Diana Shipping Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Nine Ultramax Dry Bulk Vessels from Sea Trade Holdings

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), (the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and bareboat charter-in of dry bulk vessels, today announced that it has agreed, through separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, to acquire nine modern ultramax dry bulk vessels built between 2015 and 2018, with an average vessel age of approximately 5.4 years, from Sea Trade Holdings Inc. (“Sea Trade”), an unaffiliated third party. The vessel deliveries are expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2022.

The Company and Sea Trade have entered into a Master Agreement pursuant to which the Company will acquire the nine vessels for an aggregate purchase price of US$330 million, of which US$220 million will be paid in cash and US$110 million is to be paid in the form of 18,487,395, in aggregate, newly issued common shares of the Company, at a price of US$5.95 per share. The Company intends to fund the cash portion of the consideration with available cash on hand and is currently negotiating terms of a new credit facility with a major European lender, the proceeds of which will be used to fund the balance of the cash purchase price. The common shares will be issued upon the closing of each vessel delivery. The Company has agreed to register the common shares consideration to be issued to Sea Trade for resale pursuant to a registration statement to be filed with the SEC.

After giving effect to the delivery of the nine vessels and upon completion of the previously announced sale of the m/v Baltimore, Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet will consist of 43 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 11 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 8 Panamax and 9 Ultramax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of our fleet, including the m/v Baltimore and excluding the nine vessels not yet delivered, is approximately 4.5 million dwt with a weighted average age of 10.53 years. After the consummation of this transaction and upon completion of the previously announced sale of m/v Baltimore, the carrying capacity of our fleet will be approximately 4.9 million dwt. 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.

Advisors

Seward & Kissel LLP is serving as legal advisor to Diana Shipping Inc.
Evercore is serving as financial advisor and Reed Smith LLP is serving as legal advisor to Sea Trade Holdings Inc.

Seven awards for Attica Group at the Health & Safety Awards 2022

Attica Group, parent company of SUPERFAST FERRIES, BLUE STAR FERRIES and HELLENIC SEAWAYS is proud to announce its distinction with 7 awards at the Health & Safety Awards 2022, hosted by Boussias Communications.

Health and Safety Awards 2022, held by BOUSSIAS and “Manufacturing” magazine under the auspices of the Hellenic Institute for Occupational Health and Safety and of the Federation of Hellenic Food Industries, reward companies that create and maintain safe workplaces, helping employers and employees to develop a culture of preventive health and safety, and serving as models in their industries.

At the award ceremony which took place on Monday, 30th May in the Wine Museum in Pallini, Athens, Attica Group received the following awards:

 Wellbeing Champion of the Year. One of the top 5 distinctions, awarded to companies with the highest cumulative rating from the total awards they gathered.

 Winner in the Transportation sector (Air, Rail, Sea, Public), for the overall development, management and monitoring of Health & Safety of all stakeholders, and for initiatives taken on the creation of a safe environment for passengers and employees.

 Gold award in the “Disability Facilitate Space” category for the practices applied in all workplaces on the safe reception and hosting of employees, customers and disabled persons.

 Silver award in the “Healthy & Safe Workplace” category for a workplace that stands out due to having adopted measures related to Healthy Lifestyles, Mental Health & Workplace Culture, Physical Environment, Lighting Regard and Corporate Social Responsibility.

 Silver award in the “Premises Evacuation” category, in recognition of the measures adopted by the Group for the evacuation of premises both at Sea and Ashore, with special emphasis on the needs of disabled persons.

 Silver award in the Activities for Building Health & Safety Culture category, specifically in the “Crisis Response” subcategory for the adoption of measures protecting staff from a potential suspension of operation of the business due to an accident, unstable conditions or a pandemic (e.g. impact on personnel, funding, safety at work, mental health, etc.).

 Silver award in the “H&S System Update & Performance Improvement” category for the existence of mechanisms on updating and improving H&S issues at work, as well as on the identification of new occupational risks.
Attica Group is engaged in passenger shipping through SUPERFAST FERRIES, BLUE STAR FERRIES, HELLENIC SEAWAYS and AFRICA MOROCCO LINK operating 35 vessels providing modern, high-quality transportation services in Greece and abroad. Attica’s vessels serve 60 unique destinations in 4 countries, connecting 71 ports transporting over 7 million passengers, 1 million passenger vehicles and 400,000 trucks every year.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

Summertime and the livin' is easy, or to be more accurate the livin' was easy. Usually, summer is interwoven with vacations, relaxation, & indolence.

The Aero Highspeed Catamarans commence voyages in the Saronic islands

ATTICA HOLDINGS S.A. (“Attica Group”), member of Marfin Investment Group, is pleased to announce the launch of its three new-built Aero Highspeed catamarans on the Saronic routes, as of Monday, August 8th, 2022.

The three Aero Highspeed Catamarans, built at Brødrene Aa shipyard of Norway, commenced today their itineraries to the Saronic islands, offering up to 17 daily connections of the port of Piraeus with Aegina, Agistri, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Ermioni and Porto Heli, in replacement of existing Group capacity in the market.

The total investment amounts to Euro 21mln and was covered by own funds and bank financing.

The new, state-of-the-art Aeros boast an ultra-modern design and innovative features that will upgrade significantly the travel experience for the over 3 million passengers travelling annually on the Saronic routes. Deployment of the new Aeros will increase the total capacity on the Saronic routes and will contribute to the further economic development of the Saronic islands and their local communities.

Each vessel, at full load has a maximum speed of 32,2 knots, total length 36 meters, width 9.7 meters and carrying capacity of 150 passengers. The innovative interior layout guarantees an upgraded service to the passengers, offering a comfortable trip even in rough seas, spacious passenger accommodation area, dedicated area for bicycle transportation, dedicated air-conditioned kennels for pets.

Attica Group is active in passenger shipping through SUPERFAST FERRIES, BLUE STAR FERRIES, HELLENIC SEAWAYS, and AFRICA MOROCCO LINK, operating 35 vessels in total, which provide modern and high quality transportation services in Greece and abroad. The Group’s vessels travel in 4 countries, to 60 unique destinations, connect 71 ports and transport over 7 million passengers, 1 million private vehicles and 400,000 freight units annually.

In summer mood the dry bulk cargo market

Iakovos (Jack) Archintakis
Commercial Manager TMC MARITIME CO.

Fotios-Evangelos Karlis
Chartering Department TMC MARITIME CO.

Significant losses were presented by the dry bulk cargo market the past week.

A very significant agreement

A very significant agreement took place on the 22nd of July as Ukraine and Russia agreed to resume grain exports. In Istanbul the two sides did not sign an agreement with each other, but separate accords with Turkey, witnessed by the UN.