Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [ ].
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [ ].
Attached to this report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 1 is a copy of the press release of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the "Company") dated October 12, 2016: Star Bulk Announces the Date of its 2016 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and the Internet Availability of its Proxy Materials.
Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is the Notice of Annual Meeting, the Proxy Statement and Proxy Card for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company, which will be held on November 21, 2016.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
STAR BULK ANNOUNCES THE DATE OF ITS 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
SHAREHOLDERS AND INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF ITS PROXY MATERIALS
ATHENS, GREECE, October 12, 2016 —Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the "Company" or "Star Bulk") (Nasdaq: SBLK), a global shipping company focusing on transportation of dry bulk cargoes, announced today that it plans to hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders at the offices of STAR BULK SHIPMANAGEMENT COMPANY (CYPRUS) LIMITED, 179, Christodoulos Hadjipavlou Street (Molos), Ground Floor, Limassol 3036, Republic of Cyprus, on November 21, 2016 at 15:00 local time. The Company's board of directors has fixed the close of business on September 30, 2016 as the record date for the determination of the shareholders entitled to receive notice and to vote at this meeting or any adjournment thereof.
The Company's Notice of Meeting and Proxy Statement are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov and may also be found on the Company's website at www.starbulk.com.
About Star Bulk
Star Bulk is a global shipping company providing worldwide seaborne transportation solutions in the dry bulk sector. Star Bulk's vessels transport major bulks, which include iron ore, coal and grain and minor bulks which include bauxite, fertilizers and steel products. Star Bulk was incorporated in the Marshall Islands on December 13, 2006 and maintains executive offices in Athens, Greece. Its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "SBLK". On a fully delivered basis, Star Bulk will have a fleet of 73 vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 8.2 million dwt, consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, Supramax and Handymax vessels with carrying capacities between 52,055 dwt and 209,537 dwt. Our fleet currently includes 68 operating vessels and 5 newbuilding vessels under construction at shipyards in China. All of the newbuilding vessels are expected to be delivered during 2017 and 2018. Additionally, the Company has one chartered‐in Supramax vessel, under a time charter expiring in September 2017.
Forward‐Looking Statements
The Private Securities Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward‐looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward‐looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward‐looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward‐looking statements.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward‐looking statements include general dry bulk shipping market conditions, including fluctuations in charterhire rates and vessel values, the strength of world economies the stability of Europe and the Euro, fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates, changes in demand in the dry bulk shipping industry, including the market for our vessels, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, the availability of financing and refinancing, our ability to meet requirements for additional capital and financing to complete our newbuilding program and grow our business, vessel breakdowns and instances of off‐hire, risks associated with vessel construction, potential exposure or loss from investment in derivative instruments, potential conflicts of interest involving our Chief Executive Officer, his family and other members of our senior management, and our ability to complete acquisition transactions as planned. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward‐looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.
Contacts:
Company:
Simos Spyrou, Christos Begleris
co ‐ Chief Financial Officers
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.
c/o Star Bulk Management Inc.
40 Ag. Konstantinou Av.
Maroussi 15124
Athens, Greece
Email: info@starbulk.com
www.starbulk.com
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Investor Relations / Financial Media:
Nicolas Bornozis President
Capital Link, Inc.
230 Park Avenue, Suite 1536
New York, NY 10169
Tel. (212) 661‐7566
E‐mail: starbulk@capitallink.com
www.capitallink.com
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Exhibit 2
October 12, 2016
TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF
STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
Enclosed is a notice of the 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the "Company"), which will be held at the offices of STAR BULK SHIPMANAGEMENT COMPANY (CYPRUS) LIMITED, 179, Christodoulos Hadjipavlou Street (Molos), Ground Floor, Limassol 3036, Republic of Cyprus, on November 21, 2016 at 15:00 local time, the Company's Proxy Statement and certain other related materials. These materials together with the Company's annual report on Form 20-F that contains the Company's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 (the "Annual Report") may be found on the Company's website at www.starbulk.com. Any shareholder may receive a hard copy of the Annual Report free of charge upon written request to the Company.
