SFL - Appointment of Gary S. Vogel as Director and delivery of a 19,200 TEU container vessel

Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) ("Ship Finance" or the "Company"), today announced the appointment of Mr. Gary S. Vogel to the Board of Directors to fill a vacancy on the Board.

Mr. Vogel (50) has a long career in the dry bulk shipping market and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc, a US-listed owner and operator of geared dry bulk vessels. Previously Mr. Vogel served as CEO of Clipper Group in Denmark. For further biographical information, please visit the Company's website www.shipfinance.bm.

Hans Petter Aas, Chairman in Ship Finance, said in a comment: "We are very pleased that Mr. Vogel has accepted a directorship in Ship Finance. I am confident that his broad international background and experience both in the dry bulk market and the capital markets will make a good contribution to the continued growth and diversification of Ship Finance."

The Company has today also taken delivery of MSC Anna, the first of two 19,200 TEU container vessels from Huyndai Heavy Industries, Korea. The vessel is chartered out for a period of 15 years, and lease financing has been secured for the full term of the charter. The second vessel is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2017.

The Board of Directors
Ship Finance International Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda

About Ship Finance
Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) has an unprecedented track record in the maritime industry, being consistently profitable and paying dividends every quarter since 2004. The Company's fleet of more than 70 vessels is split between tankers, bulkers, container vessels and offshore assets, and Ship Finance's long term distribution capacity is supported by a portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset base over time.

More information can be found on the Company's website: www.shipfinance.bm

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including Ship Finance management's examination of historical operating trends. Although Ship Finance believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, Ship Finance cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions. Important factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in this presentation include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in the Company's operating expenses including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.