Restricted Stock Grant Agreement dated December 19, 2013 between Baltic Trading Limited and John C. Wobensmith for 100,000 restricted shares of common stock

THIS AGREEMENT, made as of December 19, 2013, between BALTIC TRADING LIMITED (the “Company”) and John C. Wobensmith (the “Participant”).

WHEREAS, the Company has adopted and maintains the Baltic Trading Limited 2010 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to provide certain key persons, on whose initiative and efforts the successful conduct of the business of the Company depends, with incentives to: (a) enter into and remain in the service of the Company, (b) acquire a proprietary interest in the success of the Company, (c) maximize their performance and (d) enhance the long-term performance of the Company;

WHEREAS, the Plan provides that the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) shall administer the Plan and determine the key persons to whom awards shall be granted and the amount and type of such awards; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors has determined that the purposes of the Plan would be furthered by granting the Participant an award under the Plan as set forth in this Agreement;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

(a)            Subject to Section 4(b) hereof and the further provisions of this Agreement, a number of whole shares of Restricted Stock as close as possible to 25% of the total number of shares granted hereunder shall vest on each of the first four anniversaries of November 15, 2013 (each such date, a “Vesting Date”).

(b)            In the event of the occurrence of a Change in Control, as defined in Section 3.8(a) of the Plan, as in effect on the date of such occurrence, before all the shares of Restricted Stock are vested, the Restricted Stock shall become vested in full on the date of such Change in Control.  However, Participant agrees that such vesting shall be waived in the event that (x) such Change in Control is also a Change of Control of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (“Genco”) pursuant to the Participant’s Employment Agreement with Genco dated as of September 21, 2007 (the “Genco Employment Agreement”) and (y) such Change in Control is not a Change in Control as described in clause (i)(B) or (ii)(B) of the definition provided in Section 3.8(a) of the Plan; provided that in the event that the Participant’s employment with Genco does not terminate within three months of such Change in Control other than as a result of the Participant’s death or disability, such vesting shall occur exactly three months after the Change in Control notwithstanding such waiver.  For the avoidance of doubt, in the event of the occurrence of a Change in Control and of the circumstances in clauses (x) and (y) above, if the Participant’s employment with Genco does not terminate within three months of such Change in Control, the Restricted Stock shall become vested in full exactly three months after the Change in Control, and if the Participant’s employment with Genco terminates within three months of such Change in Control as a result of death or disability, then the Restricted Stock shall become vested in full in connection with such termination of employment with Genco.

(c)            In the event the Participant is providing Service to the Company pursuant to the Participant's Employment Agreement with the Company dated as of December 19, 2013 (the “Employment Agreement”) or is obligated to do so, and the Participant’s Service (as defined below) to the Company is terminated before all the shares of Restricted Stock are vested by the Company without cause (as defined in the Plan) or by the Participant for Good Reason (as defined in the Employment Agreement), then the Restricted Stock shall become vested in full on the date of such termination.

(d)            In the event the Participant is not providing Service to the Company pursuant to the Employment Agreement and is not obligated to do so pursuant to the Employment Agreement, and the Participant’s Service with the Company and Genco is terminated before all the shares of Restricted Stock are vested by the Company without cause (as defined in the Plan) or by the Participant for Good Reason (as defined in the Employment Agreement), the Restricted Stock shall become vested in full on the date of such termination.

(a)          In the event that the Participant’s Service with the Company and Genco terminates before all the shares of Restricted Stock are vested for any reason other than a termination by the Company without cause (as defined in the Plan), by the Participant for Good reason, or due to the Participant’s death or disability (as defined in the Plan), all unvested shares

of Restricted Stock, together with any property received in respect of such shares, subject to and as set forth in Section 9 hereof, shall be forfeited as of the date such Service terminates, and the Participant promptly shall return to the Company any certificates evidencing such shares, together with any cash dividends or other property received in respect of such shares.  For purposes hereof, “Service” means a continuous time period during which the Participant is at least one of the following:  an employee or a director of, or a consultant to, the Company or Genco.

(b)          In the event that the Participant’s Service with the Company and Genco is terminated for reason of the Participant’s death or disability (as defined in the Plan), a portion of the shares of Restricted Stock shall become vested immediately prior to the date such Service terminates, and all other shares of Restricted Stock which are not and have not become vested, together with any property received in respect of such shares, as set forth in Section 9 hereof, shall be forfeited as of the date such Service terminates, and the Participant promptly shall return to the Company any certificates evidencing such shares, together with any cash dividends or other property received in respect of such shares.  The number of shares to become vested immediately prior to the date such Service terminates shall be as follows:

(i)        If the termination occurs prior to November 15, 2014, 25% of the number of shares set forth in Section 1 hereof multiplied by a fraction, the denominator of which is 11 and the numerator of which is the number of completed months between the date hereof and the date such Service terminates.  For the purposes of this paragraph, a month shall be deemed completed on the 15th of such month.

