Paragon Shipping Inc. reports third quarter and nine
months ended September 30, 2011 results

ATHENS, Greece, November 16, 2011

Paragon Shipping Inc. (NYSE: PRGN), or the Company, a global shipping transportation company specializing in drybulk cargoes, announced today its results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2011.

Commenting on the results, Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paragon Shipping, stated, "We are pleased to announce that Paragon is now back to profitability after only one quarter of reported losses which was the result of several non-recurring non-cash items. After adjusting for non-cash items for the third quarter of 2011, the Company reported EBITDA of $12.1 million and Net Income of $2.9 million or $0.05 per share. We continue to take advantage of diversified operations with our investment in Box Ships Inc., which contributed a cash inflow of $0.5 million from dividend distributions. We expect this amount to increase substantially in the next quarter."

Mr. Bodouroglou continued, "Since last quarter, we have remained active with our fleet renewal and employment strategy. On October 13, 2011, we agreed to sell our 16 year old Handymax vessel, M/V Crystal Seas, the oldest vessel in our fleet. Following the sale of the vessel, our fleet average age improved from 8.4 years to 7.6 years, compared to the industry average of approximately 10 years. Subsequent to the third quarter, we improved our contracted charter coverage by entering into medium-term time charter contracts for three of our Panamax vessels. We have thus improved our fixed revenue coverage from 59% to 84% in 2012, and plan to enter into additional time charter employments for the vessels with expiring contracts."

Mr. Bodouroglou concluded, "Since inception, the Company is focused on a conservative approach to fleet growth and cost control. Our aim is to navigate the Company through the downturn of the shipping cycle, while maintaining our ability to exploit opportunities that may arise."

Detailed report at: www.paragonship.com

Paragon Shipping Inc. press release