Condensed Financial Information for Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Parent Company Only) - Consolidated Statement of Operations (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
General and administrative expenses									$ 33,126,310	$ 22,905,802	$ 25,537,007
Total operating expenses	$ 67,999,398	$ 64,624,733	$ 53,938,837	$ 50,361,713	$ 177,607,218	$ 47,512,409	$ 42,882,423	$ 57,742,766	236,924,681	325,744,816	239,394,440
Operating loss	6,588,043	(1,913,830)	(307,613)	(4,506,656)	(135,771,277)	(11,724,228)	(17,291,989)	(36,464,478)	(140,056)	(201,251,972)	(135,537,564)
Interest expense									29,376,994	21,799,146	11,927,422
Interest expense									(651,069)	(215,433)	(6,222)
Total other expense (income), net									(37,905)	686,750	838,201
Net loss	$ (16,584,425)	$ (10,255,346)	$ (5,888,466)	$ (11,068,448)	$ (142,389,148)	$ (19,359,044)	$ (22,495,573)	$ (39,278,670)	$ (43,796,685)	$ (223,522,435)	$ (148,296,965)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)									69,182,302	20,565,652	1,880,116
Diluted (in shares)									69,182,302	20,565,652	1,880,116
Per share amounts:
Basic net loss (in dollars per share)	$ (0.24)	$ (0.15)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.17)	$ (2.96)	$ (0.65)	$ (9.98)	$ (20.77)	$ (0.63)	$ (10.87)	$ (78.88)
Diluted net loss (in dollars per share)	$ (0.24)	$ (0.15)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.17)	$ (2.96)	$ (0.65)	$ (9.98)	$ (20.77)	$ (0.63)	$ (10.87)	$ (78.88)
Parent Company
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
General and administrative expenses									$ 2,693,520	$ 2,101,094	$ 2,554,795
Total operating expenses									2,693,520	2,101,094	2,554,795
Operating loss									(2,693,520)	(2,101,094)	(2,554,795)
Interest expense									0	2,817,646	11,927,422
Interest expense									(379,374)	(215,433)	(6,222)
Other expense									0	125,255	0
Total other expense (income), net									(379,374)	2,727,468	11,921,200
Equity in net loss of subsidiaries									(41,482,539)	(218,693,873)	(133,820,970)
Net loss									$ (43,796,685)	$ (223,522,435)	$ (148,296,965)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)									69,182,302	20,565,652	1,880,116
Diluted (in shares)									69,182,302	20,565,652	1,880,116
Per share amounts:
Basic net loss (in dollars per share)									$ (0.63)	$ (10.87)	$ (78.88)
Diluted net loss (in dollars per share)									$ (0.63)	$ (10.87)	$ (78.88)