Coast Guard Rescues One From Disabled Vessel

Juneau September 5, 2006 - The Coast Guard North Pacific Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Juneau was contacted by a crewman on the sailing vessel Vega who reported that the vessel's master, Mike Price, 66, had fallen overboard when the 40-foot vessel's steering was damaged at 2:35 p.m., Monday evening.

After briefly communicating with the command center, the crewman, Justin Perry, 24, from Bellingham, told the command center that he had to leave the radio in order to attempt the rescue of Price.

Price was tied off to the vessel, but had no life jacket or survival suit on. The water temperature was 55 degrees Fahrenheit, with eight to 15 foot seas.

Perry could not operate the GPS or find any location signaling devices.

The command center put out an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) and began to construct a search area.

At 3:05 p.m. an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was launched from Sitka to begin searching for Price and the disabled Vega.

Civilian vessels responding to the UMIB helped to narrow the search area to the region of Kruzoff Island in the Gulf of Alaska.

Perry communicated to the Coast Guard that he was able to pull Price onboard, however the vessel master was unresponsive and not breathing. The Jayhawk crew passed rescue breathing instructions to Perry while enroute to the disabled Vega.

The Vega was located using VHF direction finding equipment and the Jayhawk crew arrived on scene at 4:44 p.m.

After lowering a rescue swimmer to the Vega, Price was found to be unresponsive with no pulse. The duty flight surgeon was consulted and recommended that resuscitation efforts cease.

Efforts were then focused on Perry, who was instructed to put on a survival suit and enter the water for a basket hoist.

Perry and the Coast Guard rescue swimmer were lifted safely and the Jayhawk departed the scene enroute to Sitka. The body of Price was not lifted due to hazardous seas.

The Coast Guard Command Center in Juneau immediately began planning a recovery mission.

The Coast Guard cutter Maple was dispatched from Sitka at approximately midnight and arrived on scene at 8:25 this morning. The body of the deceased has been recovered and the crew of the Maple is attempting to take the Vega into tow at this time.

New York September 5, 2006 - Aiming to alleviate suffering caused by drought, a ship chartered by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) docked this weekend in Mogadishu - the agency's first delivery to the Somali capital's port in more than a decade.

The MV Redline docked at Mogadishu port on Sunday loaded with 3,300 metric tons of WFP food - 2,400 tons of cereals, 780 tons of lentils, 90 tons of highly nutritious blended food and 30 tons of vegetable oil. The food will be trucked to the drought stricken regions of Bay and Bakool in the south.

Rival claims by competing warlords closed Mogadishu port in February 1995 until the Union of Islamic Courts seized the capital in June. The port was reopened to shipping in August.

"Mogadishu is once again a key entry point for getting food stocks into the country. The reopening of the port makes it easier for us to reach more than one million people across the country who rely on our assistance," said WFP Somalia Acting Country Director Leo van der Velden.

He said that using the country's largest port should reduce unloading times and help ease logistical problems that have complicated WFP's supply lines into Somalia over the past 10 years.

With Mogadishu closed to shipping, WFP-chartered ships had to unload their cargo at beach ports near the capital and at the port of Merka to the south. Cranes unloaded the food commodities from ships onto smaller barges, which then ferried them to the shallows, where porters waited to wade ashore with the bags.

Mr. Van den Velden said WFP was discussing with Mogadishu's newly appointed port management the use of WFP food in return for work to clean up the facility after years of disuse.

A spate of pirate attacks in Somali waters in 2005 forced WFP to bring food aid to the drought-stricken south by road because shipping companies were unwilling to risk voyages to Somalia. Two WFP-chartered ships were seized by pirates in 2005 and one escaped a pirate attack in March 2006.

Although the recent harvest has provided a respite for some people in Somalia, many families are still struggling to recover from last year's devastating drought, according to the agency, which estimated that 1.4 million people in North, central or southern Somalia face either an acute food and livelihood security crisis or humanitarian emergency until at least the end of December 2006. In addition, 400,000 internally displaced people need prolonged humanitarian assistance.

WFP needs a total of $37 million to assist 1.1 million people in Somalia until July 2007.

