Company: CMRE-PC
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001140361-25-005199
Chunk: 24

Company: Costamare Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 24
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 other sanctions levied against oil and gas producing countries, war and unrest in oil producing countries and regions, regional production patterns and environmental concerns and regulations.
 
The cost of fuel is a significant factor in negotiating charter rates and can affect us in both direct and indirect ways. This cost will be borne by us when our vessels are not employed or are employed on voyage charters. As of February 12, 2025, the majority of the vessels that we charter-in under our dry bulk operating platform are expected to be employed under voyage charters and we may enter into more such arrangements in the future, and to the extent we do so, an increase in the price of fuel beyond our expectations may adversely affect our profitability. Even where the cost of fuel is borne by the charterer, which is the case with all of our existing time charters, that cost may affect the level of charter rates that charterers are willing to pay.
 
A decrease in the cost of fuel may lead our charterers to abandon slow steaming, thereby releasing additional capacity into the market and exerting downward pressure on charter rates or may lead our charterers to employ older, less fuel efficient vessels which may drive down charter rates and make it more difficult for us to secure employment for our newer vessels.
 
In addition, the entry into force on January 1, 2020 of the 0.5% mass by mass (“m/m”) global sulphur cap in marine fuels under the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL”) Annex VI has led to a significant increase in the costs for low sulphur fuel used by vessels that are not equipped with exhaust gas scrubbers. Because the cost of fuel is born by our charterers for our vessels employed on a time charter basis or by ourselves when we charter-in vessels, which are generally not equipped with scrubbers, such vessels may be less competitive compared to vessels that are equipped with scrubbers. As of February 12, 2025, we owned 15 containerships and eight dry bulk vessels in the water that are equipped with scrubbers. As of February 12, 2025, we have chartered-in for a period, 50 dry bulk vessels through our dry bulk operating platform, 23 of which are equipped with scrubbers, of which three are vessels chartered-in from our owned fleet. Ships that are not retrofitted with exhaust gas scrubbers to comply with the new emissions standard may become less competitive (compared with ships equipped with exhaust gas scrubbers that