NewLead Holdings Ltd. Regains Compliance with NASDAQ
Minimum Bid Price Requirement

PIRAEUS, GREECE, April 4, 2012

NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NEWL) ("NewLead" or the "Company"), an international shipping company owning and operating tankers and dry bulk vessels, today announced that it has received written notification from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for continued listing set forth in Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) ("Rule"), as its common shares achieved a closing bid price of $1.00 or more for 10 consecutive business days.

On September 21, 2011, Nasdaq had notified NewLead that it was not in compliance with one of its standards for continued listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market because the closing bid price of its common shares had fallen below $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days. The Company had been granted a grace period of 180 calendar days in which to regain compliance. On March 20, 2012, after the expiration of such grace period, NewLead received a written notification from NASDAQ indicating that the Company had not complied with the Rule and that the Company's common shares would be subject to delisting from the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

As previously announced, NewLead had recently decided not to proceed with the 1-for-5 reverse split of its common shares.

About NewLead Holdings Ltd.
NewLead Holdings Ltd. is an international, vertically integrated shipping company that owns and manages product tankers and dry bulk vessels. NewLead currently controls 8 vessels, of which two are double-hull product tankers and 6 are dry bulk vessels including one vessel currently under construction that is scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2012. 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 its website at www.newleadholdings.com.

Source: NewLead Holdings Ltd. press release