Waterways Management on the St Clair River

Detroit September 5, 2006 - The U.S. Coast Guard announces waterway restrictions affecting recreational and commercial vessel traffic on the St. Clair River from September 18-28, 2006. Work involving high voltage electrical lines will impact river traffic in the vicinity of Marysville, MI during the period. Closures will temporarily be in effect on weekdays between the hours of 0700-1600. The river will be closed to all traffic periodically during those hours. Announcements regarding the closure and reopening will be made on marine band channel 16. Commercial mariners may also contact Sarnia Vessel Traffic Control on channel 11 or 12 for information.

A safety zone will be in effect during the periods of closure and will be enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard, Ontario Provincial Police and other law enforcement entities from the United States and Canada. Mariners are directed to stay clear of the safety zone during closures for their safety and the safety of others.

By Tami Overby
President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea

During my 19 years of living in Korea, I have noticed that Korean people seem to have a few very distinctive characteristics. For example, Koreans are very generous towards others but are more strict and critical when evaluating themselves and the performance of the Korean economy. This self-effacing modesty is one of the secrets of Korea's success, yet at the same time, Koreans often underestimate their own potential and strength.

Many Koreans still feel like Korea is a developing country, when in fact, by any economic measure, Korea is a fully developed economy and is now widely recognized as the 10th largest economy in the world. Korea has become a wonderful success model for a free market economy and democracy and is gaining international recognition with the successful hosting of high profile international events such as the 1988 Olympic Games, World Cup 2002, and APEC in 2005. Korea is also showing strong leadership in the WTO and the United Nations encouraging the spirit of free trade and democracy. Korea's continued participation in outreach programs such as international relief funding for victims of crises and support towards global peace-keeping further add to Korea's rising stature in the international community.

However, if one were to judge the Korean economy by only reading the Korean media and talking to Koreans, one would have a completely different outlook on the country. Perhaps it was this sense of urgency and hunger for success and accomplishment that made possible the economic miracle that is Korea today. Korea's frequent warning signals about its economy may be the pressure needed to keep the country reforming and improving, which will take Korea into the next phase of its economic development. After all, progress will not be made if one only dwells on the successes of the past without carefully reflecting on areas for improvement. Korea does not have the luxury of time to stand idly by celebrating its accomplishments while its neighbors and competitors are aggressively trying to copy Korea's success model.

A recent study by Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) points to the gravity of Korea's rapidly maturing economy combined with the declining birthrates and an aging society. The Korean economy is at serious risk without structural reform to improve Korea's competitiveness and growth potential while moving towards global standards and a business friendly environment. There does seem to be a growing consensus that Korea needs new momentum to spur growth but the public debate about whether the KORUS FTA is that remedy lingers on at a time when time is of the essence.

Korea lives in a rough neighborhood. Sandwiched between Japan - who leads in technology and innovation and China - who enjoys the cost advantage and an enormous domestic market, Korea'sits vicariously in the middle and cannot ignore the competition from its neighbors. Korea needs to carefully choose the path forward that will ensure future competitiveness. Korea's unique history of over 900 foreign invasions makes it easy to understand Korea's natural caution about market opening and accepting foreign competition. History is full of examples where Koreans suffered at the hands of foreigners, but I believe this distinctive history combined with the harshness of the landscape, full of mountains with little arable land available and cruel winters and steaming summers, occasionally hit by devastating typhoons forged in the Korean people an incredible inner strength that binds the nation together in times of crisis. It is this reason that Korea has never been assimilated into any of the conquering countries, but instead, maintained a fierce independence.

In 1996, when Korea's distribution market opened, the media was full of doom and gloom predictions that Wal-Mart would destroy the Korean distribution system. Yet today, 10 years later, both Wal-Mart and Carrefour, France's largest hyper-market, have both shuttered their stores in Korea because they were unable to find a successful business model here. The largest, most successful distribution company in Korea today is E-Mart, a Korean home-grown company.

