ESL Shipping Ltd, an Aspo Group company, has signed an agreement to form a joint venture with the Swedish Donsöshipping. The joint venture will order a new vessel from China. The new vessel is a dry bulk cargo ship of about 20,000 dwt corresponding in size to our previous newbuilding, the ms Eira, launched in 2001.
The vessel will be designed specifically for ESL Shipping's dry cargo transports in the Baltic Sea area and it will be built to meet the highest Finnish ice class - 1A Super. The total value of the investment is approximately EUR 22 million. We expect the ship to be commissioned 2006.
"The acquisition of additional capacity became necessary when ESL Shipping signed a long-term transport partnership agreement with Rautaruukki effective from the beginning of 2004. The new vessel will meet our new capacity requirements and will replace older capacity", says Eerik Yrjölä, CEO of ESL Shipping Ltd.
"For Aspo Shipping setting up a joint venture in Sweden and ordering a new vessel from China will bring us new experience and know-how", says Gustav Nyberg, CEO of Aspo.
ESL Shipping transports dry bulk materials mainly in the Baltic Sea area. In 2002 the company shipped about 7.4 million tons with net sales of EUR 43.1 million.
ASPO Plc
Gustav Nyberg
CEO
For more information contact:
CEO Gustav Nyberg, Aspo Plc, +358 9 7595 256 or +358 40 503 6420, gustav.nyberg@aspo.fi
Eerik Yrjölä, CEO, ESL Shipping Ltd, +358 9 7595 781,
+358 50 357 9099, eerik.yrjola@eslshipping.fi
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Helsinki Stock Exchange
The Media
www.aspo.fi