Four P-MAX newbuilding contracts confirmed

7/14/2003 5:07 AM EST

CONCORDIA MARITIME EXTENDS "THE STENA MAX" CONCEPT

Four P-MAX new building contracts confirmed

Concordia Maritime, a tanker company within the Stena Group, today
reports that it has confirmed orders for four option two P-MAX medium
range (MR) products carriers to be built at the Brodosplit Shipyard in
Croatia.

These orders follow the Stena MAX concept developed by the Stena Group
over the past five years providing tankships able to meet the growing
challenges of transporting oil cargoes into sensitive areas in an ever
increasingly environmentally conscious world combined with good
transportation economy.

The new Stena P-MAX ships at about 49,900 dwt have lower draft and
higher speed than traditional, modern MR products tankers. With a length
overall of 183 metres - equal to that of a traditional MR tanker, but
beam of 40 metres as against 32.2 metres for today's MR - the P-MAX will
offer 70,000 cubic metres of cargo capacity, almost 30% more than the
55,000 cubic metres of today's largest MR vessels. This is the heart of
the Stena MAX concept: 30% more cargo and highest safety.

The P-MAX will offer the active safety component of propulsion
redundancy seen on the V-MAX VLCCs delivered to Concordia in 2001 and
the C-MAX coastal products/LPG carriers introduced by Stena Bulk in
2002.

The P-MAX ships will have two engine rooms divided by a fire safe and
watertight bulkhead; two engines with separate fuel supply and other
auxiliary systems for each engine, two propeller shafts, two propellers
and rudders, plus independent control and monitoring systems for each
propulsion unit - in accordance with the requirements of the DNV RPS
class notation (Redundant Propulsion Separate). Fuel consumption is
comparable with modern MR tankers at the same cargo intake.

In the product carrier sector, with frequent port calls, restricted
water depths, traffic intensive waterways, sensitive cargoes and
operations into sensitive areas, Concordia knows that improved
manoeuvrability, reliability and redundancy found in all the Stena MAX
ships are at the heart of safe ship operations. Another major advantage
with the Stena MAX ships is that there may be less need for dredging of
ports and approaches. This is a cost advantage but it is also
environmentally sound to adjust the ships to Nature and not the other
way round.

The P-MAX double hull will be further strengthened to DNV enhanced
fatigue Class Notation Plus 2, and Swedish/Finnish Ice Class 1B.
Navigation instrumentation and layout will be enhanced according to DNV
NAUT-AW.
With hull and machinery system failures accounting for some 25% of
tanker incidents in 2002, according to INTERTANKO and
collisions/groundings/contacts some 50%, Concordia is convinced that the
features built into the P-MAX will make a positive difference to both
safety and environmental protection - something that both charterers and
the public will demand in future years.

Lars Carlsson, President of Concordia Maritime which will own the new
line of ships, says that Concordia and Stena have the products carrier
experience as a significant charterer through its subsidiary StenTex,
and the experience of owning and operating the Stena C-MAXes. He
believes that now is the time for Concordia to expand into the
challenging sectors, which the P-MAX orders represent.
"The economics of scale for what is essentially a maxi medium range
tanker will drive this deal in the commercial market, while there can be
no doubt about the long term safety and environmental dividend" he says.

With the first P-MAX scheduled for delivery in 2005, no firm charters
have been fixed.
"These are highly flexible vessels with lots of opportunities," says
Lars Carlsson. " We are having discussions with charterers and cargo
owners, and with the Stena MAX concept up and running with great
success, these P-MAX ships are being built for an increasingly
environment conscious market and we have every confidence that they will
have an outstanding future".

Gothenburg 14th July 2003

Contact: Lars Carlsson, mobile +46 704 855003
Hans Norén phone +4631855101 or mobile +46704855101

Concordia Home Page: www..Concordia-Maritime.SE

Concordia Maritime is an international large-tanker shipping company,
which owns two new 314,000 dwt VLCCs delivered in 2001 and three VLCCs
of about 270,000 dwt built in the mid-1970s. The new vessels, Stena V-
MAX, in addition to having mandatory double hulls, were built according
to a completely new tanker concept for safer oil transportation with
double main engines in two completely separate engine rooms, double
rudders and steering gear, two propellers and double control systems.
All the vessels were built to very high specifications as regards both
customer satisfaction and lifespan. The quality of the vessels and the
management and manning organisations is documented by quality
certificates from Det Norske Veritas and the American Bureau of
Shipping.

INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE
Our business concept is to provide our customers with safe, cost-
effective tanker transportation based on innovation and performance.




Graphic impression of the Stena P-MAX