Today, Korean exports are flooding the global economy and now over 70 percent of Korea's GDP are attributable to exports. This is happening because Korean products offer good quality at competitive prices. So we see Korean products competing favorably both at home and abroad. And yet still some Koreans fear market opening. The movie industry is another good example. For over 40 years, Korea maintained a screen quota that required theater owners to show Korean made movies a certain number of days each year. During the last several years, the U.S. and Korean governments have attempted to reduce the number of days but faced intense domestic opposition as many believed reducing the screen quota would be the end of the Korean film industry. It is an ironic argument because for the last several years, Korean films have been winning international awards and becoming globally acclaimed. In fact, we are now witnessing the "Korea Wave" as Korean movies, dramas and music are becoming increasingly popular throughout Asia. Korea's neighbors are now looking to follow the Korean model of instituting quotas against Korean movies to protect their local industry from Korean domination.

Now Korea is once again at a very important crossroads and must decide whether to embrace globalization and continue building on the successes of Korean exports around the globe or whether South Korea wants to follow the North Korean model of closing the economy and trying to fight the tsunami tide of globalization.

The Chinese economy is enjoying amazing economic development and Chinese industries are rapidly moving up the value chain. Soon, the traditional trade model with China where Korea out-sources its labor intensive manufacturing to gain cost competitiveness will no longer be effective. China is working very hard to aggressively attract FDI and the ancillary technology transfers that inevitably accompany such investments. They have rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors with an emphasis on science and technology development to help their industries acquire advanced technologies from abroad. They have studied the Korean success model of rapid industrialization very carefully and are now beginning to reap the rewards of their hard work. As a result, according to a recent poll, businesses in Korea view the technology gap between the two countries to be only 3.9 years. However, if you take into account their high speed learning curve together with their huge appetite for FDI, it may not take four years for China to catch up on the technology gap. The key words in this race are market openness and fair competition. Korea has a short window of opportunity to stay ahead and quick action is needed to win this race.

Korea's neighbors are not standing idly by as Koreans debate their future. They are closely watching the Korea-U.S. relationship, both from an economic and a political perspective, including the strong security alliance between our two countries. They will miss no chance to take whatever opportunity they see to leap-frog past Korea.

I find the argument about Korea being in too much of a hurry to conclude the KORUS FTA puzzling when countries like Japan, who have yet to sign a trade pact with the U.S. are eager to launch negotiations with the U.S. The launch of the KORUS FTA caught many of Korea's competitors off-guard and the result is an increase in interest for more FTAs with Korea, which improves Korea's negotiating position. Benchmarking is important, but there comes a time when a leader needs to take bold action to remain out front. Continuing to follow Japan's footsteps will not propel the Korean economy into the front lines. Korea has an extraordinary opportunity to do something Japan has been unable to do by completing an FTA with the U.S. first, effectively providing Korean products in the U.S. market an advantage over their Japanese competitors.

It is hugely significant that the U.S. is only negotiating with one FTA partner in Northeast Asia and that partner is Korea; not Japan or China. To me, this clearly reflects the high value America places on our relationship with Korea and the confidence the U.S. has in the future of the Korean economy. However, this window of opportunity will not remain open long. The U.S. is constrained by our president's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which will expire at the end of June 2007. The last time we lost TPA, it took eight years to get it back so I believe the KORUS FTA must be completed by the end of March next year in order for Congress to consider it and have a chance of passing this very important trade legislation.

If another major economy were to sign an FTA with Korea's competitors such as Japan or China, Korea's competitive position would be weakened due to the mutually exclusive nature of the FTA, which puts the countries outside the pact at significant disadvantage. Experts may argue about the degree of tangible benefits from an agreement, but the downside of being outside of the agreement is indisputable.

Rapid global competition means Korea needs to move faster than its neighbors if Korea wants to maintain its strong economic position. Korea has become an economic powerhouse in a variety of global industries like steel, shipbuilding, autos, semiconductors and electronics. When faced with challenges, Korea has shown an incredible resiliency and capacity to find its own uniquely Korean way that works best for Korea. Economists are still trying to understand how Korea was able to recover so quickly from the Asian financial crisis and complete significant and dramatic restructuring at the same time. I believe this is yet another example of the Korean people joining together to again do what many viewed as impossible.

The stakes are again very high and the benefits too significant to risk failure. Koreans have shown over and again that what seems impossible can be done. With Japan leading the pack in the region; China and the BRIC nations in hot pursuit behind, Korea does not have the luxury of time to stall and debate. I believe it is time for Koreans to join together again and achieve a national consensus to support the KORUS FTA as a vehicle to ensure Korea's future competitiveness and as a policy that will best serve Korean consumers, companies, industries and Korea as a whole.

