CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENT

13 October, 2004

MOL Upgrades Asia - Middle East Liner Service Network

TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Akimitsu Ashida) today announced an upgrade of its Asia - Middle East Liner Service network.

CMI Service (Asia - Middle East Container Service) will have more stable schedule with a change on the calling ports from M/V MOL Maas sailing from Busan, Korea on 17th of October. Kwangyang, Korea and Xiamen, PRC will be new direct ports to be covered by the CMI service.

Service Rotation

Busan (Sun) -> Kwangyang (Mon) -> Qingdao (Tue/Wed) -> Ningbo (Thu/Fri) -> Xiamen (Sun) -> Singapore (Thu/Fri) -> Jebel Ali (Fri/Sat) -> Fujairah (Sun) -> Singapore (Sun/Mon) -> Kaohsiung (Thu/Fri) -> Busan (Sun)

Transit Time

• Busan - Jebel Ali: 19 days
• Kwangyang - Jebel Ali: 18 days
• Qingdao - Jebel Ali: 16 days
• Ningbo - Jebel Ali: 14 days
• Xiamen - Jebel Ali: 12 days
• Singapore - Jebel Ali: 7 days

With the change of CMI service, a new service (a space charter) between Hong Kong / Chiwan, PRC and Jebel Ali, UAE starts at Chiwan, PRC from 24th of October by M/V APL Busan, providing faster transit time from Hong Kong and South China.

Service Rotation

Chiwan (Sun/Mon) -> Hong Kong (Mon/Tue) -> Jebel Ali (Fri)

Transit Time

• Chiwan - Jebel Ali: 11 days
• Hong Kong - Jebel Ali: 10 days

For further information, please contact:
 
    Atsushi Ishikawa
    Director
    MOL (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
    Tel: +65-6560-0105
    Fax: +65-6897-0353
 
    Masanori Doi
    Manager
    Strategic Planning and Asset Management Group, Liner Division
    Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
    Tel: +81-3-3587-7422
    Fax: +81-3-3587-7796