ATHENS, Greece, July 5, 2007 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), a global shipping transportation company specializing in dry bulk cargoes, reported that it has completed today the previously announced sale of one of its Capesize dry bulk carriers, the Pantelis SP, with the delivery of the vessel to her new owners. On February 16, 2007 Diana Shipping announced a Memorandum of Agreement with an unaffiliated third party for the sale of the vessel, at a price before commissions of $81 million. The proceeds from the sale will immediately be used to repay debt drawn under the Company’s revolving credit facility with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The Pantelis SP is a 169,883 dwt Capesize bulk carrier built in 1999. Taking this sale into account, the Diana Shipping fleet currently consists of 16 vessels (13 Panamax and 3 Capesize). The Company has also announced one additional Capesize vessel newbuilding, which is expected to be delivered in November 2007, and two others to be delivered in the second quarter of 2010. An up-to-date table describing the Diana Shipping fleet can be found on the Company’s website, www.dianashippinginc.com.
About the Company
Diana Shipping Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services. The Company specializes in transporting dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
