December 17, 2002

MOL to Expand MR-Type Clean Product Tanker Fleet
- Company will be the world's largest operator with 25 carriers -

TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Kunio Suzuki) today announced plans for a major expansion in its fleet of advanced double-hull mid-size petroleum product tankers. The move is a key to the strategy set out in the MOL next, the company's mid-term management plan. Under MOL next, the company plans to take an aggressive approach to expanding its resource and energy transport operations. In addition to its VLCC fleet and the world's largest methanol carrier fleet, this challenging new plan will ensure MOL's stable revenue and growth..

Currently, MOL jointly operates 10 MR-type clean product tankers with its affiliated company Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd. MOL and Asahi Tanker had already planned to expand this fleet by the end of 2004, but decided to move even more rapidly than their initial plan, and will have a total of 25 of these ships by the end of 2005.


All the new tankers will have displacements of 45,000 dwt, with double hulls. The ships' design reflects MOL's decades of experience in tanker operation, offering the most advanced features to protect the marine environment and meet today's market needs. The expanded fleet will be deployed beyond MOL's current product tanker service area in the Far East to cover Southeast Asia and the entire Pacific Ocean.

MOL expects steady increases in the trade of petroleum products such as gasoline, naphtha, gas oil, kerosene, and jet fuel. With one of the largest fleets and the most advanced ships, MOL will offer top-quality transport services to flexibly meet increasing demand in these trades, both in Japan and around the world.