Diana Shipping Inc. Nominates Six Director Candidates for Election to Genco Shipping & Trading Board

16 Jan 2026 14:56 CET

Diana’s Highly Qualified Independent Director Nominees Bring Extensive
Experience Across Dry Bulk Shipping, Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions and
Corporate Governance

Current Genco Board Has Failed to Engage Constructively with Diana — Its Largest
Shareholder — and Meaningfully Evaluate Attractive Premium Acquisition Proposal

Believes Meaningful Change is Needed to Ensure Board Seriously Evaluates Diana’s
Offer and Opportunities to Maximize Shareholder Value

Athens, Greece – January 16, 2026 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) (“Diana” or
the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and
bareboat charter-in of dry bulk vessels, that owns approximately 14.8% of the
outstanding shares of common stock of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:
GNK) (“Genco”), today announced its intention to nominate a slate of six highly
qualified director candidates for election to Genco’s Board of Directors (the
“Board”) at its upcoming 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual
Meeting”).

The nominations follow the current Genco Board’s rejection of Diana’s
non-binding indicative proposal to acquire all of the issued and outstanding
shares of Genco common stock not already owned by Diana for $20.60 per share in
cash. Diana’s offer provides all Genco shareholders the opportunity to realize
attractive premium value and is supported by a highly confident financing letter
from two leading shipping banks. The current Genco Board, however, took more
than six weeks to respond to the offer, during which time they failed to engage
with Diana in any way regarding the financial or structural elements of the
proposal. In light of the current Board’s flat-out refusal to engage, Diana
believes that Genco shareholders would benefit from the opportunity to elect
directors open to exploring strategic alternatives to maximize value for
shareholders, including objective, independent, and good-faith consideration of
Diana’s proposal.

Diana’s Chief Executive Officer, Semiramis Paliou, commented:

“Diana believes strongly in the merits of consolidation in the dry bulk carriers
sector. Our all-cash offer would realize the benefits of combining our platforms
and provide Genco shareholders with immediate, certain value at a meaningful
premium to historical trading levels. Given our expressed readiness to engage
constructively with Genco’s Board and its advisors, we are deeply disappointed
that they have completely refused to have any dialogue with us.

“As Genco’s largest shareholder, we believe we have a duty to act in response to
the Board’s failure to properly consider our offer. Our decision to nominate
highly qualified, independent director candidates to replace current Genco
directors reflects our conviction that Genco shareholders deserve a refreshed
Board that will be open to exploring strategic alternatives to maximize value
for shareholders, including engaging in good faith with respect to our highly
compelling value creation opportunity.”

Diana’s nominees include:

• Gustave Brun-Lie has nearly 40 years of experience in the shipping industry.
Mr. Brun-Lie has served as a board member for a number of companies across the
shipping industry, including Wilhelmsen Ship Management, R S Platou, and
Torvik’s Rederi. Mr. Brun-Lie recently acted as CEO of Statt Torsk AS until
February 2024, when the company merged with Vesteralen Havbruk. Mr. Brun-Lie
also serves as an advisor to the Royal Norwegian Navy in connection with
shipbuilding among Norwegian shipyards. Mr. Brun-Lie earned a B.A. from the
Royal Norwegian Naval Academy.

• Chao Sih Hing Francois has served as a director of Wah Kwong since February
2015, having served as Deputy Chairman from January 2019 to September 2019, and
has held the position of Executive Chairman since September 2019. He is the
Co-founder and Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Shipping, and Board Director
of the Global Maritime Forum. In driving international and regional industry
collaboration, Hing is the Chairman of Bureau Veritas Global Marine and Offshore
Advisory Council and Chairman of RINA’s Asia Decarbonisation Committee. He is
also a founder and convenor of the Greater Bay Maritime Forum and was appointed
a committee member of the Consultative Committee on Guangdong-Hong Kong
Co-operation (Guanghzhou Nansha). In addition, Hing is a trustee of the Hong
Kong Maritime Museum, Honorary President of Institute of Seatransport, the
Chairman of Port Welfare Committee of the Marine Department of the Hong Kong SAR
Government, and a member of The Hong Kong Committee of Nippon Kaiji Kyokai. Mr.
Hing Chao also serves as a director to the Global Maritime Forum. Mr. Hing Chao
holds a B.A. in philosophy from Durham University.

• Paul Cornell has more than 35 years of experience in the energy industry and,
prior to his retirement in 2023, served as CFO and Managing Director of Quintana
Capital Group. Mr. Cornell also previously held positions of Managing Director
and Chief Financial Officer of Quintana and Quintana Capital Group, where he was
involved in the process of taking Quintana Maritime Ltd. public on Nasdaq in
2005 while acting as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of
Directors. Mr. Cornell’s experience on corporate boards includes service for
Quintana Shipping Ltd., Talen’s Marine Fuel, AmerCable Holdings, Quality
Magnetite LLC, Quintana Minerals Canada, and Excel Maritime Carriers, Ltd. Mr.
Cornell earned a B.B.A. from Niagara University.

• Jens Ismar has extensive experience working for multiple companies in the
shipping industry, serving as CEO of Western Bulk for 11 years and as Executive
Director and consultant for Exmar Shipping NV. Additionally, Mr. Ismar has been
a director of Awilco LNG since May 2025. Mr. Ismar earned a B.A. in Business
Administration from Lund University in Sweden.

• Viktoria Poziopoulou is an experienced lawyer with approximately 35 years of
experience in the shipping industry. From May 2019 to June 2024, Ms. Poziopoulou
served as the General Counsel of Pavimar S.A., a ship management company based
in Athens specializing in the management of dry bulk vessels. In this capacity,
Ms. Poziopoulou was responsible for all legal aspects of Pavimar’s business,
including but not limited to the corporate legal structure and shareholding of
the companies managed by the group, the sale and purchase of vessels, the debt
and equity ship financing of the managed vessels, the joint venture agreements
of the group, all insurance covers of the managed vessels and all disputes,
negotiations or litigation affecting them. Prior to Pavimar, Ms. Poziopoulou
served as General Counsel of Quintana Shipping Ltd. and Excel Maritime Carriers
Ltd., a NYSE-listed dry bulk shipping company. Ms. Poziopoulou is a graduate of
Athens Law School and obtained a Masters in Law from Queen Mary University,
London.

• Quentin Soanes has significant experience in the shipping industry, having
previously served as Chairman of Baltic Exchange and Executive Director of
Braemar Shipping Services PLC (now Braemar PLC). Mr. Soanes is currently the
Executive Chairman of Sterling Shipping Services LTD, where he has been employed
since 2014. Mr. Soanes earned a B.A. Honours Degree from the University of
London.

Diana expects to file the necessary proxy materials with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the nomination of
its director slate. Genco shareholders are encouraged to review these materials
carefully once they become available...

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