UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of August 2022 

Commission File Number 001-33869

STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.

--12-31

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

Star Bulk Carriers Corp.

c/o Star Bulk Management Inc.

40 Agiou Konstantinou Street,

15124 Maroussi,

Athens, Greece

(Address of principal executive offices)

June 30, 2022 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F ☒ 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): ☐

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT

Attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 6-K is a Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the “Company”) as of and for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022.

Attached as Exhibit 99.2 to this Form 6-K is a copy of the Company's press release (the “Press Release”) announcing its unaudited financial and operating results for the Company's three and six months ended June 30, 2022, which was issued on August 4, 2022.

The information contained in Exhibit 99.1 of this Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into the registrant's Registration Statements on Form F-3 (File Nos. 333-264226, 333-232765, 333-234125 and 333-252808) and Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-176922), in each case to the extent not superseded by information subsequently filed or furnished (to the extent we expressly state that we incorporate such furnished information by reference) by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in each case as amended.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This Form 6-K, and the documents to which the Company refers in this Form 6-K, as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the Company, contain “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business and our expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Words such as, but not limited to, “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “targets,” “projects,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “could” and similar expressions or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. The occurrence of the events described, and the achievement of the expected results, depend on many events, some or all of which are not predictable or within our control. Actual results may differ materially from expected results.

In addition, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include:

 Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements we make in this document are qualified by the information contained or referred to herein, including, but not limited to, (i) the information contained under this heading and (ii) the information disclosed in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended 2021, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2022.

 You should carefully consider the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that may be issued by us or persons acting on our behalf. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, a change in the Company’s views or expectations or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

SIGNATURE

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.

Dated: August 4, 2022

Exhibit 99.1

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following is a discussion of the financial condition and results of operations of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (“Star Bulk”) for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2021 and 2022. Unless otherwise specified herein, references to the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” shall include Star Bulk and its subsidiaries. You should read the following discussion and analysis together with the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere herein. For additional information relating to our management’s discussion and analysis of financial conditions and results of operations, please see our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on March 15, 2022  (the “2021 Annual Report”). Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalized words and expressions used herein shall have the same meanings ascribed to them in the 2021 Annual Report. This discussion includes forward-looking statements which, although based on assumptions that we consider reasonable, are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or conditions to differ materially from those currently anticipated and expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a global shipping company providing worldwide seaborne transportation solutions in the dry bulk sector. Our vessels transport major bulks, which include iron ore, coal and grain, and minor bulks which include bauxite, fertilizers and steel products. We were incorporated in the Marshall Islands on December 13, 2006 and, on December 3, 2007, we commenced operations when we took delivery of our first vessel. We maintain offices in Athens, New York, Limassol, Singapore and Germany. Our common shares trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SBLK.”

Our Fleet

As of August 3, 2022, our owned fleet consisted of 128 operating vessels with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 14.1 million dwt, consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels. We believe the Company is the largest US-listed dry bulk operator in terms of number of vessels and deadweight tonnage.

The following tables present summary information relating to our fleet as of August 3, 2022:

  _______________

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of funds have been cash flow from operations, equity offerings, borrowings under secured credit facilities, debt securities and bareboat lease financings and proceeds from vessel sales. Our principal uses of funds have been capital expenditures to establish and grow our fleet, maintain the quality of our dry bulk carriers, comply with international shipping standards, environmental laws and regulations, fund working capital requirements, make principal and interest payments on outstanding indebtedness and make dividend payments when approved by the Board of Directors.

Our short-term liquidity requirements include paying operating costs, funding working capital requirements and the short-term equity portion of the cost of vessel acquisitions and vessel upgrades, interest and principal payments on outstanding indebtedness and maintaining cash reserves to strengthen our position against adverse fluctuations in operating cash flows. Our primary source of short-term liquidity is cash generated from operating activities, available cash balances and portions of new debt and refinancings, as well as equity financings.