As President Roh recently stated, the Korean economy has reached a point where it no longer needs to be pressured from the outside to open its markets. Rather, Korea should be the force leading the way towards the opening of new markets around the world to create more opportunities for growth. Korean companies have shown their ability to compete both at home and abroad with the best global competitors in the world. The KORUS FTA is the perfect opportunity to help Korea jump-start the next phase of its economic development. All eyes are upon the Korean Peninsula, and I hope Korea takes advantage of this exclusive opportunity and surprises the world again.

FAO Claims Nearly Half of all Fish Eaten Today Farmed, Not Caught

New York September 5, 2006 - Nearly half the fish consumed as food worldwide are raised on fish farms rather than caught in the wild, says a new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO.)

"The State of World Aquaculture 2006," which was presented to delegates from more than 50 countries attending an FAO meeting on the issue in New Delhi, shows that while in 1980 just 9 per cent of the fish consumed by human beings came from aquaculture, that figure has jumped to 43 per cent today.

That amounts to 45.5 million tonnes of farmed fish, worth $63 billion, eaten each year. Currently, freshwater and marine capture fisheries produce 95 million tonnes annually, of which 60 million tonnes is destined for human consumption, the FAO said.

Globally, consumer demand for fish continues to climb, especially in affluent, developed nations which in 2004 imported 33 million tonnes of fish worth over $61 billion, or 81 per cent of all fish imports that year, in value terms.

But levels of captures of fish in the wild have remained roughly stable since the mid-1980s, hovering around 90 to 93 million tonnes annually.

There is little chance of any significant increases in catches beyond these levels, FAO says.

The agency's most recent global assessment of wild fish stocks found that out of the nearly 600 species groups it monitors, 52 per cent are fully exploited while 25 per cent are either overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion. Twenty per cent are moderately exploited, with just three percent ranked as underexploited.

"Catches in the wild are still high, but they have levelled off, probably for good," said Rohana Subasinghe of FAO's Fisheries Department and Secretary of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture.

The FAO report estimates that an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required by 2030 just to maintain current levels of consumption.

The only option for meeting future demand for fish, the agency said, is by farming them.

"Aquaculture is crucial to the fight against global hunger," said Ichiro Nomura, FAO Assistant Director-General for Fisheries. "We must ensure that the sector continues to expand, sustainably, to provide more people with food and income, especially in areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where hunger and poverty prevail."

Captain seen in decent health after floating in sea for hours

September 6, 2006 - The UK-based manufacturer of navigational instruments and nautical equipment, Lilley and Gillie, has been awarded a contract by SELEX Communications in Aberdeen, Scotland, to provide Navmaster ECDIS systems for installation on a series of new 1,500grt offshore support vessels now under construction in Spain for Viking Offshore Services Ltd, also of Aberdeen.

Last year, Navmaster ECDIS, developed by PC Maritime, which is 50% owned by Lilley and Gillie, was awarded Type Approval by DNV, certifying that it complies with IMO A817 (19) and the latest edition of all associated specifications.

Designated by Viking Offshore as ‘Pan-European Field Support and Rescue Vessels’, nine new ships are being built by Astilleros Zamakona in Bilbao with the first ship due for delivery in December 2006 and the last of the nine in March 2009.

Founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1900 as The Marconi International Marine Communications Co Ltd, SELEX Communications Ltd - Marine Division is a division of SELEX Communications Ltd, a Finmeccanica SpA company. The largest marine electronics support company in the UK, it is the only organisation in the world that has been continuously involved in the provision, implementation, monitoring and support of ships’ radio installations since the very inception of marine radio. It demands only the most rigorously tested and reliable equipment, used in the installation of communication systems to all levels of complexity. Therefore its choice of the Navmaster ECDIS system for the Viking Offshore vessels is seen by Lilley & Gillie as a very significant testimony to the high quality of this product.

Navmaster has evolved over a long period with input from a wide cross-section of users prior to receiving type approval. Feedback from users at sea has been incorporated into Navmaster’s design to improve ease of use and operational effectiveness. The result is a system that not only meets the latest ECDIS specification but also meets the requirements of navigators who use it on a daily basis.

