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Greece-based Safe Bulkers, Inc. has announced that it has been named "The Best Performing Shipping Company for the Year 2009" at the annually held Marine Money Conference, which took place in New York on June 22 - 24, 2010.

Marine Money has been publishing its rankings for the past 20 years after evaluating about 100 companies from the shipping industry worldwide.

The shipping companies are assessed on the basis of Asset Turnover, Profit Margin, Return on Equity, Return on Assets, Market Value of Equity and Book Value of Equity, which are combined to calculate Overall Performance.

Polys Hajioannou, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "We are very proud to have received this recognition. Despite the challenging times in the year 2009, we have continued to focus on growth, efficiency and profitability while rewarding our shareholders with a regular dividend. This is a testament of our commitment to the industry and our shareholders. I would like to thank our employees, both ashore and at sea, through whose hard work and dedication to excellence, we have been successful in achieving this tremendous accomplishment."

The company's subsidiaries provide marine drybulk transportation services, transporting bulk cargoes, particularly coal, grain and iron ore, along the world's shipping routes.

Safe Bulkers currently owns 15 drybulk vessels, with an aggregate carrying capacity of 1,346,900 deadweight tons (dwt).

As of April 30, 2010 the average age of the fleet was 3.4 years. The fleet consists of Panamax, Kamsarmax, Post-Panamax and Capesize class vessels. Six additional drybulk newbuild vessels have been contracted to be delivered up until 2012.

The company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), where it trades under the symbol "SB".