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: March
 4, 2011 |                                     
|                     | /s/ POLYS HAJIOANNOU                
|                     |                                     
|                     | Polys Hajioannou                    
|                     | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
|                     | (Principal Executive Officer)       

Exhibit 12.1

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