Our medium- and long-term liquidity requirements are funding the equity portion of any newbuilding vessel installments and secondhand vessel acquisitions, funding required payments under our vessel financing and other financing agreements and paying cash dividends when declared. Sources of funding for our medium- and long-term liquidity requirements include cash flows from operations, new debt and refinancings, or bareboat lease financings, sale and lease back arrangements, equity issuances and vessel sales. Please also refer to Note 14 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere herein, for developments that took place after June 30, 2022.

As of August 3, 2022, we had total cash of $474.2 million and $1,409.7 million of outstanding borrowings (including bareboat lease financing), after a) repaying in full the aggregate outstanding amount of $91.2 million under the i) lease agreements of each of the Delphin Vessels, ii) HSBC $80,000 Facility and iii) NTT $17,600 Facility and b) receiving in aggregate an amount of $90.3 million under the Citi $100,000 Facility and SEB $42,000 Facility, as further described in Note 14 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements June 30, 2022, included herein. In addition, following a number of interest rates swaps that we have entered into, we have converted a total of $783.1 million of such debt from floating to an average fixed rate of 45 bps with average maturity of 1.7 years.

Our debt agreements contain financial covenants and undertakings requiring us to maintain various ratios. A summary of these terms is included in Note 7 of the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, included in the 2021 Annual Report.

We believe that our current cash balance our operating cash flows to be generated over the short-term period and the resulting excess proceeds following the completion of the refinancings described in Note 14 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements June 30, 2022, included elsewhere herein , will be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs for the foreseeable future (and at least through the end of the third quarter of 2023), including funding the operations of our fleet, capital expenditure requirements including commitments for the installation of ballast water treatment systems (“BWTS”)  and Energy Saving Devices (“ESD”) as further described in Note 11 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the six month period ended June 30, 2022, included elsewhere herein and any other present financial requirements. In addition, under our two effective At-the-Market offering programs, which have an aggregate remaining capacity of $129.8 million, we may sell and issue shares. We may seek additional indebtedness to finance future vessel acquisitions in order to maintain our cash position or to refinance our existing debt on more favorable terms. Our practice has been to fund the cash portion of the acquisition of dry bulk carriers using a combination of funds from operations and bank debt or lease financing secured by mortgages or title of ownership on our dry bulk carriers held by the relevant lenders, respectively. We may also use the proceeds from potential equity or debt offerings to finance future vessel acquisitions. Our business is capital-intensive and its future success will depend on our ability to maintain a high-quality fleet through the acquisition of newer dry bulk carriers and the selective sale of older dry bulk carriers. These acquisitions will be principally subject to management’s expectation of future market conditions as well as our ability to acquire dry bulk carriers on favorable terms. However our ability to obtain bank or lease financing, to refinance our existing debt or to access the capital markets for offerings in the future, may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering, including the market value of our fleet, as well as by adverse market conditions resulting from, among other things, general economic conditions, weakness in the financial and equity markets and contingencies and uncertainties, all of which are beyond our control. Our liquidity is also impacted by our dividend policy, as discussed below  

The recent reopening of the global economy and consequent increased demand across all key dry bulk commodities following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has positively affected our revenues. On the other hand, as a result of COVID-19 restrictions imposed since 2020, additional crew expenses were incurred.

There continues to be a high level of uncertainty relating to how the pandemic will evolve, including as a result of new COVID-19 variants, the availability of vaccines and their global deployment, the development of effective treatments, the imposition of effective public safety and other protective measures and the public's and government's responses to such measures. An increase in the severity or duration or a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition, the carrying value of our assets, the fair values of our vessels, and our ability to pay dividends.

