DryShips Inc. Believes That Recently Filed Purported Class Action Lawsuit Is Without Merit and Intends to Defend Itself Vigorously

ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwired - Jul 18, 2017) - DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) (the "Company" or "DryShips"), a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels, announced today that on July 14, 2017, a purported class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (No. 1:17-cv-05368(JFK)) by Maxime Hodges on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated against the Company and two of its executive officers. The complaint alleges that the Company and two of its executive officers violated Sections 10(b) and/or 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.

DryShips and its management believe that the complaint is without merit and plan to vigorously defend themselves against the allegations.

About DryShips

The Company is a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels that operate worldwide. The Company owns a fleet of (i) 13 Panamax drybulk vessels; (ii) 4 Newcastlemax drybulk vessels; (iii) 5 Kamsarmax drybulk vessels; (iv) 1 Very Large Crude Carrier; (v) 2 Aframax tankers; (vi) 1 Suezmax tanker; (vii) 4 Very Large Gas Carriers, 3 of which are expected to be delivered in September, October and December of 2017; and (viii) 6 offshore support vessels, comprising 2 platform supply and 4 oil spill recovery vessels.

DryShips' common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market where it trades under the symbol "DRYS."

Visit the Company's website at www.dryships.com. The information contained on the Company's website does not constitute a part of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with such safe harbor legislation.

Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and may include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company's records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Company's control, the Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

Important factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the factors related to the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including changes in charter rates and vessel values, failure of a seller or shipyard to deliver one or more vessels, failure of a buyer to accept delivery of a vessel, our inability to procure acquisition financing, default by one or more charterers of our ships, changes in demand for drybulk commodities and oil, liquefied petroleum gas or petroleum products, changes in demand that may affect attitudes of time charterers, scheduled and unscheduled drydocking, changes in our voyage and operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations, changes in our relationships with the lenders under our debt agreements, potential liability from pending or future litigation, domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, international hostilities and political events or acts by terrorists.

Risks and uncertainties are further described in reports filed by DryShips Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F.