. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 1 hereof or in certificates of any officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:

 

(a) Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Filing of Prospectus. The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and at Closing Time no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the 1933 Act or proceedings therefor initiated or threatened by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of counsel to the Underwriters. A prospectus containing the Rule 430B Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) (or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed and become effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430B).

 

(b) Opinion of U.S. Counsel for Company. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, special U.S. counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit A hereto.

 

(c) Opinion of Counsel on Issues of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands Law for Company. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Cozen ▇’▇▇▇▇▇▇, special counsel on matters of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands law for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto.

 

(d) Opinion of Counsel on Issues of Liberian Law for Company. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Cozen ▇’▇▇▇▇▇▇, special counsel on matters of Liberian law for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit C hereto.

 

(e) Opinion of Cypriot Counsel for Company. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of L. Papaphilippou & Co. LLC, special Cypriot counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit D hereto.

 

(f) Opinion of Greek Counsel for Company. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Kyriakides, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, special Greek counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit E hereto.

(g) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Bockius LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative. In giving such opinion such counsel may rely, as to all matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions other than the law of the State of New York and the federal law of the United States, upon the opinions of counsel satisfactory to the Representative. Such counsel may also state that, insofar as such opinion involves factual matters, they have relied, to the extent they deem proper, upon certificates of officers of the Company and its subsidiaries and certificates of public officials.

 

(h) Company Officers’ Certificate. At Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof, since the Applicable Time or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and the Representative shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer of the Company and of the chief financial officer of the Company, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties in Section 1(a) hereof are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Time, (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to Closing Time, and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the 1933 Act, no order preventing the use of the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated.

 

(i) Manager Side Letter and Officer’s Certificate. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received a side letter (the “Manager Side Letter”) signed by the chief executive officer of the Manager, dated as of such date, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit F. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer of the Manager, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that the representations and warranties of the Manager set forth in the Manager Side Letter are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Time.

 

(j) Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received from Deloitte Hadjipavlou, Sofianos & Cambanis S.A. (“Deloitte”) a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

 

(k) Bring-down Comfort Letter. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received from Deloitte a letter, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (j) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Time.

 

(l) Approval of Listing. At Closing Time, the Securities shall have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject only to official notice of issuance.

(m) No Objection. FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements.

 

(n) Lock-up Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit G hereto signed by the persons listed on Schedule E hereto.

 

(o) Conditions to Purchase of Option Securities. In the event that the Underwriters exercise their option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of the Option Securities, the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company hereunder shall be true and correct as of each Date of Delivery and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representative shall have received:

 

(i) Company Officers’ Certificates. A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer of the Company and of the chief financial officer of the Company confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(h) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.

 

(ii) Manager Officer’s Certificate. A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer of the Manager confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(i) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.

 

(iii) Opinion of Counsel for Company. The favorable opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, special U.S. counsel for the Company, together with the favorable opinion of Cozen ▇’▇▇▇▇▇▇, special counsel for the Company on issues of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands law, Cozen ▇’▇▇▇▇▇▇, special counsel for the Company on issues of Liberia law, L. Papaphilippou & Co., special Cypriot counsel for the Company, Kyriakidis, Georgopoulos, Daniolos, and Issaias, special Greek counsel for the Company, each in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Sections 5(b) through 5(f) hereof.

 

(iv) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. The favorable opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(g) hereof.

 

(vi) Bring-down Comfort Letter. A letter from Deloitte, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representative pursuant to Section 5(k) hereof, except that the “specified date” in the letter furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than three business days prior to such Date of Delivery.

 

(p) Additional Documents. At Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery, counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken

by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.

 

(q) Termination of Agreement. If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement, or, in the case of any condition to the purchase of Option Securities, on a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, the obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase the relevant Option Securities, may be terminated by the Representative by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to Closing Time or such Date of Delivery, as the case may be, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 and except that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 16 and 17 shall survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.

 

SECTION 6. Indemnification.

 

(a) Indemnification of Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the 1933 Act (each, an “Affiliate”), its selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act as follows:

 

(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430B Information, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

 

(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 6(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company;

 

(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by the Representative), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;

 

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430B Information, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information

(b) Indemnification of Company, Directors and Officers. Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430B Information or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein.

