April 15, 2004 MOL Establishes Joint Venture Tanker Operation Company with Emirates Trading Agency   TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Kunio Suzuki) today announced that the company has teamed up with Emirates Trading Agency L.L.C., Dubai (ETA) to establish a joint-venture company providing operation services for very large crude carriers (VLCCs). Profile    Company name : Bright Shipping Co., Ltd.    Location : Panama    Paid-in-capital : US$10,000    Ownership : MOL 50%, ETA 50%    Executives : Chairman : Masashi Seki (MOL Executive Officer) Directors : Shigeshi Ohmori (MOL Executive Officer) BSL Narayan (ETA Group General Manager-Trading & Shipping) Ameer Fizel (ETA General Manager-Chartering)    Foundation : March 31, 2004 (company registration date)    Business : Ocean transport services mainly by VLCCs Background MOL established a VLCC operation company with ETA, which has built a strong relationship mainly in the dry bulker market serving the Middle East and India, to meet increasing demand for crude oil tanker transport to Asia, where the companies expect continued growth. The new company will launch a 260,000 MT VLCC in early May, starting business in the spot market. One of MOL's major goals under its mid-term management plan, MOL STEP, is to expand its offshore trade business in the energy transport sector. By teaming up with ETA, a leader in the Middle Eastern and India trades, MOL takes an aggressive step toward achieving that goal. Emirates Trading Agency L.L.C. (ETA)    Foundation : 1972    Location : Dubai, United Arab Emirates    2002 Revenue : 2,001 million U.A.E. Dirham (approx. US$ 545 million)    Number of employees : About 6,600 (as of December 31, 2002) Over the years, ETA has been involved in the construction and real estate markets in the Middle East, and expanded its business to include procurement and sales of construction and industrial materials such as cement, iron ore and steel, clinker, coal, limestone, aggregates, grains (wheat, barley, soyabean) and lumber. It is a major conglomerate in Dubai, with various divisions involved in banking, retail, construction, real estate, trading, and ocean shipping.