NewLead Holdings Ltd. Agrees to Annul Transaction
for Contribution of Nickel

Piraeus, Greece, June 7, 2013

NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NEWL) ("NewLead") today announced that the Company agreed to unwind the transaction whereby 3,750 grams of nickel wire had been contributed to NewLead in exchange for 258,536,585 shares of common stock of NewLead.

As previously disclosed in a Form 6-K, filed on January 23, 2013, NewLead had signed a purchase agreement that allowed NewLead to unwind the transaction if the nickel wire was not sold or used as collateral within 18 months of the date of the purchase agreement. NewLead decided that it was in the best interests of its shareholders to cancel the transaction, as efforts to use this nickel wire as collateral had not succeeded.

The shares issued to the seller will be cancelled and will no longer be outstanding and the nickel wire will be returned to the investor. After giving effect to such transactions, NewLead will have 547,609,560 shares outstanding.

NewLead believes that unwinding the transaction will expedite the filing of the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

About NewLead Holdings Ltd.
NewLead Holdings Ltd. is an international, vertically integrated shipping and commodity company that manages product tankers and dry bulk vessels. NewLead currently controls four vessels, two tankers and two 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. press release