At the Meeting, shareholders of the Company will consider and vote upon the following proposals:
1. To elect two Class C Directors to serve until the 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders ("Proposal One");
2. To approve the appointment of Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors-Accountants S.A., as the Company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 ("Proposal Two"); and
3. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
Provided that a quorum is present, the following is required in order to adopt the proposals:
(1) Adoption of Proposal One requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Meeting by the shareholders entitled to vote at the Meeting; (2) Adoption of Proposal Two requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of stock represented at the Meeting. To constitute a quorum, there must be present either in person or by proxy shareholders of record holding at least a majority of the shares issued and outstanding. If less than a quorum is present, a majority of those shares present either in person or by proxy will have the power to adjourn the Meeting until a quorum is present.
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON. WHETHER OR NOT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR SHARES BE REPRESENTED AND VOTED AT THE MEETING. ACCORDINGLY, IF YOU HAVE ELECTED TO RECEIVE YOUR PROXY MATERIALS BY MAIL, PLEASE COMPLETE, DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED PROXY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE, WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE POSTAGE IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU CAN ALSO VOTE BY INTERNET AND TELEPHONE BY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR PROXY CARD. IF YOU HAVE ELECTED TO RECEIVE YOUR PROXY MATERIALS OVER THE INTERNET, PLEASE VOTE BY INTERNET OR BY TELEPHONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN THE NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED IN THE MAIL. IF YOU ATTEND THE MEETING, YOU MAY REVOKE YOUR PROXY AND VOTE IN PERSON. ALL SHAREHOLDERS MUST PRESENT A FORM OF PERSONAL PHOTO IDENTIFICATION IN ORDER TO BE ADMITTED TO THE MEETING. IN ADDITION, IF YOUR SHARES ARE HELD IN THE NAME OF YOUR BROKER, BANK OR OTHER NOMINEE AND YOU WISH TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING, YOU MUST BRING AN ACCOUNT STATEMENT OR LETTER FROM YOUR BROKER, BANK OR OTHER NOMINEE INDICATING THAT YOU WERE THE OWNER OF THE SHARES ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2016. IF YOU WISH TO VOTE IN PERSON AT THE MEETING YOU MUST OBTAIN A "LEGAL PROXY" FROM YOUR BROKER, BANK OR OTHER NOMINEE.
ANY SIGNED PROXY RETURNED AND NOT COMPLETED WILL BE VOTED BY MANAGEMENT IN FAVOR OF ALL PROPOSALS PRESENTED IN THE PROXY STATEMENT.
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Very truly yours,
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Petros Pappas
Chief Executive Officer and Director
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STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2016
NOTICE IS HEREBY given that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the "Company") will be held at the offices of STAR BULK SHIPMANAGEMENT COMPANY (CYPRUS) LIMITED, 179, Christodoulos Hadjipavlou Street (Molos), Ground floor, Limassol 3036, Republic of Cyprus on November 21, 2016 at 15:00 local time, for the following purposes, of which Proposals One and Two are more completely set forth in the accompanying Proxy Statement:
1. To elect two Class C Directors to serve until the 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders ("Proposal One"); and
2. To approve the appointment of Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors-Accountants S.A., as the Company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 ("Proposal Two").
3. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
The board of directors has fixed the close of business on September 30, 2016 as the record date for the determination of the shareholders entitled to receive notice and to vote at the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
Shareholders of record holding at least a majority of the shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote who attend the Meeting in person or by proxy shall be a quorum for the purposes of the Meeting.
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON. WHETHER OR NOT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR SHARES BE REPRESENTED AND VOTED AT THE MEETING. ACCORDINGLY, IF YOU HAVE ELECTED TO RECEIVE YOUR PROXY MATERIALS BY MAIL, PLEASE COMPLETE, DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED PROXY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE, WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE POSTAGE IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU CAN ALSO VOTE BY INTERNET AND TELEPHONE BY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR PROXY CARD. IF YOU HAVE ELECTED TO RECEIVE YOUR PROXY MATERIALS OVER THE INTERNET, PLEASE VOTE BY INTERNET OR BY TELEPHONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN THE NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED IN THE MAIL. IF YOU ATTEND THE MEETING, YOU MAY REVOKE YOUR PROXY AND VOTE IN PERSON. ALL SHAREHOLDERS MUST PRESENT A FORM OF PERSONAL PHOTO IDENTIFICATION IN ORDER TO BE ADMITTED TO THE MEETING. IN ADDITION, IF YOUR SHARES ARE HELD IN THE NAME OF YOUR BROKER, BANK OR OTHER NOMINEE AND YOU WISH TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING, YOU MUST BRING AN ACCOUNT STATEMENT OR LETTER FROM YOUR BROKER, BANK OR OTHER NOMINEE INDICATING THAT YOU WERE THE OWNER OF THE SHARES ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2016. IF YOU WISH TO VOTE IN PERSON AT THE MEETING YOU MUST OBTAIN A "LEGAL PROXY" FROM YOUR BROKER, BANK OR OTHER NOMINEE.
