FORM 6-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of December 2018

Commission File Number:  001-32458

DIANA SHIPPING INC.

(Translation of registrant's name into English)

Pendelis 16, 175 64 Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F [X]       Form 40-F [  ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [  ].

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [  ].

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.

 

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT

Attached to this Report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 99.1 is a press release dated December 18, 2018 of Diana Shipping Inc. (the "Company") announcing that its Board of Directors has scheduled the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders for February 20, 2019 and that the new deadline for the receipt of shareholder proposals is December 31, 2018.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Exhibit 99.1

DIANA SHIPPING INC. ANNOUNCES DATE FOR ITS

2019 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

ATHENS, GREECE, December 18, 2018 – Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), (the "Company"), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, announced today that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has scheduled the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") for February 20, 2019. The Board has set a record date for the Meeting of December 31, 2018. Since the Meeting will occur more than 30 days prior to the anniversary of the Company's prior Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 7, 2018, the Board has set a new deadline for the receipt of shareholder proposals a reasonable time before the Company will begin to print and send its proxy materials. For business to be properly brought before the Meeting by any shareholder, and for a nomination of directors to be made by a shareholder, notice must be received by the Company in proper written form, in accordance with the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws, no later than December 31, 2018.

About the Company

Diana Shipping Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of dry bulk vessels. The Company's vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.