DIANA SHIPPING INC. ANNOUNCES TIME CHARTER CONTRACT FOR MV DIONE

ATHENS, GREECE, December 11, 2008 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), a global shipping company specializing in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, today announced that it has entered into a time charter contract with Louis Dreyfus Commodities S.A., Geneva, for one of its Panamax dry bulk carriers, the m/v Dione, at a gross rate of US$12,000 per day for a minimum seventeen (17) to a maximum twenty (20) month period.

This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$6.2 million of gross revenues for the minimum scheduled period of the charter. The charter is expected to commence during early January 2009.

The m/v Dione is a 75,172 dwt Panamax dry bulk carrier built in 2001.


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.

Diana Shipping Inc. press release