Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and bareboat charter-in of dry bulk vessels, Friday (Dec 23) announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has completed the previously announced sale and leaseback agreement with an unaffiliated Japanese third party for the 2016-built Ultramax dry bulk vessel, m/v DSI Andromeda.

The Company’s gross proceeds are US$29.85 million. As part of the agreement, the Company will bareboat charter-in the vessel for a period of ten years plus 30 days at the charterer’s option at US$8,950 per day and have purchase options beginning at the end of the third year of the bareboat charter period. 

Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 41 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 11 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 8 Panamax and 7 Ultramax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the Company’s fleet, excluding the 2 Ultramax dry bulk vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 4.8 milliondwt with a weighted average age of 10.23 years

About the Company

Diana Shipping Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership and bareboat charter-in of dry bulk vessels.

The Company’s vessels are employed primarily on short to medium-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business.

Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation.

The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.