Paragon Shipping Inc. Announces New Charter Agreement for a Panamax Bulkcarrier

ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwire - Dec 22, 2011) - Paragon Shipping Inc. (NYSE: PRGN), or the Company, a global shipping transportation company specializing in drybulk cargoes, announced today that it has entered into a fixed rate time charter agreement for its Panamax Vessel, M/V Coral Seas, with Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc.

The M/V Coral Seas, a 2006 build, 74,477 dwt Panamax bulkcarrier, has been fixed to Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. (or the Charterers) for a period of 23 to 25 months at a gross daily rate of $12,000. In addition, the Charterers have an option to extend the charter period for an additional 11 to 13 months at a gross daily rate of $14,500. As a result, the Company's fixed revenue days have now increased to 89% from 84% in 2012, to 66% from 59% in 2013 and to 37% from 30% in 2014 based on latest redelivery dates.

Commenting on these developments Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paragon Shipping, stated, "We are pleased to announce this new chartering agreement with a respected charterer in the industry. The new time charter contract is anticipated to contribute approximately $8.2 million of gross revenues during the minimum scheduled period of the charter and raises our cash flow visibility during these turbulent market conditions."

About Paragon Shipping Inc.
Paragon Shipping Inc. is a Marshall Islands-based international shipping company with executive offices in Athens, Greece specializing in the transportation of drybulk cargoes. The Company's current fleet consists of ten drybulk vessels with a total carrying capacity of 704,772 dwt. In addition, Paragon entered into contracts for the construction of four Handysize drybulk carriers that are scheduled to be delivered in 2012 and two 4,800 TEU Containerships that are scheduled to be delivered in 2013 and, as a result will increase the fleet size to fourteen dry bulk vessels with a total carrying capacity of 853,572 dwt and two Containerships with a total carrying capacity of 9,600 TEU.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statement
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, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe 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 our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for drybulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, charter counterparty performance, ability to obtain financing and comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, 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, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.