6-K 1 d8705752_6-k.htm
FORM 6-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of December 2020
Commission File Number:  001-32458

DIANA SHIPPING INC.
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
Pendelis 16, 175 64 Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece
(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F [X]       Form 40-F [  ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [  ].

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [  ].

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.




INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached to this Report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 99.1 is a press release dated December 21, 2020 of Diana Shipping Inc. (the "Company") announcing the release of the Company's first Environmental, Social and Governance Report for the year ended December 31, 2019.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


 
DIANA SHIPPING INC.
 
(registrant)
   
   
Dated: December 21, 2020
By:
/s/ Anastassis Margaronis
   
Anastassis Margaronis
   
President
     
     





Exhibit 99.1

 
Corporate Contact:
         
Ioannis Zafirakis
         
Director, Interim Chief Financial Officer,
         
Chief Strategy Officer, Treasurer and Secretary
         
Telephone: + 30-210-9470-100
         
Email: izafirakis@dianashippinginc.com
         
Website: www.dianashippinginc.com
For Immediate Release

       
Investor and Media Relations:
       
Edward Nebb
       
Comm-Counsellors, LLC
       
Telephone: + 1-203-972-8350
       
Email: enebb@optonline.net

DIANA SHIPPING INC. ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ITS FIRST ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE REPORT

ATHENS, GREECE, December 21, 2020 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), (the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, announced today the release of its first Environmental, Social and Governance Report (the “ESG Report”), for the year ended December 31, 2019. The ESG Report provides an overview of the Company’s policies relating to environmental, social and governance commitments of the Company. The ESG Report is available on the Company’s website at www.dianashippinginc.com.

About the Company

Diana Shipping Inc. is a 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, Company 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 that 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.

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 the severity, magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, including impacts of the pandemic and of businesses’ and governments’ responses to the pandemic on our operations, personnel, and on the demand for seaborne transportation of bulk products; 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 the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for the Company’s 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 the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.