In addition, the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe intensified in late February 2022, with the commencement of Russia’s military action against Ukraine. Three of our vessels, the Star Pavlina, Star Helena and Star Laura had arrived in three different Ukrainian ports to load various grain cargos under charterers’ instructions, , well ahead of the commencement of the war activities, but at the time of the invasion, the loading operations were suspended by the port authorities. We had been intensively exploring options with the charterers to navigate the vessels safely out of the ports but unfortunately the ports were shut down and blockaded and safe passages were impossible. Since that time, all three vessels have been safely manned with Ukrainian crew. An estimate of any potential impact of the blockade cannot be made at this point of time. However, we do not expect such impact, if any, to be material, because in addition to standard industry vessel risk insurance, war risk insurance is in place for all three vessels and the applicable war risk insurers have confirmed that they hold the vessels covered at their current position in Ukraine, which includes Hull and Machinery and Increased Value insurance, Detention and Diversion Cover and War loss of Hire for 180 days. Furthermore, and to the extent that a court or tribunal has not declared the frustration of the charterparties for the above three vessels, as frustration is by operation of law, we believe that the vessels remain on hire and hire continues payable under the charterparty clauses. The situation continues to be closely monitored by management to ensure that the interests of all our stakeholders are safeguarded.

The vessel blockade may be impacted by diplomatic efforts to address the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including the recent multilateral agreement among Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations to resume grain exports from the Black Sea regions.  The multilateral agreement is currently expected to result in an easing of the blockades on Black Sea ports in Ukraine and may result in the passage of one or more of the Star Pavlina, Star Helena and Star Laura out of the region in the near future.

Dividend Policy

In November 2019, our Board of Directors established a dividend policy, which was updated in May 2021, pursuant to which our Board of Directors intends to declare a dividend in each of February, May, August and November in an amount equal to (a) our Total Cash Balance minus (b) the product of (i) the Minimum Cash Balance per Vessel and (ii) the Number of Vessels.

“Total Cash Balance” means (a) the aggregate amount of cash on our balance sheet as of the last day of the quarter preceding the relevant dividend declaration date minus (b) any proceeds received by us, from vessel sales, or additional proceeds from vessel refinancing arrangements, or securities offerings in the last 12 months that have been earmarked for share repurchases, debt prepayment, vessel acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

“Minimum Cash Balance per Vessel” means $2.10 million for December 31, 2021 and thereafter.

“Number of Vessels” means the total number of vessels owned by us, or that are subject to sale and leaseback transactions and finance leases, as of the last day of the quarter preceding the relevant dividend declaration date.

As of June 30, 2022, we owned 128 vessels and our aggregate amount of cash on our balance sheet was $385.6 million.  Taking into account the Minimum Cash Balance per Vessel of $2.10 million and the refinancing arrangements in progress, on August 4, 2022, pursuant to our dividend policy, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.65 per share, payable on or about September 8, 2022 to all shareholders of record as of August 25, 2022. The ex-dividend date is expected to be August 24, 2022.

Since Star Bulk is a holding company with no material assets other than the shares of its subsidiaries through which it conducts its operations, Star Bulk’s ability to pay dividends will depend on its subsidiaries distributing their earnings and cash flow to it. Any future dividends declared will be at the discretion and remain subject to approval of our Board of Directors each quarter after its review of our financial condition and other factors, including but not limited to our earnings, the prevailing charter market conditions, capital requirements, limitations under our debt agreements and applicable provisions of Marshall Islands law, which generally prohibits the payment of dividends other than from operating surplus or while a company is insolvent or would be rendered insolvent upon the payment of such dividend. Star Bulk’s dividend policy and declaration and payment of dividends may be changed at any time and are subject to legally available funds and our Board of Directors’ determination that each declaration and payment is at the time in the best interests of Star Bulk and its shareholders after its review of our financial performance.

There can be no assurance that our Board of Directors will declare or pay any dividend in the future.

Other Recent Developments

Please refer to Note 14 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere herein, for developments that took place after June 30, 2022.

Operating Results

Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

We deploy our vessels on a mix of short to medium time charters or voyage charters, contracts of affreightment or in dry bulk carrier pools, according to our assessment of market conditions. We adjust the mix of these charters to take advantage of the relatively stable cash flow and high utilization rates associated with medium to long-term time charters, or to profit from attractive spot charter rates during periods of strong charter market conditions, or to maintain employment flexibility that the spot market offers during periods of weak charter market conditions. The following table reflects certain operating data of our fleet, including our ownership days and TCE rates, which we believe are important measures for analyzing trends in our results of operations, for the periods indicated:

__________________

The following table reflects the calculation of our TCE rates as discussed in footnote (7) above. The table presents reconciliation of TCE Revenues to voyage revenues as reflected in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated income statements.

