FORM 6-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of January 2010

Commission File Number: 000-50859

TOP SHIPS INC.

(Translation of registrant's name into English)

1 VAS. SOFIAS & MEG.

ALEXANDROU STREET

151 24, MAROUSSI

ATHENS, GREECE

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F [ X ]     Form 40-F [   ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ________.

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ________.

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's “home country”), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT

Attached to this report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 99.1 is the press release of TOP Ships Inc. (the “Company”) dated January 11, 2010 announcing development related to the charters of the “IONIAN WAVE” and “TYRRHENIAN WAVE”

This Report on Form 6-K and the exhibit hereto are hereby incorporated by reference into the Company's Registration Statement on Form F-3 (Registration No. 333-160412) filed with Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on July 2, 2009, as amended, and declared effective on August 13, 2009, and into the Company's Registration Statement on Form F-3 (Registration No. 333-161022) filed with the Commission on August 4, 2009, as amended, and declared effective on August 31, 2009.

  

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

	TOP Ships, Inc.
	(Registrant)
Dated:  January 14, 2010	By:  /s/Evangelos J. Pistiolis
		Evangelos J. Pistiolis
		Chief Executive Officer

Exhibit 99.1

TOP SHIPS ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT RELATED TO THE CHARTERS OF THE “IONIAN WAVE” AND “TYRRHENIAN WAVE”

ATHENS, GREECE - (January 11, 2010) - TOP Ships Inc.(NASDAQ: TOPS) announced today that it has received from the bareboat charterer of the M/T’s “IONIAN WAVE” and “TYRRHENIAN WAVE”, a reduced charterhire rate of $10,000 per day, rather than the $14,300 per day on a bareboat basis that is set forth in the charter agreement.  As a result, TOP Ships Inc. believes that such charterer is in breach of the charter. TOP Ships Inc. is examining this unilateral reduction and intends to take all necessary steps to recover the amounts owed.

About TOP Ships Inc.

TOP Ships Inc., formerly known as TOP Tankers Inc., is an international provider of worldwide seaborne crude oil and petroleum products and drybulk transportation services. The Company operates a combined tanker and drybulk fleet as follows:

n

A fleet of eight double-hull Handymax tankers and an average age of 2.8 years with a total carrying capacity of approximately 0.4 million dwt, of which 76% are sister ships. Two of the Company's Handymaxes are on time charter contracts with an average term of 7 months with both of the time charters including profit sharing agreements above their base rates. Six of the Company’s Handymax tankers are fixed on a bareboat charter basis with an average term of 8.3 years.

n

A fleet of five drybulk vessels with a total carrying capacity of approximately 0.3 million dwt and an average age of 8.7 years, of which 47% are sister ships. All of the Company's drybulk vessels have fixed rate employment contracts for an average period of 26 months.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. 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. Forward-looking statements 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 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 this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect" "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe 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 our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, failure of a seller to deliver one or more vessels or of a buyer to accept delivery of one or more vessels, inability to procure acquisition financing, default by one or more charterers of our ships, changes in the demand for crude oil and petroleum products, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, 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, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.

Contacts:

Investor Relations / Media: Ramnique Grewal Vice President Capital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue, Suite 1536 New York, N.Y. 10169 Tel.: (212) 661-7566 Fax: (212) 661-7526 E-Mail: topships@capitallink.com	Company: Alexandros Tsirikos Chief Financial Officer TOP Ships Inc. 1, Vassilissis Sofias Str. & Meg. Alexandrou Str. 151 24, Maroussi, Greece Tel: +30 210 812 8180 Email: atsirikos@topships.org