ANY SIGNED PROXY RETURNED AND NOT COMPLETED WILL BE VOTED BY MANAGEMENT IN FAVOR OF ALL PROPOSALS PRESENTED IN THE PROXY STATEMENT.
This Notice of Meeting, the Proxy Statement and certain other related materials, such as the Company's annual report on Form 20-F that contains the Company's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 (the "Annual Report"), may be found on the Company's website at www.starbulk.com. Any shareholder may receive a hard copy of the Annual Report free of charge upon written request to the Company.
If you attend the Meeting, you may revoke your proxy and vote in person.
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BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Georgia Mastagaki
Co Secretary
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October 12, 2016
STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
______________________
PROXY STATEMENT
FOR
ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2016
________________________
INFORMATION CONCERNING SOLICITATION AND VOTING
GENERAL
The enclosed proxy is solicited on behalf of the board of directors (the "Board") of Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a Marshall Islands corporation (the "Company"), for use at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held at the offices of STAR BULK SHIPMANAGEMENT COMPANY (CYPRUS) LIMITED, 179, Christodoulos Hadjipavlou Street (Molos) , Ground Floor, Limassol 3036, Republic of Cyprus, on November 21, 2016 at 15:00 local time, or at any adjournment or postponement thereof (the "Meeting"), for the purposes set forth herein and in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This Proxy Statement together with the Notice of Meeting and certain other related materials are expected to be mailed to shareholders of the Company entitled to vote at the Meeting on or about October 12, 2016. These materials together with the Company's annual report on Form 20-F that contains the Company's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 (the "Annual Report") may be found on the Company's website at www.starbulk.com. Any shareholder may receive a hard copy of the Annual Report free of charge upon written request to the Company.
VOTING RIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING SHARES
On September 30, 2016 (the "Record Date"), the Company had outstanding 56,070,857 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Shares"). Each shareholder of record at the close of business on the Record Date is entitled to one vote for each Common Share then held. Shareholders of record holding at least a majority of the shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote and who attend the Meeting in person or by proxy shall be a quorum for the purposes of the Meeting. The Common Shares represented by any proxy in the enclosed form will be voted in accordance with the instructions given on the proxy if the proxy is properly executed and is received by the Company prior to the close of voting at the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. Any proxies returned without instructions will be voted FOR the proposals set forth on the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
The Common Shares are listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market ("Nasdaq") under the symbol "SBLK."
REVOCABILITY OF PROXIES
A shareholder giving a proxy may revoke it at any time before it is exercised. A proxy may be revoked by filing with the Secretary of the Company at Star Bulk Management Inc., 40 Agiou Konstantinou Str. Maroussi 15124, Athens, Greece, a written notice of revocation by a duly executed proxy bearing a later date, or by attending the Meeting and voting in person.
PROPOSAL ONE
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
The Company has eight directors on its Board, which is divided into three classes. As provided in the Company's Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Third Amended and Restated Bylaws, the Board is divided into three classes and, after the initial term, each director is elected to serve for a three year term and until such director's successor is duly elected and qualified, except in the event of his death, resignation, removal or earlier termination of his term of office. The term of our two Class C directors expire at the Meeting. The Board of Directors has determined to nominate Messrs. Petros Pappas and Spyros Capralos, current Class C directors, for re-election as Class C directors. The Class C term will expire at the Company's 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Unless the proxy is marked to indicate that such authorization is expressly withheld, the persons named in the enclosed proxy intend to vote the shares authorized thereby FOR the election of the following three nominees. It is expected that each of the nominees will be able to serve, but if before the election it develops that any of the nominees is unavailable, the persons named in the accompanying proxy will vote for the election of such substitute nominee or nominees as the current Board may recommend.
Nominees for Election to the Company's Board of Directors
Information concerning the nominees for director of the Company is set forth below:
Name
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Age
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Current Position
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Petros Pappas
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63
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Class C Director, Chief Executive Officer
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Spyros Capralos
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61
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Class C Director , Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
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Certain biographical information about Messrs. Petros Pappas and Spyros Capralos is set forth below.
