Diana Shipping Inc., announced that it has assumed shipbuilding contracts
from two unaffiliated parties for the construction of two Capesize dry bulk
carriers of approximately 175,000 dwt each for a price of $60.4 million
each. The vessels will be constructed by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding
Co., Ltd. and Diana Shipping Inc. expects to take delivery of the vessels
during the second quarter of 2010.
The Company also announced that it has accepted a Commitment Letter
from Fortis Bank for a secured term loan of $62 million which the Company
will use to pay the pre-delivery installments of these two newbuilding dry bulk carriers. An affiliate of Fortis Bank is a shareholder of the Company.
There will be no principal payments on this loan before delivery of the
ships, at which time this loan may be refinanced. Interest on this facility
during the construction period of the ships will be capitalized and
included in the construction cost of the ships being acquired. As such,
this interest will not affect the Company's calculation of the quarterly
dividend per share.