Diana Shipping Inc. Announces Time Charter Contract for mv Calipso

ATHENS, GREECE, January 26, 2009 – 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 Cargill International S.A., Geneva, for one of its Panamax dry bulk carriers, the m/v Calipso, at a gross rate of US$9,400 per day for a minimum eleven (11) to a maximum fourteen (14) month period. The charter commenced on January 24, 2009.

This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$3.1 million of gross revenues for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.

The m/v Calipso is a 73,691 dwt Panamax dry bulk carrier built in 2005.

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