CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 25,075,203	$ 129,121,680
Accounts receivable	13,960,777	14,366,495
Prepaid expenses	3,969,905	3,459,721
Inventories	11,083,331	3,190,052
Investment	988,196	0
Fair value above contract value of time charters acquired	567,315	594,611
Fair value of derivative instruments	246,110	0
Total current assets	55,890,837	150,732,559
Vessels and vessel improvements, at cost, net of accumulated depreciation of $239,568,767 and $176,824,438, respectively	1,789,381,046	1,509,798,249
Advances for vessel construction	0	191,477,225
Other fixed assets, net of accumulated amortization of $324,691 and $153,375, respectively	605,519	420,204
Restricted cash	670,418	19,790,341
Deferred drydock costs	3,303,363	4,217,071
Deferred financing costs	11,766,779	16,458,496
Fair value above contract value of time charters acquired	3,041,496	3,608,812
Other assets, net	2,597,270	70,001
Total noncurrent assets	1,811,365,891	1,745,840,399
Total assets	1,867,256,728	1,896,572,958
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	10,642,831	6,089,273
Accrued interest	2,815,665	6,651,554
Other accrued liabilities	11,822,582	5,850,474
Current portion of long-term debt	32,094,006	0
Deferred revenue and fair value below contract value of time charters Acquired	5,966,698	5,705,326
Unearned charter hire revenue	5,779,928	6,091,332
Fair value of derivative instruments	0	127,758
Total current liabilities	69,121,710	30,515,717
Noncurrent liabilities:
Long-term debt	1,097,384,735	1,151,354,476
Deferred revenue and fair value below contract value of time charters Acquired	17,088,464	23,480,740
Fair value of derivative instruments	9,486,116	22,135,507
Total noncurrent liabilities	1,123,959,315	1,196,970,723
Total liabilities	1,193,081,025	1,227,486,440
Commitment and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $.01 par value, 25,000,000 shares authorized, none issued	0	0
Common stock, $.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 63,003,286 and 62,126,665 shares issued and outstanding, respectively	630,033	625,604
Additional paid-in capital	745,473,169	738,251,158
Retained earnings (net of dividends declared of $262,118,388 as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively)	(62,474,486)	(47,654,737)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(9,453,013)	(22,135,507)
Total stockholders' equity	674,175,703	669,086,518
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 1,867,256,728	$ 1,896,572,958