Diana Shipping Inc. Announces The Acquisition Of A New-Building Kamsarmax Dry Bulk Carrier

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels, announced that on December 20, 2012 it signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to acquire a new-building Kamsarmax dry bulk carrier of 82,131 dwt, built by Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Japan, from an unaffiliated third party seller for a purchase price of US$26.5 million. The vessel, to be named "Myrto", is expected to be delivered to the Company by the sellers at the end of January 2013.

Separately, the Company also announced that yesterday it signed, through two separate wholly owned subsidiaries, a term loan facility with Nordea Bank Finland Plc, London Branch, and today completed the drawdown of US$20 million. The purpose of this facility is to partially finance the acquisition costs of the two newly built Post-Panamax dry bulk carriers, the m/v "Amphitrite" and m/v "Polymnia", which were delivered to the Company on August 14, 2012 and November 20, 2012, respectively.

Including the "Myrto", Diana Shipping Inc.'s fleet currently consists of 31 dry bulk carriers (17 Panamax, 1 Kamsarmax, 3 Post-Panamax, 8 Capesize and 2 Newcastlemax), as well as 2 new-building Ice Class Panamax vessels expected to be delivered to the Company during the fourth quarter of 2013. As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our current fleet, excluding the three vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 3.4 million dwt with a weighted average age of 6.0 years. A table describing the current Diana Shipping Inc. fleet can be found on the Company's website, www.dianashippinginc.com . Information contained on the Company's website does not constitute a part of this press release.

About the Company

Diana Shipping Inc. is a leading global provider of shipping transportation services through the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels. The Company's vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.

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