Contact Information: Contacts: Company Contact: Gregory A. McGrath Chief Financial Officer Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc. PO Box 272 Convent Station, NJ 07961 Tel. (551) 580-0532 E-mail: gmcgrath@omeganavigation.com www.omeganavigation.com Investor Relations / Financial Media: Nicolas Bornozis President Capital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue, Suite 1536 New York, NY 10169 Tel. (212) 661-7566 E-mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com www.capitallink.com
Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc. Announces the Appointment of Non-Executive Independent Director
| Source: Omega Navigation
PIRAEUS, GREECE--(Marketwire - December 31, 2007) - Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ : ONAV ) (SGX: ONAV50), a provider of global marine transportation services
focusing on product tankers, announced today the appointment of Huang Yuan
Chiang to the Board as a Class C Non-Executive Independent Director
effective January 1, 2008.
The appointment of Mr. Huang satisfies the requirement of Singaporean
regulators that the Company has two independent Singaporean directors by
January 1, 2008. Following this appointment, the Board of Directors of
Omega Navigation consists of nine members, seven of which are independent.
Mr. Huang is a lawyer by training and he has had a career in Investment
Banking spanning 12 years. He has held senior management positions at
various international banks including Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC,
Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank. His areas of specialisation were in the
areas of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance and his last
position at Bankers Trust was Managing Director, heading the Mergers &
Acquisition Division for Bankers Trust for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand, Philippines and India. Apart from Omega Navigation Enterprises,
Inc., Mr Huang holds board positions in several other listed and private
companies. Mr. Huang has degrees in law and economics.
George Kassiotis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omega
Navigation, commented: "We are pleased to announce the appointment of Huang
Yuan Chiang as the ninth member to our Board of Directors, who is based in
Singapore, thereby enabling us to further expand and optimize our presence
in Asia. The fact that seven of our members are now Non-Executive
Independent Directors illustrates our commitment to adhering to the best
corporate governance practices. Furthermore, the geographic diversity of
our board of directors with a presence between Europe, the Middle East,
Asia and the United States and its broad range of experience in the
transportation and banking sectors is a valuable resource in the
formulation and implementation of our business strategy aimed to maximize
shareholder value for the long term."
About Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc.
Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc. is an international provider of global
marine transportation services through the ownership and operation of eight
double hull product tankers. The current fleet includes eight double hull
product tankers with a carrying capacity of 512,358 dwt. These eight
product tankers are chartered out under three-year period time charters.
Furthermore, the company recently announced the signing of shipbuilding
contracts to construct and acquire five newbuilding double hull Handymax
product tankers each with a capacity of 37,000 dwt scheduled for delivery
between March 2010 and early in 2011. With the addition of these five
vessels, the Omega fleet will expand to 13 product tankers with a total
deadweight capacity of 697,358 tons.
The Company was incorporated in the Marshall Islands in February 2005. Its
principal executive offices are located in Piraeus, Greece and it also
maintains an office in the United States.
Omega Navigation's Class A Common Shares are traded on the NASDAQ National
Market under the symbol "ONAV" and are also listed on the Singapore
Exchange Securities Trading Limited under the symbol "ONAV 50."
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking
statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides
safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to
encourage companies to provide prospective information about their
business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans,
objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying
assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of
historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this
cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The
words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast,"
"project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect" "pending"
and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various
assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions,
including without limitation, the Company's management's examination of
historical operating trends, data contained in the Company's records and
other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes that
these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are
difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Company's control,
the Company cannot assure you that the Company will achieve or accomplish
these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors other important factors that, in the
Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those
discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world
economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations
in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for product tanker
and dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in the Company's operating
expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the
market for the Company's vessels, availability of financing and
refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken
by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future
litigation, general domestic and international political conditions,
potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political
events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors.
Please see the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and
uncertainties.