ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwired - Mar 31, 2014) -  Costamare Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: CMRE) has declared a cash dividend of US $0.476563 per share on its 7.625% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (the "Series B Preferred Stock") (NYSE: CMRE PR B) and a cash dividend of US $0.495833 per share on its 8.50% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (the "Series C Preferred Stock") (NYSE: CMRE PR C). The dividend for the Series B Preferred Stock is for the period from the most recent dividend payment date, January 15, 2014, to April 14, 2014. The dividend for the Series C Preferred Stock is for the period from the original issuance of the Series C Preferred Stock on January 21, 2014 to April 14, 2014. The dividends will be paid on April 15, 2014 to all holders of record as of April 14, 2014 of the Series B Preferred Stock and Series C Preferred Stock.

This is the first cash dividend the Company has declared since the commencement of trading of its Series C Preferred Stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

The declaration of a dividend is subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Company, and accordingly will depend on, among other things, the Company's earnings, financial condition and cash requirements and availability, the Company's ability to obtain debt and equity financing on acceptable terms as contemplated by the Company's growth strategy, the restrictive covenants in the Company's existing and future debt instruments and global economic conditions.

About Costamare Inc.

Costamare Inc. is one of the world's leading owners and providers of containerships for charter. The Company has 40 years of history in the international shipping industry and a fleet of 67 containerships, with a total capacity in excess of 445,000 TEU, including 11 newbuild containerships on order. Twelve of our containerships, including nine newbuilds, have been acquired pursuant to the Framework Agreement with York Capital Management by vessel-owning joint venture entities in which we hold a minority equity interest. The Company's common stock, Series B Preferred Stock and Series C Preferred Stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols "CMRE", "CMRE PR B" and "CMRE PR C", respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements". In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "believe", "intend", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "forecast", "plan", "potential", "may", "should", "could" and "expect" and similar expressions. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's belief regarding future results, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. It is possible that actual results may differ, possibly materially, from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect future results, see the discussion in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-34934) under the caption "Risk Factors".