 

(c) Actions against Parties; Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Representative, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

(d) Settlement without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 60 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 45 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

 

SECTION 7. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by

applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions, which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.

 

The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.

 

The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 7. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

 

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

 

No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.

 

SECTION 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company, the Manager or any Subsidiary submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or selling

agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (ii) delivery of and payment for the Securities.

 

SECTION 9. Termination of Agreement.

 

(a) Termination; General. The Representative may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to Closing Time (i) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the New York Stock Exchange, or if trading generally on the American Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange or in the Nasdaq Stock Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, or (v) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.

 

(b) Liabilities. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof, and provided further that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 16 and 17 shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

 

SECTION 10. Default by One or More of the Underwriters. If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representative shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representative shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then:

 

(i) if the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters, or

 

(ii) if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement or, with respect to any Date of Delivery which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell the Option Securities to be purchased and sold on such Date of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter.

No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.

 

In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be, either the Representative or the Company shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.

 

SECTION 11. Tax Disclosure. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, from the commencement of discussions with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, the Company (and each employee, representative or other agent of the Company) may disclose to any and all persons, without limitation of any kind, the tax treatment and tax structure (as such terms are used in Sections 6011, 6111 and 6112 of the U.S. Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder) of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and all materials of any kind (including opinions or other tax analyses) that are provided relating to such tax treatment and tax structure.

 

SECTION 12. Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to the Representative, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, with a copy to the Legal Department.

 

SECTION 13. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the offering contemplated hereby and the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

 

SECTION 14. Integration. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

SECTION 15. Parties. This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers

and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.

 

SECTION 16. Jurisdiction. The Company agrees that any suit, action or proceeding against the Company brought by any Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of any Underwriter, or by any person who controls any Underwriter, arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted in any court located in the City and County of New York (a “New York Court”), and waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any suit, action or proceeding. The Company has appointed C T Corporation System, located at ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, as its authorized agent (the “Authorized Agent”) upon whom process may be served in any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated herein which may be instituted in any New York Court, by any Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of any Underwriter, or by any person who controls any Underwriter, and expressly accepts the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any such court in respect of any such suit, action or proceeding. The Company hereby represents and warrants that the Authorized Agent has accepted such appointment and has agreed to act as said agent for service of process, and the Company agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect as aforesaid. Service of process upon the Authorized Agent shall be deemed, in every respect, effective service of process upon the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action arising out of or based upon this Agreement may be instituted by any Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of any Underwriter, or by any person who controls any Underwriter, in any court of competent jurisdiction in the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands.

 

The provisions of this Section 16 shall survive any termination of this Agreement, in whole or in part.

 

SECTION 17. Trial by Jury. The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

SECTION 18. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

 

SECTION 19. TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.

 

SECTION 20. Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Section, paragraph or provision hereof.

SECTION 21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.

 

SECTION 22. Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement between the Underwriters and the Company in accordance with its terms.

 

	Very truly yours,
	SAFE BULKERS, INC.
	By	/s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
		Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
		Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,

as of the date first above written:

 

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. LLC

 

By	/s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
	Authorized Signatory

 

For itself and as Representative of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.

SCHEDULE A

 

Name of Underwriter		Number of Initial Securities
▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC			4,256,250
Evercore Group L.L.C.			743,750
Total			5,000,000

SCHEDULE B

 

Pricing Terms

 

1.	The Company is selling 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock.
2.	The Company has granted an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of Common Stock.
3.	The initial public offering price per share for the Securities is $7.43.

SCHEDULE C

 

Safe Bulkers, Inc.

 

5,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

1. The initial public offering price per share for the Securities, determined as provided in said Section 2, shall be $7.43.

 

2. The purchase price per share for the Securities to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $7.10, being an amount equal to the initial public offering price set forth above less $0.33 per share; provided that the purchase price per share for any Option Securities purchased upon the exercise of the option to purchase additional shares described in Section 2(b) shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities.

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇

 

▇▇▇▇

SCHEDULE E

 

List of persons and entities
subject to lock-up

 

Polys Hajioannou

▇▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Barmparis

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇

Ole Wikborg

Vorini Holdings Inc.

Bellapais Maritime Inc.

