ATHENS, Greece, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TOP Ships Inc. (NASDAQ: TOPS) announced today that it took delivery of the M/T "HONGBO" from SPP Plant & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd of the Republic of Korea on August 3, 2009. The M/T "HONGBO" is the last of six 50,000 dwt product / chemical tankers delivered within 2009. The M/T "HONGBO" has entered into a bareboat time-charter employment for a period of 10 years at a daily gross rate of $14,550. In addition, TOP Ships Inc. announced today that it has issued 12,512,400 shares of its common stock to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hongbo Shipping Company Limited, which shares of stock were pledged in favor of DVB Bank America N.V. (DVB) as security for a bridge loan that DVB has provided for part of the financing of the M/T "HONGBO." This pledge will be terminated upon repayment of the bridge loan. TOP Ships Inc. also received today a notification from the bareboat charterer of the M/T Papillon (ex VOC Gallant), wherein such charterer declared its intention to pay a reduced charterhire rate of $18,000 per day, rather than $24,000 per day on a bareboat basis as is set forth in the charterparty. As a result, TOP Ships Inc. believes that such charterer is in breach of the charterparty agreement, and TOP Ships Inc. has commenced arbitration proceedings against such charterer to recover amounts owed. Finally, TOP Ships Inc. has obtained a waiver from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) until March 31, 2010 in relation to the breach of certain financial covenants under the RBS term loan. About TOP Ships Inc. TOP Ships Inc., formerly known as TOP Tankers Inc., is an international provider of worldwide seaborne crude oil and petroleum products and drybulk transportation services. The Company operates a combined tanker and drybulk fleet as follows: -- A fleet of eight double-hull Handymax tankers, with a total carrying capacity of approximately 0.4 million dwt, of which 76% are sister ships. Two of the Company's Handymaxes are on time charter contracts with an average term of one year with both of the time charters including profit sharing agreements above their base rates. Six of the Company's Handymax tankers are fixed on a bareboat charter basis with an average term of 8.7 years. -- A fleet of five drybulk vessels with a total carrying capacity of approximately 0.3 million dwt, of which 47% are sister ships. All of the Company's drybulk vessels have fixed rate employment contracts for an average period of 26 months. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements and information included in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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 reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and may 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. Important factors that, in our view, could affect the matters discussed in these forward-looking statements include, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in the demand for our vessels, offers that may be received from third parties, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, 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. Contact: Michael Mason (investors) Allen & Caron Inc 212 691 8087 DATASOURCE: TOP Ships Inc. CONTACT: Investors, Michael Mason of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-212-691-8087, , for TOP Ships Inc. Web Site: http://www.topships.org/

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