November 15, 2004

MOL, "K" LINE and PRISCO Concludes Long-Term Charter Contract
for Newly-Built 147,000m3 Type LNG Carrier
to Serve Sakhalin Energy Company

TOKYO- Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Akimitsu Ashida) today announced MOL, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" LINE), and Primorsk Shipping Corporation (PRISCO; Headquarters: Nakhodka, Russia) concluded a 20-year charter contract for a newly built LNG carrier with Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd.(Sakhalin Energy; Joint venture of Shell with a 55% share, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. 25%, and Mitsubishi Corporation 20%) in London on November 15, 2004.

At the same time, MOL, "K" LINE, and PRISCO concluded an agreement to build a new LNG carrier. The LNG carrier, planned to complete construction in April 2008, will be launched for the Sakhalin II project (the first LNG plant in Russia, with expected annual LNG production volume at 9.6 million tons after completion). During winter ice floes may drift down to Prigorodnoye Port, the planned loading port, so the LNG carrier will adopt the specifications of ice bound sea and cold regions that allow normal navigation of ice floes up to 55cm thick.

MOL and "K" LINE offer LNG carrier operation know-how in training Russian seafarers. On the other hand, PRISCO offers know-how to MOL and "K" LINE of navigation through ice bound seas. MOL, "K" LINE and PRISCO are aggressively working on to this project in order to contribute to the development of the LNG business in Sakhalin, Russia, through the safe operation of this LNG carrier.

MOL will take responsibility for the management of the LNG carrier.

Ref.1) New LNG Carrier Specifications

Ref.2) Primorsk Shipping Corporation (PRISCO) is a shipping company in Russia, with headquarters located in Nakhodka. It is the largest tanker operator in the Russian Far East, and owns and operates 40 carriers. One of their chief strengths is operating in ice bound seas.