Investors in shipping stocks are well familiar with the current state of affairs. Plagued by a vicious over-supply of modern vessels, the industry is struggling to keep its head above water, just long enough to see the next recovery.
Companies that are best suited to sustain such prolonged period of depressed freight rates ideally must be well capitalized to meet their capital expenditure requirements, must provide earnings visibility, and must sport low running costs. In this article I look at two leading shipping companies, namely Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX) and Safe Bulkers Inc. (SB) and how they fare in these three categories. Both companies are run by first-class ship owners who have lived through (and survived) several shipping cycles. They both specialize in the dry-cargo segment of the bulk shipping industry.
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