Operator

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Safe Bulkers' Conference Call for the First Quarter 2026 Financial Results. We have with us today Mr. Polys Hajioannou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President; and Mr. Konstantinos Adamopoulos, Chief Financial Officer of the company. [Operator Instructions]

Following this conference call, if you need any further information on the conference call or on the presentation, please contact Capital Link at (212) 661-7566. I must advise you that this conference call is being recorded today. The archived webcast of the conference call will soon be made available on Safe Bulkers' website at www.safebulkers.com.

Many of the remarks today contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations. Actual results may differ materially from results projected from those forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the first quarter 2026 earnings release, which is available on Safe Bulkers' website, again, at www.safebulkers.com.

I would now like to turn the conference call over to one of our speakers today, the Chairman and CEO of the company, Mr. Polys Hajioannou. Please go ahead, sir.

Dr. Loukas Barmparis
President, Secretary & Director

Good morning to all. I will do the talking. I'm Loukas Barmparis, President of Safe Bulkers, and I'm welcoming you all to our quarterly results presentation.

During the first quarter of 2026, we operated in an improved charter market environment compared to the same period in 2025 with increased revenues due to higher charter hires and slightly increased earnings