Diana Shipping Inc. Announces Time Charter
Contract for m/v Calipso

ATHENS, GREECE October 3, 2011

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 Calipso, at a gross rate of US$12,250 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties for a minimum twenty-two (22) to a maximum twenty-six (26) month period. The charter is expected to commence mid-October 2011.

This employment is expected to generate approximately US$8.1 million of gross revenues for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.

The 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