CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 28,067,016	$ 25,075,203
Accounts receivable, net	12,967,279	13,960,777
Prepaid expenses	3,404,559	3,969,905
Inventories	11,617,193	11,083,331
Investment	741,862	988,196
Fair value above contract value of time charters acquired	561,825	567,315
Fair value of derivative instruments	388,670	246,110
Total current assets	57,748,404	55,890,837
Noncurrent assets:
Vessels and vessel improvements, at cost, net of accumulated depreciation of $258,249,266 and $239,568,767, respectively	1,770,755,206	1,789,381,046
Other fixed assets, net of accumulated amortization of $373,099 and $324,691, respectively	558,414	605,519
Restricted cash	276,056	670,418
Deferred drydock costs	3,126,378	3,303,363
Deferred financing costs	10,631,288	11,766,779
Fair value above contract value of time charters acquired	2,903,898	3,041,496
Other assets	2,160,815	2,597,270
Total noncurrent assets	1,790,412,055	1,811,365,891
Total assets	1,848,160,459	1,867,256,728
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	10,504,362	10,642,831
Accrued interest	2,235,525	2,815,665
Other accrued liabilities	12,725,220	11,822,582
Current portion of long-term debt	86,063,747	32,094,006
Deferred revenue and fair value below contract value of time charters acquired	5,587,047	5,966,698
Unearned charter hire revenue	3,593,868	5,779,928
Total current liabilities	120,709,769	69,121,710
Noncurrent liabilities:
Long-term debt	1,043,414,994	1,097,384,735
Deferred revenue and fair value below contract value of time charters acquired	15,971,715	17,088,464
Fair value of derivative instruments	8,045,786	9,486,116
Total noncurrent liabilities	1,067,432,495	1,123,959,315
Total liabilities	1,188,142,264	1,193,081,025
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 shares issued and outstanding	630,033	630,033
Additional paid-in capital	747,555,194	745,473,169
Retained earnings (net of dividends declared of $262,118,388 as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively)	(79,908,015)	(62,474,486)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(8,259,017)	(9,453,013)
Total stockholders' equity	660,018,195	674,175,703
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 1,848,160,459	$ 1,867,256,728