HAMILTON, BERMUDA -- (Marketwire) -- 09/17/12 -- TBS Shipping announced today that Joe Royce will leave the position of chief executive officer effective September 30th and remain on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has appointed its Chairman, Jeff Parry, as interim CEO. Mr. Parry has served as director since April 2012 and has served as CEO, Managing Director and Restructuring Advisor for various public and private companies during 29 years in the international shipping industry. The Board has formed a special committee to oversee the process of selecting a permanent CEO and will promote a candidate from within the Company. Evan Cohen, Managing Director of DVB Bank, one of TBS' major shareholders, says he is in full support of the TBS management team and is confident in their ability to see this Company through this tough market.

The Board of Directors thanks Joe Royce for his enormous contribution to TBS over decades and most recently positioning the Company for future growth following its successful emergence from Chapter 11 in April. The Board of Directors looks forward to Joe's continued presence on the Board and also looks forward to working with and supporting the excellent management team he has put in place.

TBS provides worldwide shipping solutions to industrial shippers through its Five Star Service: ocean transportation, projects, operations, port services, and strategic planning. The TBS shipping network operates liner, parcel and dry bulk services, supported by a fleet of approximately 30 vessels with an aggregate of over 1 million dwt, consisting of multipurpose tweendeckers and handysize / handymax bulk carriers. TBS has developed its franchise around key trade routes between Latin America and China, Japan and South Korea, as well as select ports in North America, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East. TBS serves a diverse client base of approximately 300 customers in 20 countries. Its customers rely on TBS' regular service as an integral part of their supply chain, and many of these relationships have been established for nearly twenty years.