June 2 - TBS International has taken delivery of the newly-constructed vessel Maya Princess from China Communications Construction Company Ltd./Nantong Yahua Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd.

Maya Princess is the sixth and final delivery in the series of six "Roymar Class" 34,000 dwt multipurpose tweendecker vessels that the company ordered at a purchase price of USD35.4 million per vessel.

This vessel, like her sister ships, has box-shaped holds, open hatches and fully retractable hydraulic tweendecks, is geared with 35 and 40 tonne cranes combinable up to 80 tonnes, and has a modern fuel-efficient engine enabling the vessel to operate efficiently at 15 knots.

With the delivery of Maya Princess, TBS's current fleet expands to 52 vessels with an aggregate of 1.6 million dwt tons, consisting of 30 tweendeckers and 22 handysize/handymax bulk carriers.

Joseph E. Royce, chairman, chief executive officer and president, commented: "The addition of Maya Princess to our fleet is an important event for our company, as we have now taken delivery of all six Roymar Class multipurpose tweendecker vessels. These newbuilds were specifically designed by a TBS team of experts to accommodate the needs of our customer base. They have been utilised predominantly in our TBS Pacific trade route which connects the growing economies of Latin America and East Asia, regions where TBS has a long established franchise. These six newbuilds have enhanced our operational efficiency and the TBS Five Star customer service consisting of ocean transportation, projects, port services, operations, and strategic planning."