Star Cruises Charters Vessel

Star Cruises Plc has chartered a vessel for three years for its Japan and South Korea operations starting in March 2000. The 950-passenger capacity vessel, MS Leeward, was chartered from Finland's Neptune Maritime Oyj and would be renamed SuperStar Taurus. The 10-deck vessel, with 475 cabins, was rebuilt in 1995. It will undergo a multi-million dollar refit in December before starting operations. SuperStar Taurus, Star Cruises' ninth vessel, will be delivered back to the owners in early 2003. "By then, we would have taken delivery of the 91,000 gross-ton SuperStar Libra and SuperStar Scorpio in 2001 and 2002 respectively," Star Cruises' President and Chief Executive Officer Colin Au said. Star Cruises plans to have a fleet of 12 vessels by 2005.