Star Bulk Carriers Corp Announces New Venture in Dry Bulk

ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwired - Oct 30, 2017) - Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the "Company" or "Star Bulk") ( NASDAQ : SBLK ), a global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, announced today the expansion and diversification of the Company's commercial activity with the launch of the new subsidiary Star Logistics Management S.A. ("Star Logistics").

Star Logistics will focus on servicing the end user by connecting origination and destination of dry bulk commodities. The move is expected to further expand the commercial capability of Star Bulk through additional commercial expertise and advanced tools on the Kamsarmax and geared bulk carriers. Moreover, it will provide the Company with access to considerable cargo flow and market information.

Star Logistics will be based in Geneva, Switzerland, and will offer Star Bulk a significant presence in a main center of the dry bulk commodities arena.

Star Logistics will be headed by Leonidas Giannakopoulos who together with an experienced team bring to the new venture years of shipping logistics expertise from various trading houses, along with a strong network of existing commodity traders and partners.

Star Bulk CEO Petros Pappas commented: "Star Bulk is excited about forming this new venture, as we believe we have to diversify our commercial platform to meet the challenges of the dry bulk market and to enhance shareholders' value."

Leonidas Giannakopoulos, the CEO of Star Logistics, added: "I am proud to join the Star Bulk team and believe that along with the rest of the Star Logistics team we can help the Company further strengthen its revenue and profitability."

About Star Bulk Star Bulk is a global shipping company providing worldwide seaborne transportation solutions in the dry bulk sector. Star Bulk's vessels transport major bulks, which include iron ore, coal and grain and minor bulks which include bauxite, fertilizers and steel products. Star Bulk was incorporated in the Marshall Islands on December 13, 2006 and maintains executive offices in Athens, Greece. Its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "SBLK". On a fully delivered basis, Star Bulk will have a fleet of 74 vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 8.1 million dwt, consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 52,055 dwt and 209,537 dwt. Our fleet currently includes 71 operating vessels and 3 newbuilding vessels under construction at shipyards in China. All of the newbuilding vessels are expected to be delivered during 2017 and 2018.

Forward-Looking Statements The Private Securities 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.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include general dry bulk shipping market conditions, including fluctuations in charterhire rates and vessel values, the strength of world economies the stability of Europe and the Euro, fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates, changes in demand in the dry bulk shipping industry, including the market for our vessels, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, 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, the availability of financing and refinancing, our ability to meet requirements for additional capital and financing to complete our newbuilding program and grow our business, vessel breakdowns and instances of off‐hire, risks associated with vessel construction, potential exposure or loss from investment in derivative instruments, potential conflicts of interest involving our Chief Executive Officer, his family and other members of our senior management, and our ability to complete acquisition transactions as planned. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward‐looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.