May 16, 2003

MOL Forms Logistics Business Division
to Promote Development of Worldwide Logistics Business Strategies


TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Kunio Suzuki) today announced plans to restructure the Logistics Office in the head office and change its name to the Logistics Business Division. It will offer MOL Group's unique, high-quality total logistics services with global ocean transport services as a core. The MOL Group has expanded its range of logistics services around the globe to meet today's diversifying customer demands.

The new Logistics Business Division will start operations on June 25 under the command of Deputy President Hiroyuki Sato (now Senior Managing Director). Also on board will be Masahiro Tanabe, General Manager of the Logistics Business Division and a staff of 13, including personnel in key overseas liaison offices in locations such as the United States and Hong Kong.

The Logistics Business Division includes two groups: the Strategic Planning Group and the Network Management Group. The former group is responsible for planning, development, and promotion of the MOL Group's logistics business strategies, and design and development of network-type solution services/systems. The latter group is responsible for management control and support to develop business for MOL Group logistics companies.

In recent years, customer needs for transport services have evolved from simply moving cargo to more sophisticated logistics services. Taking these changes into consideration, the MOL Group continues to develop new business services. This restructuring will strengthen the company's groupwide logistics network, and concentrate management resources to planning and development new logistics services to meet changing customer needs more quickly.