Stelmar Shipping Announces 18-Month Time Charter With ChevronTexaco

Stelmar Shipping Ltd. today announced that it has signed an 18-month time charter contract for the Rimar, a 1998 double-hull Handymax tanker. The time charter is expected to commence at the end of July 2003. The time charter contract is with ChevronTexaco at a rate of $14,000 per day. As part of the contract, ChevronTexaco has options to replace the Rimar with one of the Company's Handymax newbuildings at $14,500 per day and to time charter a second vessel at $14,500 per day for a similar duration. These options will be declared by the end of September 2003. ChevronTexaco's decision to time charter the Rimar follows a recent move by Fuel and Marine Marketing LLC (FAMM), a ChevronTexaco company, to renew time charter contracts for two other Stelmar vessels. Peter Goodfellow, Chief Executive Officer and President, stated, "We are pleased to have expanded our relationship with ChevronTexaco. This contract underscores the strong demand we are experiencing from customers, who are seeking modern, double-hull vessels that adhere to the highest environmental and safety standards. With only one single-hull vessel in our fleet, Stelmar is very well positioned to benefit from the recent European Union legislation and continue to provide our customers with superior service in a changing regulatory environment." With the signing of this contract, Stelmar has further enhanced its profitability and shareholder return potential for 2003 and 2004. To date, Stelmar has secured 84% of the net operating days of its fleet on profitable time charters for 2003 and 43% for 2004, representing $140 million and $90 million in revenues, respectively.