ESL SHIPPING OY COMMISSIONS NEW VESSEL IN JAPAN

ESL Shipping Oy, a subsidiary of Aspo Plc, has commissioned a new vessel today, taking delivery of the ship from the Japanese ship-yard, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. The company has concurrently concluded an agreement with ABB Credit Oy with regard to a bare-boat contract which arranges for the sale of the new vessel to ABB Credit Oy and its leaseback for a period of 10 years.

The new vessel, which is intended primarily to sail lanes in the Baltic and North Seas, is a 20 000 dwt dry bulk freighter constructed to meet the highest Finnish ice classification (1A Super). The ship can navigate Finland's northernmost waters under virtually any conditions. The vessel, equipped with its own cranes and grabs, measures 158 m in length, with a width of 24.6 m, and its maximum fully loaded draught is approximately 9 meters. The total cost of the ship was approximately 22.5 million euros.

The above mentioned bareboat contract will have no impact on the profitability of ESL Shipping Oy. Instead, the agreement will prevent the expansion of the company's balance sheet and is consequently expected to significantly improve the company's ROI. This is also expected to positively influence the Aspo Group's ROI for the current fiscal year.

ESL Shipping Oy now has six ice-strengthened, crane-equipped vessels in its fleet and one crane-equipped barge. The company has three smaller vessels of the same type as this newly commissioned ship each of which has proven extremely well suited for Baltic maritime shipping conditions. The new vessel, christened the Eira, will be primarily used for dry bulk freight transportation, such as ore, coal, chalk and grain. All ESL Shipping Oy vessels sail under Finnish flag with Finnish crews.

This new vessel will continue to reinforce the shipping company's position on the Baltic market and will enable the company to increase its dry bulk freight transport market share.