NewLead Holdings Ltd. Completes Divestiture of Non-Core Vessels

Approximately $50.0 million total consideration from divestiture

PIRAEUS, Greece, Sept 16, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/

NewLead Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: NEWL) ("NewLead" or the "Company"), an international, vertically integrated shipping company, today announced that it completed the divestiture of all seven non-core vessels with the sale of three product tankers the Ostria, the Nordanvind and the High Land. Earlier this year, the Company sold two of its non-core product tankers, the Chinook and the High Rider and two container vessels, the MCS Seine and the Saronikos Bridge.

The aggregate consideration of the divestiture of these seven non-core vessels is approximately $50.0 million. The divestiture is anticipated to favorably impact EBITDA by $7.8 million annually. NewLead has used a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the containers to pay down bank indebtedness and intends to utilize the net proceeds from the sale of the non-core product tankers to renew its fleet or reduce its outstanding indebtedness.

Michael S. Zolotas, president and chief executive officer, stated: "I am pleased by the significant progress we have made towards implementing our strategy in less than a year's time. We have transformed the fleet and operations while creating a scalable platform capable of supporting significant growth."

As a result of this divestiture, NewLead has a diversified fleet of 21 vessels, of which six are product tankers and 15 are dry bulk vessels, with a total dwt of 1,854,743 including newbuildings.

About NewLead Holdings Ltd.
NewLead Holdings Ltd. is an international shipping company that owns and operates product tankers and dry bulk vessels. NewLead's common shares are traded under the symbol "NEWL" on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. To learn more about NewLead Holdings Ltd., please visit the new website at www.newleadholdings.com.

Source: NewLead Holdings Ltd.