FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(HONG KONG June 05, 2002) The Marshall Islands this week welcomed the MV Hellespont Metropolis, the second of four sister ships – the largest double-hull ultra large crude carrier (ULCC) fleet ever built - onto its ships register.

Owners, the Hellespont Shipping Corporation of Greece, ordered the four sister ULCCs in 2000 and all will be registered with the Marshall Islands. The first ship, the MV Hellespont Alhambra, was registered with the Marshall Islands on March 7, 2002, with the Hellespont Metropolis hoisting the Marshall Islands flag on June 3, in South Korea. The last two sister ships in the series – the Hellespont Fairfax and Hellespont Tara - are expected to join the Marshall Islands register later this year.

The Hellespont Metropolis has a length of 380 metres a beam of 68m and 24.5m draft and weighs in just under 442,000 dwt. The ship was built by South Korea’s Daewoo Heavy Industries.

The ship has a cargo capacity of 513,684 cubic metres and its HSD-Sulzer 9RTA84T-D engine has a maximum ballast speed of 17.5 knots.

The state-of-the-art vessel underwent full-time inerting of the ballast spaces for safety and corrosion protection, with a white paint system added to protect internal coatings.

Quality is the most prominent feature throughout the vessel with world-leading societies Lloyd’s Register and the American Bureau of Shipping jointly handling the classification of the ship.

With government authorities, regulators and the media being ever watchful and critical of the transportation of oil, it was important for the owners to not only have the best classification societies overlooking the construction of these giant ships, but just as important to have the right flag state monitor the ship’s operations.

“A flag state’s reputation for transparency, integrity in its inspections and maintenance of records is vitally important in a ship’s operations across continents,” said Peter Wong, Managing Director (Asia) of International Registries Inc (IRI), the administrators of the Marshall Island’s open ship register.

“We maintain our global reputation as a quality flag state, flying the Marshall Island flag will assist in friendly and speedy inspections and processing by port authorities worldwide.” Mr Wong concluded.

William Gallagher, President of IRI, said: “At a time when the standards of flag states are under ever-increasing scrutiny, the Marshall Islands is proud to be breaking new ground with the signing of the Hellespont Metropolis and her sisters, which are ships that set new benchmarks for the safe and efficient transportation of oil.”

Hellespont Group chairman, Basil Papachristidis, said: “We chose the Marshall Islands because of the long-established relationship with IRI, their quality, their responsible attitude to the maritime industries, their efficiency as well as competitive and transparent charges.”