Two new period year charters for Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd.

ATHENS, GREECE – 21 February 2012

Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM), an owner and operator of dry bulk carriers and an international provider of worldwide seaborne transportation services for dry bulk cargoes, announced today that it entered into new period charter agreements for yet another two of its vessels. More specifically:

• Capesize M/V Iron Beauty (164,218 dwt; built in 2001) has been fixed for a period of 8-12 months at a gross daily rate of $12,250;

• Panamax M/V Grain Harvester (76,417 dwt; built in 2004) has been fixed for a period of 10-13 months at a gross daily rate of $11,250.

As a result of these additional charters, the Company’s 2012 charter coverage is as follows:

• 100% coverage of its Capesize vessels;
• 60% coverage of the entire fleet.

Pavlos Kanellopoulos, Chief Financial Officer, commented: We are pleased to announce the fixture of another two vessels under period charters. With our 7 Capes fully fixed in 2012 and our entire fleet coverage at 60%, we are balancing the Company’s position to weather current weak market conditions and continued uncertainty, without sacrificing an upside when market activity picks up again.

About Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd.
Excel is an owner and operator of dry bulk carriers and a provider of worldwide seaborne transportation services for dry bulk cargoes, such as iron ore, coal and grains, as well as bauxite, fertilizers and steel products. Excel owns a fleet of 40 vessels, one of which, a Capesize vessel, is owned by a joint venture in which Excel holds a 71.4% interest, and, together with seven Panamax vessels under bareboat charters, operates 47 vessels (seven Capesize, 14 Kamsarmax, 21 Panamax, two Supramax and three Handymax vessels) with a total carrying capacity of approximately 4.1 million DWT.

Excel’s Class A common shares have been listed since September 15, 2005 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EXM and, prior to that date, were listed on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) since 1998. For more information about Excel, please go to our corporate website www.excelmaritime.com.

Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. press release