Announcing the contract, Graham Knight, Managing Director of Lilley & Gillie, stated:

"The Navmaster ECDIS has been developed over a period of ten years with intensive research and a lot of practical input from crews who are using it intensively. That’s why we felt it was the best solution for the Viking Offshore project. We are delighted that once again we can provide a customer focused solution that makes Lilley & Gillie stand out from the competition."

Mike Bull, Project Engineer, from SELEX Communications added:

"We were impressed by the rigorous tests which the Navmaster ECDIS has undergone. The system is already being used by leading ship managers and owners. It meets our requirements perfectly."

The second generation Navmaster ECDIS is the first system to be type approved to the latest IHO Colour and Symbol specifications. The Navmaster ECDIS is superior in design, user-friendliness and practicality and includes:

• Excellent Route Planning & Detailed Passage Plan Documentation as used by an oil major since 1997.
• Voyage Data Recording, which can provide vital evidence in the event of incident or damage and has assisted customers in resolving insurance claims.
• Ship Scaled to Chart, an essential feature to aid berthing.
• Remote diagnostics – for rapid and low cost support.
• Modular hardware, perfect for simple retrofit installations.

According to Mr Knight, the requirement for ECDIS to become a mandatory fit on all SOLAS vessels world-wide is moving steadily closer:

"The IMO, following a formal safety assessment (FSA) agreeing that high-speed craft should be fitted with ECDIS, has initiated another FSA to be carried out for other types of ships. Meanwhile, the Norwegian authorities have already decided to make ECDIS carriage compulsory for all passenger-carrying high-speed craft.

"Now, the US Coast Guard has been mandated to prescribe Electronic Chart System (ECS) regulations to enable vessels operating in US navigable waters to meet the requirement to be equipped with and to operate electronic charts by 1 January, 2007."

AAPA to Kickoff 95th Annual Convention Next Week

Alexandria VA September 5, 2006 - Hundreds of port and maritime transportation leaders, industry experts and service providers will converge on New Orleans next week to participate in the 95^th Annual Convention of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) – the alliance of leading ports in the Western Hemisphere.

Hosted by the Port of New Orleans, the five-day event (Sept. 10-14) features a multi-faceted agenda of keynote speakers, panel discussions, interactive sessions, networking events and a robust exhibition of service and product providers to the port industry. The program’s keynote presentation will come from U.S. Chamber of Commerce board chairman Gerald L. Shaheen, who, at a luncheon on Tuesday, will discuss how infrastructure and congestion issues are affecting freight mobility and what can be done to resolve these challenges. Mr. Shaheen also serves as group president of Caterpillar Inc., headquartered in Peoria, Ill.

Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO, remarked that this year’s convention theme, "Rollin’ on the River," is a special time to pay tribute to the conference’s host port, its importance to the world’s shipping community, and the remarkable way it has recovered from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina. "Having our 95^th annual convention in New Orleans this year is a way to contribute to the recovery process of the city and the entire region," said Mr. Nagle. "The port’s staff has worked tirelessly to make this convention an exciting and memorable experience for all attendees."

In addition to holding its annual convention in "The Big Easy," another way AAPA is helping support New Orleans’ post-Katrina hurricane recovery is through sales of Fleur de Lis-jeweled lapel pins at its annual convention. The fund-raiser, spearheaded within the port industry by Colleen Groseclose, wife of AAPA Chairman Bernard S. Groseclose, Jr., is in connection with Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, a New Orleans nonprofit whose goal is to jump-start the rebuilding efforts of the New Orleans Public Library. More information about the library restoration fund drive is available at www.nutrias.org/info/friends/friends.htm.

Among the convention’s three days of business sessions (Sept. 12-14) will be a Tuesday morning program titled, "Partnerships for Connectivity," featuring a panel of respected port authority executives from the U.S. and Canada in an interactive discussion of how government and private transportation interests can successfully initiate and share the costs of public infrastructure projects. The following morning, Robbie Vitrano—partner and creative director of New Orleans’ Trumpet Advertising—will detail the positive effects of integrated marketing and strategic communications to influence their target audiences. Following Mr. Vitrano’s presentation, a panel of communications experts, moderated by Port of Palm Beach Executive Director Lori Baer, will review a pair of recent, highly successful communications campaigns that utilized methods that will be referred to in Mr. Vitrano’s presentation.