SCHEDULE F-1

 

Vessel Name		Owning Entity		Jurisdiction of Incorporation		Jurisdiction of Registration
Andreas K		Maxdodeka Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Eleni		Eniaprohi Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Kanaris		Maxpente Supping Corporation		Liberia		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands
Katerina		Kerasies Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
▇▇▇▇▇		Marindou Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Marina		Marinouki Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇		Marathassa Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Martine		Eniadefhi Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Panayiota K		Maxdekatria Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Pedhoulas Leader		Pelea Shipping Ltd		Liberia		Cyprus
Pedhoulas Merchant		Pemer Shipping Ltd		Liberia		Cyprus
Pedhoulas Trader		Petra Shipping Ltd		Liberia		Cyprus
Pelopidas		Eptaprohi Shipping Corporation		Liberia		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands
Sophia		Soffive Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Stalo		Staloudi Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Efrossini		Maxeikositessera Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
▇▇▇▇▇▇		Avstes Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Venus Heritage		Maxdeka Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		Cyprus
Venus History		Shikoku Friendship Shipping Company		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		Cyprus
Venus Horizon		Maxenteka Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		Cyprus
Pedhoulas Builder		Maxeikosi Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Pedhoulas ▇▇▇▇▇▇		Maxeikosiena Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Pedhoulas Fighter		Maxeikositria Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Koulitsa		Maxeikosiexi Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Paraskevi		Maxeiosiepta Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus
Pedhoulas Commander		Vassone Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		Cyprus
Xenia		Vasstwo Shipping Corporation		Liberia		Cyprus

 

SCHEDULE F-2

 

Vessel Name		Owning Entity(1)		Jurisdiction of Incorporation		Intended Jurisdiction of Registration
HN - 1659		Shikokutessera Shipping Inc.		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇		▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇ - ▇▇▇▇		Shikokupente Shipping Inc.		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇		▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇ - ▇▇▇▇		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Shipping Inc.		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇		▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇ - ▇▇▇▇		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Shipping Inc.		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		Cyprus
HN - TBC		Shikokuokto Shipping Inc.		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		TBC
HN - 8126		Maxtessera Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		TBC
HN - 814		Glovertwo Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇		▇▇▇
▇▇ - ▇▇▇		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		TBC
HN - 822		Gloverfour Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		TBC
HN - 827		Gloverfive Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		TBC
HN - 828		Gloversix Shipping Corporation		▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands		TBC

Exhibit A

 

FORM OF OPINION OF COMPANY’S U.S. COUNSEL
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(b)

 

[See attached.]

Exhibit B

 

FORM OF OPINION OF ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ISLANDS COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(c)

 

[See attached.]

Exhibit C

 

FORM OF OPINION OF LIBERIAN COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(d)

 

[See attached.]

Exhibit D

 

FORM OF OPINION OF CYPRIOT COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(e)

 

[See attached.]

Exhibit E

 

FORM OF OPINION OF GREEK COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(f)

 

[See attached.]

EXHIBIT F

 

FORM OF MANAGER SIDE LETTER TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(i)

 

November 13, 2013

 

Pursuant to Section 5(i) of the Underwriting Agreement, dated November 13, 2013 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), by and among Safe Bulkers, Inc. and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC, as representative (the “Representative”) of the several underwriters named therein (the “Underwriters”), Safety Management Overseas S.A. (the “Manager”) hereby delivers this side letter (the “Manager Side Letter”) to the Underwriters on the date first written above. Capitalized terms used herein but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Underwriting Agreement.

 

SECTION 1. Representations and Warranties. The Manager represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time referred to in the Underwriting Agreement, as of the Closing Time referred to in Section 2(c) of the Underwriting Agreement, and as of each Date of Delivery (if any) referred to in Section 2(b) of the Underwriting Agreement, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

 

(a) Good Standing of Manager. The Manager has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the Republic of Panama and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into this Manager Side Letter; and the Manager is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Manager, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”).

 

(b) Authorization of Manager Side Letter. This Manager Side Letter has been duly executed and delivered by the Manager.

 

(c) Absence of Defaults and Conflicts. The Manager is not in violation of its charter or by-laws or in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Manager is a party or by which it may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Manager is subject (collectively, the “Agreements and Instruments”) except for such violations or defaults that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and the execution, delivery and performance of this Manager Side Letter and the Management Agreement dated May 29, 2008, between the Company and the Manager, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated December 7, 2011 (the “Management Agreement”) have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, (A) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws of the Manager, or (B) conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Manager pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect), or result in any violation of any decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Manager or any of

its assets, properties or operations except for such violations that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Manager.

