EXHIBIT 12.1

CERTIFICATION

I, POLYS
HAJIOANNOU, CERTIFY THAT:

1. I have
reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Safe Bulkers, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report
does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under
which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial
statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations
and cash flows of the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this
report;

4. The Companys other certifying
officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and
15(d)-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the Company and have:

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| | a. | Designed
 such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls
 and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
 information relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries,
 is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
 period in which this report is being prepared;
| |    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
| | b. | Designed
 such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal
 control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to
 provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
 and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
 accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;    
| |    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
| | c. | Evaluated
 the effectiveness of the Companys disclosure controls and procedures and
 presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
 disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by
 this report, based on such evaluation; and                                                                                           
| |    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
| | d. | Disclosed in
 this report any change in the Companys internal control over financial
 reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that
 has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
 Companys internal control over financial reporting; and                                                                        

5. The Companys other certifying
officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of
internal control over financial reporting, to the Companys auditors and the audit
committee of the Companys board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent functions):

| |    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
| | -- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | a. | All
 significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation
 of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
 adversely affect the Companys ability to record, process, summarize and
 report financial information; and
| |    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
| | b. | Any fraud,
 whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have
 a significant role in the Companys internal control over financial
 reporting.                                                                                                

|                         |                                     
|------------------------ | ------------------------------------
|Date:
 February 29, 2012 | /s/ POLYS
 HAJIOANNOU               
|                         |                                     
|                         | Polys Hajioannou                    
|                         | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
|                         | (Principal Executive Officer)       

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