Diana Shipping Inc. Reports Financial Results for the

ATHENS, Greece, March 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX ), (the "Company"), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today reported net loss of $6.2 million and net loss available to common stockholders of $7.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to net loss and net loss available to common stockholders of $9.6 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Time charter revenues were $46.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to $39.5 million for the same quarter of 2013. This increase was mainly due to the increase in ownership days resulting from the enlargement of our fleet and was partly offset by decreased time charter rates.

Net loss and net loss available to common stockholders for 2014 amounted to $10.3 million and $15.3 million, respectively, compared to net loss and net loss available to common stockholders of $21.2 million for 2013. Time charter revenues were $175.6 million for 2014, compared to $164.0 million for 2013.

Share Repurchase Plan

As previously announced, on May 23, 2014, the Company's Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase plan, under which, during the second half of 2014, the Company repurchased and retired 2,845,549 shares for the aggregate cost of about $25.3 million, decreasing the Company's issued and outstanding shares as of December 31, 2014 to 81,859,821.

Appointment of Additional Directors

Effective March 4, 2015, the Board of Directors of the Company has increased its size from seven to nine members and has appointed Mr. Kyriacos Riris and Mrs. Semiramis Paliou to fill the resulting vacancies. The Board has determined that Mr. Riris will serve as an independent director. Mrs. Paliou will not be deemed to be an independent director. Mr. Riris will serve as a Class II director with an initial term expiring at the Company's 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, and Mrs. Paliou will serve as a Class III director with an initial term expiring at the 2017 annual meeting of shareholders.

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(1) Time charter equivalent rates, or TCE rates, are defined as our time charter revenues less voyage expenses during a period divided by the number of our available days during the period, which is consistent with industry standards. Voyage expenses include port charges, bunker (fuel) expenses, canal charges and commissions. TCE is a non-GAAP measure. TCE rate is a standard shipping industry performance measure used primarily to compare daily earnings generated by vessels on time charters with daily earnings generated by vessels on voyage charters, because charter hire rates for vessels on voyage charters are generally not expressed in per day amounts while charter hire rates for vessels on time charters are generally expressed in such amounts.

(2) Daily vessel operating expenses, which include crew wages and related costs, the cost of insurance, expenses relating to repairs and maintenance, the costs of spares and consumable stores, tonnage taxes and other miscellaneous expenses, are calculated by dividing vessel operating expenses by ownership days for the relevant period.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

The Company's management will conduct a conference call and simultaneous Internet webcast to review these results at 9:00 A.M. (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, March 4, 2015.

Investors may access the webcast by visiting the Company's website at www.dianashippinginc.com , and clicking on the webcast link. The conference call also may be accessed by telephone by dialing 1-877-407-8291 (for U.S.-based callers) or 1-201-689-8345 (for international callers), and asking the operator for the Diana Shipping Inc. conference call.

A replay of the webcast will be available soon after the completion of the call and will be accessible for 30 days on www.dianashippinginc.com . A telephone replay also will be available for 30 days by dialing 1-877-660-6853 (for U.S.-based callers) or 1-201-612-7415 (for international callers), and providing the Replay ID number 13599762.

About the Company

Diana Shipping Inc. is a leading global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership 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, vessel 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.

(See financial tables attached)

Corporate Contact: Ioannis Zafirakis Director, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary Telephone: + 30-210-9470100 Email: Website: www.dianashippinginc.com Investor and Media Relations: Edward Nebb Comm-Counsellors, LLC Telephone: + 1-203-972-8350 Email: