Paragon Shipping Inc. Announces Agreement to Purchase 2008-Built Supramax Drybulk...

Paragon Shipping Inc. Announces Agreement to Purchase 2008-Built Supramax
Drybulk Carrier

ATHENS, Greece, June 19, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Paragon Shipping Inc.
(Nasdaq:PRGN), a global shipping transportation company specializing in drybulk
cargoes, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with an
unaffiliated third party to acquire a 2008-built Supramax drybulk carrier.

The vessel, to be named the Friendly Seas, has a capacity of 58,779 dwt and will
be purchased with a timecharter attached at $55,000 per day for a period of 10
to 12 months to Irika Shipping, who, in turn, have chartered the vessel to
Cargill on identical terms. Immediately following the expiration of this
charter, the vessel has been fixed to Dieulemar at $33,750 per day for a period
of 58 to 62 months. The vessel is expected to be delivered to Paragon between
July 1, 2008 and September 1, 2008.

The purchase price of the vessel is $79.25 million. The Company intends to
finance 50% of the acquisition with bank debt under its existing credit
facilities, and the balance with available cash on hand.

With the addition of this vessel, the Company's fleet will consist of seven
Panamax drybulk carriers, three Handymax drybulk carriers and two Supramax
drybulk carriers, with an aggregate capacity of approximately 765,137 dwt.

Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paragon, commented,
"This acquisition is fully in line with our strategic aim of acquiring modern
vessels that are accretive to earnings and cash flow. In this case, we have
taken advantage of the current favorable charter market to secure fixed
employment for the next six years with reputable charterers. We expect that the
two charters will generate $70 million in revenue in the aggregate, representing
a solid return on this investment over the time period and providing additional
visibility into our revenues and cash flows going forward. Going forward, we
intend to continue to build a modern, versatile fleet through opportunistic
vessel purchases."

About Paragon Shipping Inc.

Paragon Shipping Inc. is an Athens, Greece-based international shipping company
specializing in the transportation of drybulk cargoes. The Company's current
fleet consists of eleven vessels with a total carrying capacity of 706,358 dwt.
For further information, please visit the Company's website at
www.paragonship.com.

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," "will," "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 dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in
our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs,
the market for our 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, 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.

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CONTACT: Paragon Shipping Inc.
Christopher Thomas, Chief Financial Officer
+30 (210) 8914 600
15, Karamanli Ave. GR 166 73
Voula, Greece

FD
Eric Boyriven
+1(212) 850-5600