Drybulk carrier owner DryShips Inc. has entered into firm sales agreements with entities controlled by the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, George Economou, to sell 17 vessels.

The 17 vessels, comprised of 13 Capesize and 4 Panamax bulk carriers, are being sold for an aggregate price of US$377m, according to DryShips.

The sale includes the ships' existing employment agreements and the assumption of US$236.7m of debt as of Sept. 10, 2015, associated with some of the vessels.

"All of the individual transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015 and certain transactions remain subject to the approval of the applicable lending banks. These transactions were approved by the independent directors of the company," the company said in a release.

As a result of the sale, DryShips expects to recognize an impairment charge of approximately US$373m in its results for the third quarter of 2015.

Additionally, the company's Board of Directors has decided to classify all of the remaining vessels in the fleet, comprised of 20 Panamax and 2 Supramax bulk carriers, as held for sale, and as a result, the company expects to recognize an additional impairment charge of approximately US$422m in its results for the third quarter of 2015.

The move follows the sale of six Aframax tankers to entities controlled by Economou this June. The tankers' en-bloc sales price amounts to US$291m, DryShips said in an announcement. The sale, which was announced in March, relates to the following ships: Belmar, Calida, Alicante, Mareta, Saga and Daytona.

DryShips owns a fleet of 39 drybulk carriers, comprising 13 Capesize, 24 Panamax and 2 Supramax with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 4.3 million tons.