FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(September 01, 2002)

Effective September 01, 2002, an alternate pricing scheme (Plan B) for registration under the Marshall Islands registry will come into effect.

The reason for Plan B is simple. Almost three years ago, the Marshall Islands reduced its annual tonnage tax from .25 a gross ton to .20 a net ton making it very competitive from a cost perspective (Plan A). However, on larger vessels like Capesizes and VLCCs, there was room to be even more competitive.

Bill Gallagher, President of International Registries which acts as Maritime Administrator, said, “This move comes in response to the feedback received from owners on the current fee schedule. It now gives them a choice in choosing a price plan that best suits their needs. Simply put, Plan A favors the medium to small vessel types while Plan B is more favorable to the larger vessels.”

Gallagher added, “The Marshall Islands registry gives good value in other areas ancillary to straight vessel fees: Seafarer documentation is less expensive than many others; all fees are published with no hidden charges akin to high consul fees and translation costs; recordation of mortgages is done electronically worldwide in London, New York, Hong Kong, Oslo, Hamburg and Piraeus which saves transactional expenses during the vessel registration process.”

The Marshall Islands registry has an excellent port state control record and is on the various MOU White Lists. It will reach 15 million gross tons and 500 vessels by year-end. As one of the fastest growing registries, projection for growth is 20 million gross tons total by the year 2004. While the registry is dominant in the U.S. market, both Greece and Germany are rapidly growing with more than 100 vessels in the registry.