Semiramis Paliou, the daughter of Diana Shipping founder Simeon Palios, has become chief executive of the dry bulk shipowner.
The move was revealed as the company reported that it narrowed losses for the fourth quarter and full year.
Palios formed Diana Shipping Agencies, Diana Shipping's predecessor, in 1972 and served as managing director until November 2004.
In February 2005, he founded Diana Shipping and since then has been chief executive and chairman.
Paliou has been a director of Diana Shipping since March 2015 and chief operating officer since August 2018.
She was given the added role of deputy chief executive in 2019 and also served as chief operating officer of its sister company, boxship owner Performance Shipping, from November 2018 to February 2020.
"I look forward to leading the company through the challenging and rapidly changing shipping environment, and to maintaining Diana Shipping Inc's position as a leader in our industry," she said.
Paliou began her career in shipping in 1996 as a trainee ship surveyor for Lloyd's Register.
She was Diana Shipping Services' head of operations, technical and crew department and became its vice-president.
As well as a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London, she holds a master of science degree in naval architecture from University College London.
Palios will retain chairmanship
She has completed courses in finance for senior executives and authentic leader development at Harvard Business School.
She is on the board of directors of the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association and was appointed president last June.
Palios will continue as non-executive chairman when Paliou assumes the chief executive role on 1 March.
"In connection with this change, the board of directors recognized the immeasurable contributions of Mr Palios since the founding of the company," Diana Shipping said.
Palios congratulated his daughter.
"Ms Semiramis Paliou has clearly demonstrated her strong qualifications for her new role as chief executive officer," he said.
"In particular, she has served admirably as deputy chief executive officer since October 2019, a period when our company and industry faced the unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic."
Paliou stepped in as acting chief executive in late March and early April last year when her father contracted Covid-19. He has since recovered.
Anastasios Margaronis will continue as president and a company director, positions he has held since 2005. He is also deputy president of Diana Shipping Services and is a director and secretary.
Ioannis Zafirakis has been appointed chief financial officer, having served in that role on an interim basis since last February. He will also remain chief strategy officer, treasurer and secretary.
Eleftherios Papatrifon has joined Diana Shipping as chief operating officer. He was previously chief executive, co-founder and director of Quintana Shipping, a provider of dry bulk shipping services that liquidated in 2017.
Narrowed losses
Diana Shipping also reported earnings for the fourth quarter and full year of 2020.
The New York-listed owner of 37 bulkers posted an $8.9m net loss attributable to common shareholders for the quarter, which includes a $1.9m impairment loss.
That compares with a net loss attributed to common stockholders of $15.4m a year earlier, including a $6.5m impairment loss and a $3.3m loss on sale of vessels.
It had a $0.10 loss per share for the quarter, missing analyst consensus of $0.06 but beating the year-ago loss per share of $0.17.
Time charter revenue stood at $42.7m, down from $51.5m.
The full-year net loss attributed to common stockholders came in at $140m, including a $104m impairment loss and $1.1m loss on sale of vessels.
This result stands next to a net loss of $16.3m for 2019, including a $14m impairment loss and $6.2m loss on vessel sales.
Revenue last year totalled $170m, versus $221m for 2019.
Its shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, gained 1% to reach $3.15 by mid-morning on Monday.
