-- Mr. Mortzen Arntzen, President & CEO, Overseas Shipholding Group
(NYSE : OSG )
-- Mr. Peter Evensen, Executive V.P. & Chief Strategy Officer, Teekay
Corporation (NYSE : TK )
-- Mr. Nikolas Tsakos, President & CEO, Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE : TNP )
will participate in a Panel discussion on the Tanker Shipping sector on
Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 11:00 am EDT -- 4:00 pm London time.
The Tanker Forum is organized by Capital Link, a New York based Investor
Relations and Financial Communications firm focusing on shipping, in
cooperation with the New York Stock Exchange.
ACCESS THROUGH LIVE AUDIO WEBCAST
Those interested in participating at the Tanker Forum can access the panel
discussion through a live audio webcast available at
www.CapitalLinkWebcasts.com. Participants to live webcast should register
on the website approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the webcast.
Following the event, there will be an audio archive of the discussion at
Capital Link's Shipping website at www.CapitalLinkShipping.com.
PANEL STRUCTURE & MODERATOR
The panel discussion will be moderated by Ms. Natasha Boyden, Managing
Director Equity Research of Cantor Fitzgerald.
The focus of the discussion (and the Q&A) will be on sector trends and
fundamentals, as opposed to company specifics or recommendations. The
discussion will cover four topics: demand, supply, freight rates and asset
values, valuations, focusing on current trends and the sector's outlook.
QUESTIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS
Participants can submit questions to the analysts prior to or during the
event through the special event page on www.CapitalLinkWebcasts.com or
through www.CapitalLinkShipping.com.
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript of the panel discussion will be publicly available within
approximately 48 hours after the event and those interested can request it
through the event page on www.CapitalLinkWebcasts.com or through
www.CapitalLinkShipping.com.
ABOUT TANKER SHIPPING:
A principal function of the tanker sector is to transport crude oil from
oil production and export facilities to oil terminals, storage facilities,
pipeline systems and oil refineries internationally. In addition, tankers
are also involved in the carriage of refined petroleum products, such as
gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, from refineries to storage and
distribution systems, industrial plants and other consumers. Tankers
generally are a more cost-effective alternative to pipelines and their
advantages increase over distance. Pipelines are also considered to be more
vulnerable to political instability, sabotage, economic blockade and the
risk of environmental disaster.
There are two principal types of providers of international seaborne
transportation services for crude oil and refined petroleum products:
independent shipowners and end users, such as oil, energy, petrochemical
and trading companies (both private and state-owned). Tonnage controlled by
end users is primarily chartered from independent shipowners under
short-term spot market contracts and long-term time charters, with the
balance being directly owned. The prices for transporting crude oil and
refined petroleum products, which are referred to as tanker charter rates,
are set in highly competitive markets in which both independent and
end-user tonnage participate.
In recent years, the tanker sector has undergone a process of consolidation
that has resulted in greater co-operation between owners and charterers as
both seek greater economic efficiencies and continued improvements in
quality, safety and environmental protection standards. As a result, oil
companies acting as charterers, terminal operators, shippers and receivers
are becoming increasingly selective and rigorous in their inspection and
vetting of vessels and their acceptance of vessels and operators. Safety
and environmental protection has been a major focus of the tanker industry
over the past years. Regulations such as OPA 90 and IMO have caused tanker
owners to take extra care in the maintenance of their vessels. According to
IMO regulation only double hull tankers will trade as of 2010 with single
hull tankers phasing out.
Vessels in the tanker fleet can be divided into categories based on their
size in deadweight tons, or dwt, which is a vessel's capacity for cargo,
fuel, oil, stores and crew measured in metric tons (1,000 kilograms). The
following are the main categories of tankers based on dwt: (1) Very Large
Crude Carriers (VLCCs) -- tankers with capacity of 200,000 dwt and over;
(2) Suezmax tankers -- tankers with capacity ranging from 120,000 to
200,000 dwt; (3) Aframax tankers -- tankers with capacity ranging from
80,000 to 120,000 dwt; (4) Panamax tankers -- tankers with capacity ranging
from 60,000 to 80,000 dwt; (5) Medium Range tankers (MR) -- tankers with
capacity ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 dwt, and (6) Small tankers --
tankers with capacity up to 26,999 dwt. A 300,000 dwt tanker can carry 2
million barrels of crude oil, while a Suezmax can carry about 1 million
barrels and an Aframax between up to about 800,000 barrels.
Tankers that transport refined petroleum products are referred to as
products tankers. Products tankers generally range in size from 10,000 to
80,000 dwt, although there are some larger products tankers designed for
niche long-haul trades, such as from the Middle East to Japan, Korea and
South East Asia. Products tankers generally have cargo-handling systems
that are designed to transport several different grades of refined
petroleum products simultaneously. These systems include coated cargo tanks
that facilitate cleaning between voyages involving different cargoes.
Ice Class tankers are vessels that have been constructed (in compliance
with Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules) with strengthened hulls, a sufficient
level of propulsive power for transit through ice-covered routes and
specialized machinery and equipment for cold climates.
ABOUT www.CapitalLinkShipping.com:
Capital Link Shipping is a web based resource whose objective is to
facilitate investor knowledge and understanding of shipping and its listed
companies, and to facilitate the exchange of information among listed
companies, industry participants and investors. The site provides
information on the major shipping and stock market indices, as well as on
all shipping stocks. It also features industry reports from major industry
participants and interviews with CEOs, analysts and other market
participants.
The information on the website is not an offer to buy or sell any kind of
securities nor does it constitute investment advice of any kind. Capital
Link does not represent or warrant the accuracy of the information in this
site. The user of the site acknowledges that he/she accesses the
information at his/her own risk and cannot hold Capital Link liable for any
matter in any way and will use the website in accordance with the Terms and
Conditions specified on the website.
The website is operated by Capital Link, a New York based Investor
Relations and Financial Communications firm with a strategic focus on
shipping.
Contact Information: Contact for Capital Link Shipping: Nicolas Bornozis President Capital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue - Suite 1536 New York, N.Y. 10169 Tel. (212) 661-7566 Fax (212) 661-7526 E-mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com http://www.capitallinkshipping.com http://www.capitallink.com