RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Amounts and notes payable to related parties consist of the following:



	December 31, 2017		Activity			December 31, 2018
Included in trade accounts receivable and voyage revenue on the consolidated balance sheets and statements of income, respectively:
Trade receivables due from King George Slag⁽ⁱ⁾	$	—	$	627,629		$	627,629

Included in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets:
Trade payables due to Seamar ⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	$	1,421,920	$	550,015		$	1,971,935

Included in current related party debt on the consolidated balance sheets:
Loan payable – 2011 Founders Note	$	4,325,000	$	(1,730,000	)	$	2,595,000
Interest payable – 2011 Founders Note ⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾	684,597		(401,851		)	282,746
Promissory Note	2,000,000		(2,000,000		)	—
Total current related party debt	$	7,009,597	$	(4,131,851	)	$	2,877,746


i.	King George Slag LLC is a joint venture of which the Company owns 25%.


ii.	Seamar Management S.A. ("Seamar")


iii.	Paid in cash

In November 2014, the Company entered into a $5 million Promissory Note (the “Note”) with Bulk Invest Ltd., a company controlled by shareholders collectively referred to as the Founders. The $2 million outstanding balance on the Note was repaid on February 6, 2018.

On October 1, 2011, the Company entered into a $10,000,000 loan agreement with the Founders, which was payable on demand at the request of the lenders (the 2011 Founders Note). The note bears interest at a rate of 5%. The outstanding balance of the note was $2,595,000 and $4,325,000 at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Dividends payable, all of which are currently payable to related parties, are shown in Note 9.

Under the terms of a technical management agreement between the Company and Seamar Management S.A. (Seamar), an equity method investee, Seamar is responsible for the day-to-day operation of some of the Company’s owned vessels. During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company incurred technical management fees of $3,072,000 and $2,789,400 under this arrangement, which is included in vessel operating expenses in the consolidated statements of income. The total amounts payable to Seamar at December 31, 2018 and 2017, (including amounts due for vessel operating expenses), were $1,971,935 and $1,421,920, respectively.