OceanConnect Shareholders Reflect on Two Years of Growth

OceanConnect's board of directors and shareholders reflected on two years of strong growth at the company's annual meeting, held yesterday in Oslo. "I am pleased to report to our shareholders that in fewer than two years, OceanConnect has become the only fuel service combining traditional brokerage with live, online competition. The results speak for themselves: with growth of more than 40 percent per annum, the outlook is good for continued growth," OceanConnect President Thomas Reilly said. "In the coming year we will leverage our status as the only full-service bunker brokerage, offering online transactions, traditional bunker services, risk management, and comprehensive spend analyses."

Reilly and OceanConnect shareholders discussed the company's progress over the past year. In 2002, Chemoil, DS Norden, MarineProvider, Lazard, and Booz Allen & Hamilton joined OceanConnect's diverse equity base. OceanConnect expanded into Korea with the recent addition of S.I. Shim, Asia's most respected broker. Bob Fitzgerald, the founder of Bunkerfuels, joined OceanConnect earlier in the year. "In addition, OceanConnect launched a new transaction platform that allows speedy negotiation and firm counteroffers, useful for ports where there are only one or two suppliers," Reilly said. Collin Lewis, OceanConnect Board Member, noted that OceanConnect's strong annual growth was testament to the company's unique value proposition which combines the advantages of technology with proven brokerage expertise. "OceanConnect's technology brings transparency to an opaque market. OceanConnect's transparency and personal service help our customers find the best possible deal on bunkers," Lewis said. "Through OceanConnect, DS Norden's fleet is consistently saving on fuel costs in all of our key ports," said Michael Steenfeldt, Operations Manager at Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S. After obtaining positive results from OceanConnect's services, DS Norden acquired an equity stake in the company in January 2002.