UPDATE 2-Diana Shipping Q3 net halves, beats estimates

* Q3 EPS of 36 cents beat estimate of 34 cents

* Q3 net income halved to $28.7 mln

* Plans to buy vessels over the next two years (Recasts, adds analyst, conference call comments, shares)

By Swati Pandey

BANGALORE, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Greek dry bulk carrier Diana Shipping Inc's (DSX.N) quarterly net income fell by half but beat analysts' forecast, helped by higher-than-expected charter hire rates. Net income for the third quarter fell to $28.7 million, or 36 cents a share, compared with $57.6 million, or 77 cents a share, a year ago. Voyage and time charter revenue fell by a third to $58.2 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 34 cents a share on revenue of $55.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"They came in only 2 cents higher so from my perspective that's a very slight beat and that was due to higher-than-expected day rates," Scott Burk, analyst at Oppenheimer, said by phone.

Diana Shipping charters a majority of its vessels in the long-term charter market, thereby eliminating revenue volatility, as opposed to short-term spot market, where rates fluctuate on a daily basis.

However, the firm would now be open to put vessels on the spot market as locking-in vessels for long-term at current low levels was not desirable, Burk said.