Incident with the Crude Oil Tanker - BRIGHT ARTEMIS

August 15, 2006

Tokyo - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President: Akimitsu Ashida) reports that the MOL-owned crude oil tanker, Bright Artemis, was suffered the damage on her hull when she is trying to rescue the crew of a vessel "Amar". The incident led to crude oil spillage from Bright Artemis in between Sri Lanka and Sumatra Island on Monday, August 14. The outline of events is as follows:

1. Overview

On the morning of August 14 (LT), Bright Artemis received a distress signal from the "Amar" (10,208 ton, Singapore flag), which was on fire, and immediately proceeded to the position about 290 miles west of the Great Nicobar Island in the Indian Ocean.

At about 1:00 p.m., (3:00 p.m. JST), Amar was swept by a wind wave and struck Bright Artemis. The Bright Artemis has a gash of about 1 meter in height and 5 meters in length on the starboard (approx. 1.7 meters above the water line). The amount of oil spillage from damaged 2 tanks is still under investigation, but is estimated to reach to about 4,500 tons.

Bright Artemis carried 249,997 tons of crude oil from Mina Al-Fahl (Oman) and Ras Tanura (Saudi Arabia), and was headed to Japan. According to the report from the Bright Artemis, the location of the accident is located 5 degrees 46 minutes north (latitude) and 89 degrees 04 minutes east (longitude). Amar crew members on board were rescued by other vessel and are confirmed to be safe. There is no report of any engine malfunctions or any injuries from the Bright Artemis.

2. Response

The Bright Artemis transferred oil from the damaged tanks to other tanks in order to stop further oil spills. As a result, the oil surfaces have been lowered below the gashes of the damaged tanks and thus, the possibility of further spillage has been prevented. The vessel is currently proceeding eastward, adjusting its speed to minimize any turbulence.
Maritime Port Authority of Singapore and the Indian Coast Guard have been informed of the incident.
On August 14, MOL established Emergency Control Headquarter headed by President Ashida, to respond to any emergency situations.

3. Profile of Bright Artemis

• Gross Tons: 146,463 tons
• Type of vessel: Crude oil tanker
• Built: August 1992
• Flag: Singapore
• Seafarers: 23 in total: 4 Croatians (including captain), 1 Canadian, 18 Filipinos
• Ship Management: MOL Tankship Management (Asia) Pte. Ltd.