-- Bear Stearns (Scott Burk), -- Jefferies & Company (Douglas Mavrinac), -- JPMorgan Securities (Jonathan Chappell) and -- Lazard Capital Markets (Urs Dur)will participate in a Virtual Analyst Panel Discussion on the dry bulk shipping sector today, on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 2:00 pm. The Analyst Forum is organized by Capital Link, a New York based Investor Relations and Financial Communications firm focusing on shipping. LIVE AUDIO WEBCAST Access to the Analyst Forum is only through a live audio webcast accessible directly at www.CapitalLinkWebcasts.com, where it will remain archived afterwards. There is no telephone access. Please access the webcast by going directly to the link www.CapitalLinkWebcasts.com. Participants to the live webcast should register on the website approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the webcast. PANEL STRUCTURE The panel discussion will be moderated by Nicolas Bornozis, President of Capital Link, which organizes the Analyst Panel Discussion. The focus of the discussion (and the Q&A) will be only on sector trends and fundamentals, and not on company specifics or company recommendations. The discussion will cover four topics: demand, supply, freight rates and asset values, valuations, focusing on current trends and the sector's outlook. QUESTIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS Participants can submit questions to the analysts prior to or during the event through the special event page at www.CapitalLinkWebcasts.com or they can email them to us at shippingforum@capitallink.com. TRANSCRIPT A transcript of the panel discussion will be publicly available within approximately 48 hours after the event and those interested can request it when they register for the event or afterwards by emailing us at shippingforum@capitallink.com. About Dry Bulk Shipping: International shipping plays a vital role in global trade given that 2/3 of the world's goods are transported by sea. The shipping industry provides a cost effective and practical means of transportation internationally of large volumes of cargoes. The dry bulk carrier market refers to the transportation of homogeneous commodities in bulk. Dry bulk commodities are divided into two distinct categories, major bulks and minor bulks. Major bulks include iron ore, coal and grain, which are usually shipped on the larger size Capesize and Panamax vessels and comprise about 67% of dry bulk trade. Minor bulks are fertilizers, steels, sugars, cement etc., which are shipped in smaller more versatile vessels such as Handymax and Handysize, and comprise about 33% of the dry bulk commodities trade. Dry bulk carrier ownership is fragmented with many owners and operators of shipping tonnage, including independent operators, state-controlled shipping companies and proprietary owners. Vessels utilised for transport of dry bulk cargoes are usually classified into four categories based on their carrying capacity in deadweight tons (DWT) (i) handysize (10,000-39,999 DWT) (ii) handymax/supramax (40,000-59,999 DWT) (iii) panamax (60,000-99,999 DWT) and (iv) capesize (higher than 100,000 DWT). The shipping industry is highly cyclical, experiencing volatility in profitability, vessel values and charter rates resulting from changes in the supply of and demand for shipping capacity. Fluctuations result from the interaction of various factors between demand and supply. The demand for vessels is influenced by global and regional economic conditions, international trade developments, port congestion, trading routes and weather pattern changes, crop yields, armed conflicts, political developments, embargoes and strikes, demand for consumer goods, dry bulk commodities, and crude oil and oil products. Supply of shipping capacity is mainly a function of the delivery of new vessels and the number of older vessels scrapped and is also affected among other things by port congestion and regulation of maritime transportation practices by governmental and international authorities. Dry bulk companies listed on US Exchanges include Diana Shipping (
Contact Information: Contact for Capital Link Shipping: Nicolas Bornozis President Capital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue - Suite 1536 New York, N.Y. 10169 Tel. (212) 661-7566 Fax (212) 661-7526 E-mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com http://www.capitallinkshipping.com http://www.capitallink.com