Targeting Greek Shipping's $16B Budget

Around the world, people involved with shipping are booking flights to Greece and preparing to do business at the Posidonia 2002 International Shipping Exhibition, held on the Piraeus waterfront from June 4-7, 2002. With the Greek market worth a conservative $16 billion per annum, there is plenty of incentive. The business week begins with The Posidonia Congress and a program of high level international presentations and debate, at the Megaron, Athens Concert Hall on Monday, June 3. Posidonia's attraction for exhibitors and visitors is not hard to see. Greek shipowners control the biggest fleet in the world. Their drive towards fleet renewal and regeneration is creating multi billion dollar opportunities throughout the international maritime industry. Current Sale & Purchase (S & P) deals average $86 million a week.

Greek owners control some 4,000 ships totaling more than 155 million dwt. Enormous business potential flows from this. Just to keep this massive and highly diverse fleet trading costs around $5 billion a year. In April 2002, the Greek shipowners' order book stood at about 250 newbuildings, worth almost $7 billion - shipyards around the world now regard Greek buyers as their most important customers. And Greek operators dominate the second hand ship market. Last year, S&P and demolition transactions involved 547 ships worth $4.65 billion. Posidonia typifies Greek shipowners' ability to combine the serious business of world shipping with close personal business relationships, warmth and hospitality. "It is a wonderful and unique opportunity to see and be seen, to make new contacts and strengthen existing relationships," is how the CEO of one company put it.

There is a huge social calendar. Receptions range from the formal and lavish, for over 2,500 guests, to smaller, more intimate gatherings. They start the week before Posidonia opens and continue long after the exhibition has closed. Posidonia 2002 is the 18th biennial International Shipping Exhibition to be held in Greece. It already looks set to break all records. Exhibition space at the Piraeus Port Authority Exhibition Centre on Akti Miaouli has been increased by over 10 percent to cope with demand. Germany and Singapore return with national pavilions at Posidonia after several years' absence. They join current national pavilion exhibitors including Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, Malta, The Netherlands, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, U.S., Hong Kong SAR and Romania.

The Posidonia Congress The 2nd Posidonia Congress 2002 starts the business week, on Monday, June 3. It has already attracted leading industry figures, both as speakers and delegates. The Congress has two clear objectives. The first is to examine the role of sea transport in a rapidly changing world. The second is to evaluate the public image of shipping. Keynote addresses will be given by:- • George Anomeritis, Greek Minister of Mercantile Marine • Loyola de Palacio, Vice President of the European Commission Speakers include: • Kenneth S. Courtis, Vice Chairman - Asia, Goldman Sachs • Phillipe Louis-Dreyfus, President of the French Shipowners Association • Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Chairman of easyGroup • K.H. Koo, Chairman of The Hong Kong Shipowners Association • Harald Kuznic, Head of Shipping, Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein Girozentrale • Tom Mangold, Senior Investigative Reporter, BBC TV Current Affairs • Nicho Stelmar Set to Expand Fleet The Posidonia Congress is held under the auspices of the Union of Greek Shipowners and the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee and will be chaired by John C. Lyras, President of the UGS.

HELMEPA, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is hosting a special Congress reception.Royal Olympic Takes Olympia Explorer Blohm+Voss GMBH delivered the new fast cruise ship, Olympia Explorer, to Royal Olympic Cruise Lines Inc. The vessel immediately sailed from the Blohm+Voss shipyard to the Port of Piraeus in Greece. Royal Olympic Cruises' CEO, Yiannos Pantazis, said that the delivery of the Olympia Explorer "made us all proud." The Olympia Explorer, together with her sister ship, Olympia Voyager, are the fastest cruise vessels of their size, performing unique cruises at speeds of up to 30 knots. "The new itineraries Royal Olympic Cruises will offer with this vessel have created considerable interest in the cruise market. The first cruises are already fully booked," added Pantazis.

Stelmar Set To Expand Fleet, Receives Tanker Stelmar Shipping Ltd. has taken delivery of the Rubymar, a new 69,697 dwt Panamax tanker from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Company Ltd. of South Korea. The Rubymar has entered into a previously announced 24-month time charter with SONAP (National Oil Company of Chile) for $17,500 per day. Rubymar is a sister ship to the Jademar and the Pearlmar, which were delivered in the first quarter and entered into previously announced 24-month time charters with Adam Maritime Corporation. Stelmar Shipping Ltd. — headquartered in Athens, Greece — announced, for the first quarter, a net income of $7.9 million, or $0.67 per basic share, compared with $3.9 million or $0.72 per basic share, for the first quarter of 2001. Operating income increased to $12.2 million from $7.2 million in the first quarter of 2001. EBITDA for the quarter was $19.8 million compared with $11 million for last year's first quarter. On a time charter basis, revenues for the quarter were $30 million, an increase of 93 percent over the $15.5 million recorded in the first quarter of last year, mainly due to the expansion of the fleet. Time charter earned revenues for the first quarter of 2002 were $26.6 million approximately 89 percent of revenues, as opposed to $14.1 million or 91 percent of revenues, on a time charter basis, for the same period last year. Including the two newbuildings to be delivered in the second quarter of 2002, Stelmar has 27 ships with a total of 1,528,438-dwt-cargo carrying capacity. Twenty-four of these ships are deployed on time charter. Seven time charters were signed during the first quarter of 2002, bringing time charter coverage to 77 percent and 43 percent of the net operating days for the fleet for 2002 and 2003 respectively. The durations of the charters signed over the course of the quarter range from six months to 18 months. The average hire for the six months time charters is approximately $12,000 per day with the longer duration time charters exceeding $13,500 per day.