Greece: Cargill Charters One of Diana Shipping’s Panamax Dry Bulk Carriers

Diana Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels, today announced that it has entered into a time charter contract with Cargill International S.A., Geneva, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, for one of its Panamax dry bulk carriers, the m/v “Protefs”, at a gross charter rate of US$9,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum twenty-four (24) months to maximum twenty-nine (29) months.

The charter is expected to commence in mid-August 2012.

This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$6.5 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.

The Protefs is a 73,630 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2004.

Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 28 dry bulk carriers (17 Panamax, 1 Post-Panamax, 8 Capesize and 2 Newcastlemax), as well as 2 new-building Ice Class dry bulk 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 two vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 3.2 million dwt with a weighted average age of 5.8 years.

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Source: Diana Shipping Inc., June 11, 2012