Voyage Revenues

Voyage revenues are driven primarily by the number of vessels in our operating fleet, the duration of our charters, the number of charter-in days, the amount of daily charter hire or freight rates that our vessels earn under time and voyage charters, respectively, which, in turn, are affected by a number of factors, including our decisions relating to vessel acquisitions and disposals, the number of vessels chartered-in, the amount of time that we spend positioning our vessels, the amount of time that our vessels spend in dry dock undergoing repairs, maintenance and upgrade work, the age, condition and specifications of our vessels, levels of supply and demand in the seaborne transportation market.

Vessels operating on time charters for a certain period of time provide more predictable cash flows over that period of time, but can yield lower profit margins than vessels operating in the spot charter market during periods characterized by favorable market conditions. Vessels operating in the spot charter market generate revenues that are less predictable, but may enable us to capture increased profit margins during periods of improvements in charter rates, although we would be exposed to the risk of declining vessel rates, which may have a materially adverse impact on our financial performance. If we employ vessels on period time charters, future spot market rates may be higher or lower than the rates at which we have employed our vessels on period time charters.

Voyage Expenses

Voyage expenses may include port and canal charges, agency fees, fuel (bunker) expenses and brokerage commissions payable to related and third parties. Voyage expenses are incurred for our owned and chartered-in vessels during voyage charters or when the vessel is unemployed. Bunker expenses, port and canal charges primarily increase in periods during which vessels are employed on voyage charters because these expenses are paid by the owners. Our voyage expenses primarily consist of bunkers cost, port expenses and commissions paid in connection with the chartering of our vessels.

Charter-In Hire Expenses

Charter-in hire expenses represent hire expenses for chartering-in third and related party vessels, either under time charters or voyage charters.

Vessel Operating Expenses

Vessel operating expenses include crew wages and related costs, the cost of insurance and vessel registry, expenses relating to repairs and maintenance, the cost of spares and consumable stores, tonnage taxes, regulatory fees, vessel scrubbers and maintenance expenses of vessel scrubbers and BWTS, lubricants and other miscellaneous expenses. Other factors beyond our control, some of which may affect the shipping industry in general, including for instance, developments relating to market prices for crew wages, lubricants and insurance, may also cause these expenses to increase.

Dry Docking Expenses

Dry docking expenses relate to regularly scheduled intermediate survey or special survey dry docking necessary to preserve the quality of our vessels as well as to comply with international shipping standards and environmental laws and regulations. Dry docking expenses can vary according to the age of the vessel and its condition, the location where the dry docking takes place, shipyard availability and the number of days the vessel is under dry dock. We utilize the direct expense method, under which we expense all dry docking costs as incurred.

Depreciation

We depreciate our vessels on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which is determined to be 25 years from the date of their initial delivery from the shipyard. Depreciation is calculated based on a vessel’s cost less the estimated residual value.

General and Administrative Expenses

We incur general and administrative expenses, including our onshore personnel related expenses, directors’ and executives’ compensation, share based compensation, legal, consulting, audit and accounting expenses.

Management Fees

Management fees include fees paid to third parties as well as related parties providing certain procurement services to our fleet.

