Safe Bulkers, Inc. Agrees to the Issuance of 2.95% Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Equity to an Unaffiliated Investor to Finance $16.9 Million of a Newbuild Vessel

Monaco, Monaco – August 3, 2016

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE: SB), an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, announced today that a subsidiary of the Company has novated an existing newbuild contract for a Kamsarmax class vessel scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2018 to a new wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Upon delivery of the vessel, the new wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Issuer”) has agreed to issue 2.95% Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Equity to an unaffiliated investor (the “Investor”) to finance $16.9 million of the cost of such vessel.

The preferred shares will not entitle the Investor to any voting rights (other than in limited circumstances in the case of certain events of default under the terms of the preferred shares), and the preferred shares may be redeemed at the option of the issuer at any time or at the option of the Investor upon the third anniversary of the issuance date.

Furthermore, the Investor will be entitled to nominate one director to the Issuer’s board that represents a minority of the Issuer’s board of directors.

Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company, said: “This arrangement allows the Company to finance a significant portion of this newbuild through the issuance of preferred equity to the Investor with a preferred dividend below 3%, avoiding the incurrence of additional indebtedness and preserving our liquidity position, while it is not dilutive for our common shareholders.”

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP served as legal advisor to Safe Bulkers, Inc.

About Safe Bulkers, Inc.
The Company is an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, transporting bulk cargoes, particularly coal, grain and iron ore, along worldwide shipping routes for some of the world’s largest users of marine drybulk transportation services.

The Company’s common stock, series B preferred stock, series C preferred stock and series D preferred stock are listed on the NYSE, and trade under the symbols “SB”, “SB.PR.B”, “SB.PR.C”, and “SB.PR.D”, respectively.

Safe Bulkers, Inc. press release