Two more vessels have been ordered from shipbuilding yards, scheduled for delivery in 2013. In the company's earnings report, DryShips said, "During the next few months we plan to take active steps to monetize DryShips' most prized asset, its shares of Ocean Rig common stock, through a public listing in the U.S." The move comes as the dry-bulk shipping industry struggles through its worst market for freight rates since the darkest days of the financial crisis. This time, rates have collapsed because of a massive glut of new ships, ordered by shipowners when business was flush during the pre-crisis boom years. DryShips' rig business has allowed the company to avoid some of the financial distress suffered by other publicly traded dry-bulk companies, many of which -- Eagle Bulk Shipping ( EGLE ) and Excel Maritime ( EXM ), for instance -- swung to losses in the first quarter. In late-morning trading Friday, shares of DryShips were declining by 2.2% to $4.58.