(Gain) / Loss on Forward Freight Agreements and Bunker Swaps, net

When deemed appropriate from a risk management perspective, we take positions in freight derivatives, including freight forward agreements (the “FFAs”) and freight options, with an objective to utilize those instruments as economic hedges to reduce the risk on specific vessels trading in the spot market and to take advantage of short term fluctuations in the market prices. Upon the settlement, if the contracted charter rate is less than the average of the rates, as reported by an identified index, for the specified route and time period, the seller of the FFA is required to pay the buyer the settlement sum. The settlement amount is an amount equal to the difference between the contracted rate and the settlement rate, multiplied by the number of days in the specified period covered by the FFA. Conversely, if the contracted rate is greater than the settlement rate, the buyer is required to pay the seller the settlement sum. Our FFAs are settled on a daily basis mainly through reputable exchanges such as London Clearing House (LCH) or Singapore Exchange (SGX) so as to limit our exposure in over-the-counter transactions. Customary requirements for trading in FFAs include the maintenance of initial and variation margins based on expected volatility, open position and mark to market of the contracts. The fair value of the FFAs or freight options is treated as asset or liability until they are settled. Any such settlements by us or settlements to us under FFAs or freight options, if any, are recorded under (Gain)/Loss on forward freight agreements and bunker swaps, net.

Also, when deemed appropriate from a risk management perspective, we enter into bunker swap contracts to manage our exposure to fluctuations of bunker prices associated with the consumption of bunkers by our vessels. Bunker swaps are agreements between two parties to exchange cash flows at a fixed price on bunkers, where volume, time period and price are agreed in advance. Our bunker swaps are settled through reputable clearing houses. Bunker price differentials paid or received under the swap agreements are recognized under (Gain)/Loss on forward freight agreements and bunker swaps, net.

The fair value of freight derivatives and bunker swaps is determined through Level 1 inputs of the fair value hierarchy (quoted prices from the applicable exchanges such as the London Clearing House (LCH) or the Singapore Exchange (SGX)). Our FFAs and bunker swaps do not qualify for hedge accounting and therefore unrealized gains or losses are recognized under (Gain)/Loss on forward freight agreements and bunker swaps, net.

Interest and Finance Costs

We incur interest expense and financing costs in connection with our outstanding indebtedness under our existing loan facilities (including sale and leaseback financing transactions). We also incur financing costs in connection with establishing those facilities, which are presented as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the relevant debt liability and amortize them to interest and financing costs over the term of the underlying obligation using the effective interest method.

Interest Income

We earn interest income on our cash deposits with our lenders and other financial institutions.

Gain / (Loss) on interest rate swaps, net

We enter into interest rate swap transactions to manage interest costs and risk associated with changing interest rates with respect to our variable interest loans and credit facilities. Interest rate swaps are recorded in the balance sheet as either assets or liabilities, measured at their fair value (Level 2), with changes in such fair value recognized in earnings under (gain)/loss on interest rate swaps, net, unless specific hedge accounting criteria are met. When interest rate swaps are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the unrealized gains/losses from those swaps is recorded in Other Comprehensive Income / (Loss) while any ineffective portion is recorded as Gain/(loss) on interest rate swaps, net.

Results of Operations

The six-month period ended June 30, 2022 compared to the six-month period ended June 30, 2021

Voyage revenues net of Voyage expenses: Voyage revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2022 increased to $778.2 million from $511.9 million in the corresponding period in 2021. Time charter equivalent revenues (“TCE Revenues”) (as defined above) were $642.4 million compared to $411.3 million for the corresponding period in 2021, which is indicative of improved market conditions prevailing during the six month period ended June 30, 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021 and the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet to 128.0 vessels in the first six months of 2022 from 122.7 vessels. As a result, the TCE rate for the first six months of 2022 was $28,924 compared to $19,371 for the corresponding period in 2021. Please refer to the table above for the calculation of the TCE Revenues and TCE and their reconciliation with Voyage Revenues, which is the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Charter-in hire expenses: Charter-in hire expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 were $13.0 million and $7.3 million, respectively. This increase is attributable to the increase in charter-in days to 506 in the first six months of 2022 from 327 in the corresponding period in 2021 as well as the increased charter-in rates prevailing during 2022.

