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September 7, 2004
MOL, Sumitomo Metal Industries Sign
Mid- and Long-Term Transport Contracts
for New Five Vessels including 230,000-ton
Iron Ore Carrier
TOKYO -Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL,
President:
Akimitsu Ashida) today announced the
signings
of the mid- and long-term transport
contracts
with Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
The
contracts cover five ships, including
a 230,000-ton
iron ore carrier.
That 230,000-ton iron ore carrier, built
by Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., will be
launched after 2008 to transport ore from
Brazil to Kashima and Wakayama.
Three more vessels, two built by Imabari
Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., and one by
Universal
Shipbuilding Corporation, will be 200,000
MT bulk carriers joining the fleet
after
2006 and 2007. They will transport
ore mainly
from Australia to Kashima and Wakayama.
The fifth vessels, ordered from Oshima
Shipbuilding
Co., Ltd., is a 100,000 MT bulker slated
for launch after 2008. It will carry
ore
on the Australia-Wakayama route.
MOL worked closely with Sumitomo Metal
Industries
to determine the best way to meet its
continually
growing need for transport of iron
ore. As
a result, the companies decided to
launch
a 230,000-ton bulker that will optimize
the
capacity of Sumitomo Metal’s Kashima
port.
The 100,000-ton carrier is the most
suitable
to serve Wakayama. Three 200,000-ton
bulkers
will offer efficient transport to both
Kashima
and Wakayama, with capacity of 30,000-ton
more than the current Cape-size bulkers
(160,000
to 170,000 tons) now in service.
MOL will continue to focus on natural resource
transport as one of its key management strategies
in the future, and work to provide efficient
transport solutions to a range of customer
needs.
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