 

(d) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Manager or the Manager’s affiliates exists or, to the knowledge of the Manager, is imminent, and the Manager is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by its employees or any of its principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(e) Absence of Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Manager, threatened, against or affecting the Manager, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which could reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the properties or assets thereof or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Management Agreement or the performance by the Manager of its obligations thereunder; the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Manager is a party or of which any of its property or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(f) Possession of Intellectual Property. Except as would not cause a Material Adverse Effect, the Manager owns or possesses, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate Intellectual Property necessary to carry on the business now operated by it in any material respect, and the Manager has not received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect its interest therein, and which infringement or conflict (in the case of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(g) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Manager possesses the Governmental Licenses issued by Governmental Authorities necessary to conduct the business now operated by it, except where the failure so to possess would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; the Manager is in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and the Manager has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(h) Title to Property. The Manager has good and marketable title to all real property owned by it and good title to all other properties owned by it free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Manager, and under which the Manager holds or will, as of the Closing Time, hold properties described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and the Manager has not received any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Manager under any of the leases or subleases

mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Manager to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.

 

(i) Compliance with Environmental Laws. (i) The Manager is not in violation of any Environmental Laws, nor has it received any written communication, whether from a Governmental Authority, citizens group, employee or otherwise, that alleges that it is in violation of any Environmental Law or Governmental License required pursuant to Environmental Laws, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) there is no claim, action or cause of action filed with a court or Governmental Authority and no investigation, or other action with respect to which the Manager has received written notice alleging potential liability for investigatory costs, cleanup costs, governmental response costs, natural resources damages, property damages, personal injuries, attorneys’ fees or penalties arising out of, based on or resulting from the presence, or release into the environment, of any Material of Environmental Concern at any location owned, leased or operated by the Manager, now or in the past, or from any vessel owned, leased, managed or operated by the Manager, now or in the past (collectively, “Environmental Claim”), pending or, to the knowledge of the Manager, threatened against the Manager or any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Manager has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) to the knowledge of the Manager, there are no past or present actions, activities, circumstances, conditions, events or incidents, including, without limitation, the release, emission, discharge, presence or disposal of any Material of Environmental Concern, that reasonably would be expected to result in a violation of any Environmental Law, require expenditures to be incurred pursuant to Environmental Law, or form the basis of an Environmental Claim against the Manager or against any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Manager has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iv) the Manager is not subject to any pending proceeding under Environmental Law to which a Governmental Authority is a party and which the Manager reasonably believes is likely to result in monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more.

 

(j) Accounting Controls. The Manager maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.

 

(k) Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Manager nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, nor any director, officer, or employee, nor, to the Manager’s knowledge, any agent or representative of the Manager or of any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any “government official” (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) to influence official action or secure an improper advantage; and the Manager and its subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintain and will continue to maintain policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein.

(l) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Manager and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Manager and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Manager or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Manager, threatened.

 

(m) OFAC. (i) Neither the Manager nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director or officer thereof, nor, to the Manager’s knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Manager or any of its subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is (A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union (“EU”), Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”) (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (B) located, organized or resident in Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

 

(ii) The Manager will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person to fund or facilitate any activities or business of any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions and would be impermissible for a U.S. Person.

 

(iii) Other than as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, for the past five years, the Manager and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, and are not now knowingly engaged in and will not knowingly engage in any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions and would be impermissible for a U.S. Person.

 

(n) Immunity from Jurisdiction. Neither the Manager nor any of its properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of the United States, the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands, Liberia, Cyprus, Panama or Greece or any political subdivisions thereof.

 

(o) Submission to Jurisdiction. The Manager has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 4 of this Manager Side Letter has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court in the State of New York, County of New York, and has the power to designate, appoint and empower, and pursuant to Section 4 of this Manager Side Letter has legally, validly and effectively designated, appointed and empowered, an agent for service of process in any suit or proceeding based on or arising under this Manager Side Letter in any federal or state court in the State of New York.