Vessel operating expenses: For the six-months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, vessel operating expenses were $115.8 million and $100.3 million, respectively, partially driven by the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet. Vessel operating expenses for the first six months of 2022 included additional crew expenses related to the increased number and cost of crew changes performed during the period as a result of COVID-19 restrictions estimated to be $5.6 million. Vessel operating expenses for the first six months of 2021 included COVID-19 related expenses estimated to be $3.0 million and pre-delivery and pre-joining expenses of $2.3 million.  The overall increase was mainly driven by higher repair and maintenance costs due to the preventive maintenance program of our fleet during the applicable period, so as to ensure quality service to our clients and minimize off hire time.

Dry docking expenses: During the six month period ended June 30, 2022, we incurred $19.2 million dry docking expenses mainly attributable to thirteen of our vessels that completed their periodic dry docking surveys within such period as well as seven vessels whose periodic dry docking was in progress during that period. During the first six months of 2021, we incurred $18.9 million dry-docking expenses mainly attributable to nineteen of our vessels that completed their periodic dry docking surveys within such period as well as one vessel whose periodic dry docking was in progress during that period.

Depreciation: Depreciation expense increased to $77.5 million for the six month period ended June 30, 2022, compared to $74.3 million for the corresponding period in 2021. The increase was mainly driven by the increase in the average number of vessels in 2022 compared to 2021.

Management fees: Management fees remained almost unchanged for the six month period ended June 30, 2022 at $9.8 million compared to $9.6 million for the corresponding period of 2021 due to the fact that there was no significant change in the daily cost provided under management agreements in effect during the abovementioned periods.

General and administrative expenses: General and administrative expenses for the six month period ended June 30, 2022 were $25.9 million compared to $17.4 million in the corresponding period in 2021 primarily due to the increase in the stock based compensation expense to $11.5 million from $2.6 million.

(Gain)/Loss on forward freight agreements and bunker swaps, net: For the six month period ended June 30, 2022, we incurred a net loss on FFAs and bunker swaps of $3.9 million, consisting of an unrealized loss of $0.9 million and a realized loss of $3.0 million. For the six month period ended June 30, 2021, we incurred a net loss on FFAs and bunker swaps of $1.5 million, consisting primarily of an unrealized loss of $1.6 million.

Interest and finance costs net of interest and other income/(loss): Interest and finance costs net of interest and other income/(loss) for the first six month periods of 2022 and 2021 were $24.2 million and $27.8 million, respectively. This decrease is primarily attributable to the decline in the average interest rate on our outstanding indebtedness, mainly driven by the refinancing of certain of our debt agreements and the redemption of our outstanding 8.30% Senior Notes in July 2021, as well as the decrease in our weighted average outstanding debt balance during the corresponding periods.

Cash Flows

Net cash provided by operating activities for the first six months of 2022 and 2021 was $469.1 million and $219.7 million, respectively. This increase was primarily driven by the higher charter rates due to the improved market conditions that prevailed in the first six months of 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021 and the higher average number of vessels in 2022 compared to 2021 as described above, and the decrease in our interest payments due to refinancing of certain of our debt agreements as well as the decrease in our weighted average outstanding debt balance during the corresponding periods.

Net cash used in investing activities for the first six months of 2022 and 2021 was $45.9 million and $108.3 million, respectively. The decrease was primarily attributable to cash paid in 2021 in connection with the acquisition of vessels as opposed to no vessel acquisitions taking place in 2022, as well as to lower capital expenditures for vessel upgrades paid in 2022 compared to relevant payments in 2021.

Net cash used in financing activities for the first six months of 2022 was $546.1 million compared to net cash used in financing activities of $64.2 million in the first six months of 2021. This variation was primarily driven by the dividend payments of $375.3 million made in the first six months of 2022 compared to $30.7 million dividend payments made in corresponding period in 2021 and higher net debt repayments of $167.4 million in 2022 compared to $31.0 million in 2021.

Significant Accounting Policies and Critical Accounting Estimates

For a description of our critical accounting estimates and all of our significant accounting policies, see Note 2 to our audited financial statements and “Item 5 - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” included in our 2021 Annual Report. There have been no material changes from the “Critical Accounting Estimates” previously disclosed in our 2021 Annual Report.

STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
INDEX TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 The accompanying notes are integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.