Diana Shipping Inc. Announces Delivery of the Post-Panamax Dry Bulk Carrier m/v Alcmene and Time Charter Contract for m/v Aliki

ATHENS, GREECE, November 18, 2010 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), a global shipping transportation company specializing in dry bulk cargoes, announced that the Company has today taken delivery of the m/v “East Sunrise 88”, renamed “Alcmene”, a 93,193 dwt Post-Panamax dry bulk carrier built in 2010.

As previously announced, the Alcmene is chartered to Cargill International S.A., Geneva for a period of about twenty-three (23) to about twenty-five (25) months, at a gross charter rate of US$20,250 per day. The charter is expected to commence on November 20, 2010.

This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$14 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.

The Company also announced today that it has entered into a time charter contract with Minmetals Logistics Group Co. Ltd., Beijing, for one of its Capesize dry bulk carriers, the m/v Aliki, at a gross charter rate of US$26,500 per day for a period of minimum fifty-nine (59) to maximum sixty-one (61) months. The charter is expected to commence in the beginning of March 2011. The m/v Aliki is a 180,235 dwt Capesize dry bulk carrier built in 2005.

This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$47 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.

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