Concordia Signs Charter with Hess

Concordia Maritime entered a five-year time charter agreement for a P-MAX tanker with the U.S. oil company Amerada Hess Corporation. The charter rate will be $23,000 per day.

The vessel, which is expected to be delivered around mid-2006, will mainly run between the Caribbean and US East Coast.

Amerada Hess Corporation is a global integrated energy company engaged in the exploration for and the production of crude oil and natural gas, the refining of crude oil and the sale of refined products, natural gas and electricity. Almost 70% of the capital is deployed in Exploration and Production. The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AHC.

The design of P-MAX vessels, which permits a larger freight load than corresponding standard vessels of the same draught, is advantageous in many ports, particularly on the US east coast, and offers customers excellent freight economy.

Thanks to the dual propulsion system, with two engine rooms, two rudders and two propellers, these vessels offer excellent levels of safety and manoeuvrability. The navigation systems and bridge layout have also been developed to facilitate better control, especially in confined and heavily trafficked passages. The bridge has a 360-degree field of view and dual command centres for manoeuvring. This agreement means that Concordia has now secured employment for five of the six P-MAX vessels on order, which will be delivered over a two-year period starting November 2005. Five-year time charter agreements have already been signed for two of the vessels with the French oil company TOTAL, and ten-year time charter agreements for two vessels have been signed with the Russian logistics company Progretra.