DryShips Inc. Announces Successful Completion of t

ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwired - Jan 31, 2017) - DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) (the "Company"), a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels, announced today that it has successfully completed the previously announced $200.0 million common stock offering, in which the Company raised net proceeds of $198.0 million, pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement entered into by the Company on December 23, 2016.

Following the completion of the offering, the Company has approximately 36,253,870 common shares outstanding.

Mr. George Economou, Chairman and CEO, commented:

"We are very excited to have successfully raised $198 million of equity and with total available liquidity in excess of $300 million, we have strengthened our position to continue the process of re-building the Company's fleet and earnings capacity and pursuing investments in various shipping segments."

About DryShips Inc.

The Company is a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels that operate worldwide. The Company owns a fleet of 13 Panamax drybulk carriers with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 1.0 million tons, 1 Very Large Gas Carrier newbuilding and 6 offshore supply vessels, comprising 2 platform supply and 4 oil spill recovery vessels.

The Company's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market where it trades under the symbol "DRYS."

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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. 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 such safe harbor legislation.

Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and may 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 forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company's records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes 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 the Company's control, the Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

Important factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the factors related to the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including changes in charter rates and vessel values, failure of a seller or shipyard to deliver one or more vessels, failure of a buyer to accept delivery of a vessel, our inability to procure acquisition financing, default by one or more charterers of our ships, changes in demand for drybulk or LPG commodities, changes in demand that may affect attitudes of time charterers, scheduled and unscheduled drydocking, changes in our voyage and operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations, changes in our relationships with the lenders under our debt agreements, potential liability from pending or future litigation, domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, international hostilities and political events or acts by terrorists.

Risks and uncertainties are further described in reports filed by DryShips Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F.