(ii)       If the termination occurs on or after November 15, 2014, 25% of the number of shares set forth in Section 1 hereof multiplied by a fraction, the denominator of which is 12 and the numerator of which is the number of completed months between the immediately preceding November 15 and the date such Service terminates.  For the purposes of this paragraph, a month shall be deemed completed on the 15th of such month.

(a)         Reasonably promptly after the Grant Date, the Company shall issue and deliver to the Participant stock certificates, registered in the name of the Participant, evidencing the shares of Restricted Stock or shall instruct its transfer agent to issue shares of Restricted Stock which shall be maintained in book entry form on the books of the transfer agent.  The Restricted Stock, if certificated, shall bear the following legend:

 

“THE SALE, TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, PLEDGE, HYPOTHECATION ENCUMBRANCE OR OTHER DISPOSAL OF THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE BALTIC TRADING LIMITED 2010 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN AND A RESTRICTED STOCK GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN BALTIC TRADING LIMITED AND THE HOLDER OF RECORD OF THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE.  NO TRANSFER OF THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE

IN CONTRAVENTION OF SUCH PLAN AND RESTRICTED STOCK GRANT AGREEMENT SHALL BE VALID OR EFFECTIVE.  COPIES OF SUCH AGREEMENT MAY BE OBTAINED BY WRITTEN REQUEST MADE BY THE HOLDER OF RECORD OF THE CERTIFICATE TO THE SECRETARY OF BALTIC TRADING LIMITED.”

 

If the Restricted Stock is in book entry form, it shall be subject to electronic coding or stop order indicating that such shares of Restricted Stock are restricted by the terms of this Agreement and the Plan.  Such legend, electronic coding or stop order shall not be removed until such shares of Restricted Stock vest.

(b)         Reasonably promptly after any such shares of Restricted Stock vest pursuant to Section 4 hereof, (i) in the case of certificated shares, in exchange for the surrender to the Company of the certificates evidencing the Restricted Stock, delivered to the Participant under Section 7(a) hereof, and the certificates evidencing any other securities received in respect of such shares, if any, the Company shall issue and deliver to the Participant (or the Participant’s legal representative, beneficiary or heir) certificates evidencing such shares of Restricted Stock and such other securities, free of the legend provided in Section 7(a) hereof and (ii) in the case of book entry shares, the Company shall cause to be lifted and removed any electronic coding or stop order established pursuant to Section 7(a) hereof.

(c)          The Company may require as a condition of the delivery of stock certificates or the removal of any electronic coding or stop order, pursuant to Section 7(b) hereof, that the Participant remit to the Company an amount sufficient in the opinion of the Company to satisfy any federal, state and other governmental tax withholding requirements related to the vesting of the applicable shares.  The Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, may permit the Participant to satisfy such obligation by delivering shares of Common Stock or by directing the Company to withhold from delivery shares of Common Stock, in either case valued at their Fair Market Value on the Vesting Date with fractional shares being settled in cash.

(d)         The Participant shall not be deemed for any purpose to be, or have rights as, a shareholder of the Company by virtue of the grant of Restricted Stock, except to the extent a stock certificate is issued therefor or an appropriate book entry is made on the books of the transfer agent reflecting the issuance thereof pursuant to Section 7(a) hereof, and then only from the date such certificate is issued or such book entry is made.  Upon the issuance of a stock certificate or the making of an appropriate book entry on the books of the transfer agent, the Participant shall have the rights of a shareholder with respect to the Restricted Stock, including the right to vote the shares, subject to the restrictions on transferability and the forfeiture provisions, as set forth in this Agreement.

exchange on which shares of Common Stock are traded.  The Board of Directors may require, as a condition of the issuance of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the terms hereof, that the recipient of such shares make such covenants, agreements and representations, and that any certificates bear such legends and any book entries be subject to such electronic coding, as the Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, deems necessary or desirable.  The Participant specifically understands and agrees that the shares of Common Stock, if and when issued, may be “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the 1933 Act and, accordingly, the Participant may be required to hold the shares indefinitely unless they are registered under such Act or an exemption from such registration is available.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Agreement to be duly executed by its duly authorized officer, and the Participant has hereunto signed this Agreement on his own behalf, thereby representing that he has carefully read and understands this Agreement and the Plan as of the day and year first written above.