ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TOP Ships Inc. (NASDAQ: TOPS) announced today that it has entered into a termination agreement in respect of an interest rate derivative contract for a termination payment of $5.0 million. The Company had entered into this derivative contract in November 2007, under which the Company has received an upfront payment of $8.5 million and would pay five annual interest payments on a notional amount of $85.0 million. The counterparty's assets and liabilities have been under bankruptcy administration since September 15, 2008. 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 seven double-hull handymax tankers, with a total carrying capacity of approximately 0.3 million dwt, of which 58% are sister ships. All of the Company's handymaxes are on time charter contracts with an average term of two years with all of the time charters including profit sharing agreements above their base rates. -- Six newbuilding product tankers, which are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2009. All the expected newbuildings have fixed rate bareboat employment agreements for periods between seven and ten years. -- A fleet of five drybulk vessels with a total carrying capacity of approximately 0.3 million dwt, of which 70% are sister ships. All of the Company's drybulk vessels have fixed rate employment contracts for an average period of 30 months. Forward Looking Statement 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," "will," "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: Michael Mason of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-212-691-8087, , for TOP Ships Inc. Web Site: http://www.topships.org/

Copyright