 

SECTION 2. Termination of Representations and Warranties. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Manager Side Letter shall terminate at the Closing Time and be of no further force and effect; provided, however, that if the Underwriters exercise their option to purchase Option Securities pursuant to Section 2(b) of the Underwriting Agreement, then all representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Manager Side Letter shall be deemed not to have terminated

at the Closing Time and shall survive until such Date of Delivery referred to in Section 2(b) of the Underwriting Agreement and thereupon shall terminate and be of no further force and effect.

 

SECTION 3. Manager Officer’s Certificate. The Manager agrees to deliver to the Representative at the Closing Time a certificate of its chief executive officer, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that the representations and warranties of the Manager set forth in this Manager Side Letter are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time; provided, however, that the representations and warranties contained in such certificate shall terminate immediately after the Closing Time and be of no further force and effect.

 

SECTION 4. Jurisdiction. The Manager agrees that any suit, action or proceeding against the Manager brought by any Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of any Underwriter, or by any person who controls any Underwriter, arising out of or based upon this Manager Side Letter may be instituted in any court located in the City and County of New York (a “New York Court”), and waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any suit, action or proceeding. The Manager has appointed C T Corporation System, located at ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, as its authorized agent (the “Authorized Agent”) upon whom process may be served in any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Manager Side Letter or the transactions contemplated herein which may be instituted in any New York Court, by any Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of any Underwriter, or by any person who controls any Underwriter, and expressly accepts the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any such court in respect of any such suit, action or proceeding. The Manager hereby represents and warrants that the Authorized Agent has accepted such appointment and has agreed to act as said agent for service of process, and the Manager agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect as aforesaid. Service of process upon the Authorized Agent shall be deemed, in every respect, effective service of process upon the Manager. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action arising out of or based upon this Manager Side Letter may be instituted by any Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of any Underwriter, or by any person who controls any Underwriter, in any court of competent jurisdiction in the Republic of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands or the Republic of Panama.

 

SECTION 5. GOVERNING LAW. THIS MANAGER SIDE LETTER SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

 

SECTION 6. Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

 

[Signature Page Follows]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Manager has caused this Manager Side Letter to be signed by the following authorized person thereunto duly authorized as of the date first written above.

 

	SAFETY MANAGEMENT OVERSEAS S.A.
	By:
		▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
		President

 

CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,
as of the date first above written:

 

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. LLC

 

By
	Authorized Signatory

 

For itself and as Representative of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A to the Underwriting Agreement.

Exhibit G

 

FORM OF LOCK-UP FROM DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND VORINI HOLDINGS, INC. PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(n)

 

[_________], 2013

 

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. LLC

▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

 

as Representative of the several

Underwriters to be named in the

within mentioned Underwriting Agreement

Re:           Proposed Public Offering by Safe Bulkers, Inc.

 

Dear Sirs:

 

The undersigned, [a stockholder] [[and] an officer and/or director] of Safe Bulkers, Inc., a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands corporation (the “Company”), understands that ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC (“▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇”) proposes to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with the Company providing for the public offering of shares (the “Securities”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”). In recognition of the benefit that such an offering will confer upon the undersigned as [a stockholder] [[and] an officer and/or director] of the Company, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees with each underwriter to be named in the Underwriting Agreement that, during a period of 90 days from the date of the Underwriting Agreement, the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, directly or indirectly (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of or transfer any shares of the Company’s Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition, or file, or cause to be filed, any registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to any of the foregoing (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”) or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer the Lock-Up Securities without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, provided that (1) ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ receives a signed lock-up agreement for the balance of the lockup period from each donee, trustee or transferee, as the case may be, (2) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (3) such transfers are not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or otherwise and (4) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfers:

 

(1) as a bona fide gift or gifts; or

(2) to any trust or other entity for the direct or indirect benefit of, or wholly-owned by, the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned (for purposes of this lock-up agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin).

 

The undersigned hereby acknowledges and agrees that written notice of any extension of the 90-day lock-up period pursuant to the previous paragraph will be delivered by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ to the Company (in accordance with Section 12 of the Underwriting Agreement) and that any such notice properly delivered will be deemed to have been given to, and received by, the undersigned. The undersigned further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this lock-up agreement during the period from the date of this lock-up agreement to and including the 34th day following the expiration of the initial 90-day lock-up period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the 90-day lock-up period (as may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

 

The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the Lock-Up Securities except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

 

	Very truly yours,
	Signature:
	Print Name: