DryShips Announces Exercise of Option to Construct 7th Generation UDW Drillship

News Release DryShips Inc. June 24, 2011

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ATHENS, GREECE – June 24, 2011
- DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) (the “Company” or
“DryShips”), a global provider of marine transportation services
for drybulk and petroleum
cargoes and off-shore contract drilling oil services, announced
that its majority owned subsidiary,
Ocean Rig UDW Inc., exercised its third newbuilding option to
construct a 7th Generation Ultra
Deepwater Drillship at Samsung Heavy Industries. This 7th
generation drillship is a sister ship to
the two previously-exercised options in April 2011. The higher
specifications of these ships
include:
 Capability to drill in 12,000 feet of water
depth
 a seven ram BOP
 a dual mud system
 enhanced riser handling and storage
system
 ballast water treatment system
Total yard cost of this drillship is approximately $608 million,
out of which a total amount of
about $242 million has already been paid to the yard from cash on
hand. The remaining amount
of approximately $366 million is payable upon delivery currently
scheduled for November 2013.
George Economou, Chairman and CEO
commented:
“ The demand for ultradeepwater drilling units is
strengthening every day and we see substantial
growth in the next several years from across the globe. By
exercising our third option for delivery
in 2013 we are in a unique position to take advantage of the
positive market fundamentals. The
attractive price and payment terms allows us sufficient time to
increase the backlog and arrange
financing on attractive terms.
We are truly in the midst of a new and exciting phase for Ocean
Rig UDW Inc. With financing in
place, our strong balance sheet, the contract backlog of $2
billion on our existing fleet and our
sizable free cash position today, OCR UDW is well positioned to
become the leading
international drilling contractor of choice.”</DIV></BODY></HTML>