Mr. Petros Pappas serves as our Chief Executive Officer and as a director of our Board. Mr. Pappas served from our inception up to July 2014 as our non-executive Chairman of the Board. He served as a member of Star Maritime's board of directors since its inception. Throughout his career as a principal and manager in the shipping industry, Mr. Pappas has been involved in approximately 300 vessel acquisitions and disposals. In 1989, he founded Oceanbulk Maritime S.A., a dry cargo shipping company that has operated managed vessels aggregating as much as 1.6 million deadweight tons of cargo capacity. He also founded the Oceanbulk Group of affiliated companies, which are involved in the service sectors of the shipping industry. Mr. Pappas has been a Director of the UK Defense Club, a leading insurance provider of legal defense services in the shipping industry worldwide, since January 2002, and is a member of the Union of Greek Ship owners (UGS). Mr. Pappas received his B.A. in Economics and his MBA from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Mr. Pappas was awarded the 2014 Lloyd's List Greek Awards "Shipping Personality of the Year".
Mr. Spyros Capralos serves and has served since July 14, 2014 as the Non-Executive Chairman of our Board and as a director. Effective as of January 1, 2015, Mr. Capralos also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Oceanbulk Container Carriers LLC. From February 2011 to July 2014, Mr. Capralos served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and director. From October 2004 to October 2010, Mr. Capralos served as Chairman of the Athens Exchange and Chief Executive Officer of the Hellenic Exchanges Group and for the period from 2008-2019 was also the President of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges. He was formerly Vice Chairman of the National Bank of Greece, Vice Chairman of Bulgarian Post Bank, Managing Director of the Bank of Athens and has a ten year banking experience with Bankers Trust Company (now Deutsche Bank) in Paris, New York, Athens, Milan, London. In February 2013, Mr. Capralos was re-elected as President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee for a 4 year term (2013 - 2017) and has served as Secretary General of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and Executive Director and Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Organizing Committee for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. He has been an Olympic athlete in water polo and has competed in the Moscow (1980) and the Los Angeles (1984) Olympic Games. He studied economics at the University of Athens and earned his Master Degree in Business Administration from INSEAD University in France.
Required Vote. Adoption of Proposal One requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Meeting by the shareholders entitled to vote at the Meeting.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSED DIRECTORS. UNLESS REVOKED AS PROVIDED ABOVE, PROXIES RECEIVED BY MANAGEMENT WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSED DIRECTORS UNLESS A CONTRARY VOTE IS SPECIFIED.
PROPOSAL TWO
APPROVAL OF APPOINTMENT OF
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
The Board is submitting for approval at the Meeting the selection of Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors-Accountants S.A., as the Company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.
Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors-Accountants S.A., has advised the Company that the firm does not have any direct or indirect financial interest in the Company, nor has such firm had any such interest in connection with the Company during the past three fiscal years.
All services rendered by the independent auditors are subject to review by the Audit Committee.
Required Vote. Adoption of Proposal Two requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of stock represented at the Meeting.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENT OF ERNST & YOUNG (HELLAS) CERTIFIED AUDITORS-ACCOUNTANTS S.A., AS INDEPENDENT AUDITORS OF THE COMPANY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2016. UNLESS REVOKED AS PROVIDED ABOVE, PROXIES RECEIVED BY MANAGEMENT WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOR OF SUCH APPROVAL UNLESS A CONTRARY VOTE IS SPECIFIED.
SOLICITATION
The cost of preparing and soliciting proxies will be borne by the Company. Solicitation will be made primarily by mail, but shareholders may be solicited by telephone, e-mail, or personal contact. The Board has retained Advantage Proxy as proxy solicitor in connection with the Meeting. If you have any questions or need assistance in voting your proxy, please contact Advantage Proxy at the number or email address listed below.
Advantage Proxy
24925 13th Place South
Des Moines, WA 98198
Telephone: (206) 870-8565
Email: ksmith@advantageproxy.com
EFFECT OF ABSTENTIONS
An "abstention" occurs when a shareholder sends in a proxy with explicit instructions to decline to vote regarding a particular matter (other than the election of Directors for which the choice is limited to "for" or "withhold"). Abstentions are counted as present for purposes of determining a quorum. Abstentions will not be counted in determining whether Proposals One and Two have been approved.
OTHER MATTERS
No other matters are expected to be presented for action at the Meeting. Should any additional matter come before the Meeting, it is intended that proxies in the accompanying form will be voted in accordance with the judgment of the person or persons named in the proxy.
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BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Georgia Mastagaki
Co Secretary
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October 12, 2016
Majuro, Marshall Islands