Stolt-Nielsen Orders Four Tankers

Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group (SNTG), a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen S.A., announced that it has signed an agreement with SLS Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. for four 44,000 deadweight ton (dwt) parcel tankers. The aggregate price for the four ships is expected to be approximately $340 million, with deliveries scheduled to take place between mid 2010 and early 2011. The SLS newbuildings will have a combination of 24 stainless steel tanks and 15 coated tanks. The main dimensions of the ships will follow the design of the four parcel tankers that SNTG announced ordering in June 2005 from ShinA Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of South Korea, which was acquired by SLS earlier this year. SNTG will have options from SLS for an additional four ships. The new fully double-hulled parcel tankers will meet both Marpol Annex I and Annex II cargo requirements and, with ship IMO ship type I, II, and III capabilities, will be able to handle the full range of difficult to handle cargoes which SNTG carries. After this order, SNTG, and its partners, has an order book of 19 ships for delivery from 2007 until 2011. SNTG today owns and operates globally today 148 ships ranging in size from 1,100 dwt to 40,200 dwt.