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Baltic Trading Ltd. says that it expects its fuel efficiency upgrade program to lead to significant bunker savings for its fleet of vessels.

In a statement the company said: "We have initiated a fuel efficiency upgrade program for certain of our vessels. We believe this program will generate considerable fuel savings going forward and increase the future earnings potential for these vessels. The cost of the upgrades, which will be performed under the planned drydocking schedule, is expected to be approximately $250,000 per vessel and is included in our estimated drydocking costs below."

The company says that upgrades have been successfully installed on three of its vessels: the Baltic Cougar, the Baltic Panther and the Baltic Wind, which completed their planned drydocking during the first quarter of 2014.

Baltic Trading is a Marshall Islands company, formed by Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd, which focuses on the drybulk industry spot market. The company transports iron ore, coal, grain, steel products and other drybulk cargoes around the world.

In addition to the Baltic Cougar, the Baltic Panther and the Baltic Wind, Baltic Trading's current fleet also includes the Baltic Cove, the Baltic Breeze, the Baltic Leopard, the Baltic Jaguar, the Baltic Bear and the Baltic Wolf.

In its financial results for the first quarter of 2014, released this week, Baltic Trading recorded a net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.06 basic and diluted net loss per share, compared to a net loss of $5.1 million, or $0.23 basic and diluted net loss per share, during the corresponding period in 2013.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was $3.1 million for the first three months of 2014 versus $(0.4) million for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

The company's revenues during the first quarter increased by 119 percent to $13.1 million compared to $6.0 million in 2013. The increase was said to be primarily due to higher spot market rates achieved by its vessels as well as the increase in the size of its fleet.

Commenting on the results, John C. Wobensmith, President and Chief Financial Officer, said: "During the first quarter, we benefitted from the successful integration of our two newly acquired Capesize vessels and two Handysize vessels into our operating platform. In maintaining our focus on expanding Baltic Trading's modern, high quality fleet, we exercised an option in January to acquire two additional Ultramax newbuildings under the same specifications and purchase price as the two Ultramax newbuildings we previously agreed to acquire last year. With these four eco-design vessels, which are scheduled to be delivered between the third quarter of 2014 and third quarter of 2015, we have further enhanced our ability to provide superior customer service and strengthened our long-term commercial prospects. As we continue to execute our growth strategy, we declared a first quarter dividend of $0.01 per share, increasing the cumulative dividend declared by the Company to $1.10 per share since going public in March 2010."