ATHENS, GREECE, October 8, 2013 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), (the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels, announced that yesterday it signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to purchase from an unaffiliated third party the m/v “JK Pioneer”, a 2013 built Capesize dry bulk vessel of 179, 134 dwt, for a price of US$52, 000, 000. The vessel, to be renamed “P. S. Palios”, is expected to be delivered to the buyer in mid-November 2013.
The vessel is currently chartered to Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG, Luebeck, Germany, at a gross charter rate of US$11, 500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties. Based on the existing charterparty, the charterer has the option to redeliver the vessel at any time before, but not later than March 30, 2014.
Excluding the newly acquired vessel, as well as a Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel expected to be delivered to the Company on October 10, 2013, Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 34 dry bulk vessels (2 Newcastlemax, 9 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 2 Kamsarmax and 18 Panamax). In addition, the Company also expects to take delivery of 2 new-building Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessels between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, and 2 new-building Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels during the second quarter of 2016. As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our fleet, excluding the six vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 3.8 million dwt with a weighted average age of 6.7 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.
