Diana Shipping, Inc. (NYSE:DSX) Q3 2023 Earnings Conference Call November 15, 2023 9:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Edward Nebb - Comm-Counsellors
Semiramis Paliou - CEO & Director
Ioannis Zafirakis - CFO, Chief Strategy Officer, Treasurer, Secretary & Director
Anastasios Margaronis - President & Director
Conference Call Participants
Operator
Greetings. Welcome to Diana Shipping Inc. Third Quarter 2023 Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions]. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Ed Nebb, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.
Edward Nebb
Well, thank you very much, and thanks to everyone joining us for the Diana Shipping Inc. 2023 Third Quarter Conference Call. With us today from management are Semiramis Paliou, Chief Executive Officer; and other members of the management team, whom she will introduce. And so without further ado, I will turn the call over to Ms. Paliou.
Semiramis Paliou
Thank you, Ed. So good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Diana Shipping Inc.'s Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. I'm Semiramis Paliou, the CEO of the company. And it is my pleasure to present alongside our esteemed team, Mr. Stasi Margaronis, Director and President; Mr. Ioannis Zafirakis, Director, CFO and Chief Strategy Officer; Mr. Eleftherios Papatrifon, Director; and Ms. Maria Dede, Chief Accounting Officer.
Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone to review the forward-looking statement on Page 4 of the accompanying presentation.
Q3 2023 has proven to be a profitable quarter for our company. Despite less robust market conditions. Our disciplined chartering strategy once again has largely insulated us from market weakening, enabling us to generate positive free cash flows. In line with the guidance provided during the company's previous earning calls, we are pleased to declare the distribution of a dividend for this quarter amounting to $0.15 per share payable as common stock.
Since November 2021, we have paid $1.45 per share, a total of USD 130 million in cash dividends. In addition to that, we have distributed to our common shareholders in-kind dividends in the form of newly issued Diana Shipping Inc. common shares as well as OceanPal Inc. common and preferred shares.
Turning to Slide 5. Our fleet comprises of 42 vessels with a total deadweight of approximately 4.7 million deadweight tons. Our fleet utilization has remained consistently high, reaching 99.7% for the 9 months ending September 30, 2023, attributed to our prudent and efficient management of our vessels. Additionally, as of the end of the third quarter, we employed 1,040 people at sea and the shore.