ATHENS, Greece, May 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels, today announced that it has signed, through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, a term loan facility for up to US$30 million with The Export-Import Bank of China having a majority interest and DNB Bank ASA as agent. The purpose of this facility is to partly finance, after delivery, the acquisition cost of the two new-building Ice Class Panamax dry bulk carriers of approximately 76,000 dwt each, as previously announced by the Company on March 29, 2012. Based on latest information received by the yard, the vessels are now expected to be delivered to the Company during the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014.
Separately, the Company also announced that yesterday it signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary (the "Buyer"), a Memorandum of Agreement to purchase from an unaffiliated third party the m/v "Shoyo", a 2006 built Panamax dry bulk carrier of 76,942 dwt, for a purchase price of US$20,250,000. The vessel, to be renamed "Artemis", is expected to be delivered to the Buyer during September 2013.
Excluding the 3 aforementioned vessels, as well as 1 Capesize vessel expected to be delivered to the Company by early June 2013, and 2 new-building Newcastlemax vessels expected to be delivered to the Company during the second quarter of 2016, Diana Shipping Inc.'s fleet currently consists of 32 dry bulk carriers (2 Newcastlemax, 8 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 2 Kamsarmax and 17 Panamax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our current fleet, excluding the six vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 3.5 million dwt with a weighted average age of 6.2 years. A table describing the current Diana Shipping Inc. fleet can be found on the Company's website, www.dianashippinginc.com. Information contained on the Company's website does not constitute a part of this press release.
About the Company
Diana Shipping Inc. is a leading global provider of shipping transportation services through the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels. The Company's vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-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.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.