ESL Shipping takes delivery of a new vessel in Vietnam

ASPO Plc   STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE   January 5, 2012 at 10:00  

ESL Shipping Ltd, part of the Aspo Group, has taken delivery of a new 56,000 dwt vessel from the Korean Hyundai Mipo shipyard. M/s Arkadia is the first of two dry cargo vessels to be built in Vietnam, and it is owned by ESL Shipping.  

M/s Arkadia is a supramax class vessel and has built-in cranes as well as a ballast water treatment system. The length of the vessel is 197 meters and maximum draft with a full cargo is 13.0 meters, and she sails under the Finnish flag.

"The new Arkadia is the first 1A ice-strengthened dry cargo vessel in its class. She is tailor-made for the increasing cargo traffic in the Baltic Sea area and for operations in demanding conditions. The new vessel will further strengthen our position as the leading dry cargo transport company in Finland and in the entire Baltic Sea area," says Markus Karjalainen, President of ESL Shipping.

"Arkadia is a part of the fleet renewal specified in ESL Shipping`s strategy," says Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo Group. In addition to m/s Arkadia, ESL Shipping has ordered a second ice-strengthened supramax class vessel from the same shipyard, also to be commissioned in the first half of 2012.

ESL Shipping transports dry bulk materials, mainly in the Baltic Sea region; in 2010, approximately 13 million tons. The cargo mainly consists of ore, coal and limestone. The steel industry`s share of transports was 70 percent, and the energy industry represented 25 percent. Including the new ship, the shipping company`s fleet consists of 17 vessels, 13 of which it owns in full. Two are time-chartered, one is bareboat chartered and one is partially owned. The total dead weight capacity of the vessels is approximately 265,000 tons.

ASPO Plc

Aki Ojanen
CEO

For further information, please contact:
Aki Ojanen, CEO Aspo Plc, +358 9 521 4010, +358 400 106 592, aki.ojanen@aspo.com  
Markus Karjalainen, President ESL Shipping Ltd, +358 9 5211, +358 400 888 020 markus.karjalainen@eslshipping.com

www.eslshipping.com
www.aspo.com

Aspo is a conglomerate that owns and develops business operations in the Baltic Sea region focusing on demanding B-to-B customers. Our strong company brands - ESL Shipping, Leipurin, Telko and Kaukomarkkinat - aim to be the market leaders in their sectors. They are responsible for their own operations, customer relationships and the development of these. Together they generate Aspo`s goodwill. Aspo`s Group structure and business operations are continually developed without any predefined schedules.  

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