On Thursday morning, participants will be invited to participate in a lively discussion about preparing for, responding to and recovering from a variety of emergency situations. The impacts of disasters such as last year’s Hurricane Katrina, accidents like vessel groundings that disrupt labor and shipping activities, and even terrorist incidents, can be greatly diminished through effective emergency preparation and post-disaster response. Session speakers will discuss key considerations for disaster planning and recovery, which AAPA’s Working Group on Emergency Preparation and Response identified after last year’s devastating hurricane season.

The final business session on Thursday will feature a session titled, "Innovative Approaches to Port Challenges." Moderated by Port of Longview (Wash.) Executive Director Ken O’Hollaren, panelists in the fields of communications, facilities engineering and environmental management will highlight "best practices" and lessons learned from each of their port’s award-winning programs.

AAPA’s 95^th Annual Convention will conclude Thursday evening with a formal dinner honoring 2005-2006 AAPA Chairman Groseclose, to be held at the Hilton Riverside New Orleans hotel.

Stolt-Nielsen S.A. Indicted on Customer Allocation, Price Fixing, and Bid Rigging Charges

Washington September 6, 2006 - A federal grand jury in Philadelphia today returned an indictment against London-based Stolt-Nielsen S.A., two of its subsidiaries, and two executives for participating in a conspiracy to allocate customers, fix prices, and rig bids on contracts of affreightment for parcel tanker shipping of products to and from the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced. Including today's charges, five companies and five individuals have been charged and fines totaling more than $62.3 million have resulted from the Department's ongoing antitrust investigation of the parcel tanker shipping industry.

Stolt-Nielsen S.A., its subsidiaries -- Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd. of Liberia and Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd. of Bermuda (collectively SNTG) -- and U.S. citizen Samuel A. Cooperman and New Zealand citizen Richard B. Wingfield, were charged with the parcel tanker conspiracy today in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Cooperman is the former chairman, president and chief executive officer of SNTG. Wingfield is the former executive vice president and managing director of tanker trading for SNTG. Both of the subsidiaries have had offices in Greenwich, Conn.

"The indictment charges Stolt-Nielsen and its executives with serious antitrust crimes -- price fixing, customer allocation, and bid rigging," said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "Cracking down on international cartels is the Antitrust Division's top priority and the Division will continue its efforts to aggressively pursue such illegal activity."

Parcel tanker shipping is the transportation of bulk chemicals, edible oils, acids, and other specialty liquids by compartmentalized deep sea vessels. A contract of affreightment is a contract between a customer and a parcel tanker shipping company for the transportation of bulk liquids from port to port.

The alleged conspiracy began at least as early as August 1998 and continued until as late as November 2002. The indictment charges that representatives of Stolt-Nielsen entities and two competitor companies met and agreed not to compete for one another's customers for contracts of affreightment. The defendants are charged with carrying out the secret agreement in a variety of ways, including:

-- Refraining from seeking business from one another's customers, or alternatively, when asked to bid by such customers, declining to bid or submitting fraudulent bids with intentionally high prices;

-- Discussing customers and prices for contracts of affreightment to avoid competition;

-- Preparing, updating, and exchanging customer lists to facilitate implementation of the agreement; and

-- Continuing to carry out the conspiracy through meetings and discussions and assuring competitors that the conspiracy remained in effect, even after discovery of certain evidence of the conspiracy by Stolt-Nielsen's then-general counsel.

In March 2004, the Antitrust Division revoked the conditional leniency that had previously been granted to the Stolt-Nielsen entities under the Division's Corporate Leniency Program. Stolt- Nielsen's conditional leniency was predicated on a number of representations made by the company, including a promise that the company "took prompt and effective action to terminate its part in the anticompetitive activity being reported upon discovery of the activity." The Division revoked the conditional leniency after it learned from other sources that top Stolt-Nielsen executives, including its managing director Wingfield, had continued to meet with competitors and participate in the conspiracy for months after the scheme's discovery by Stolt- Nielsen's then-general counsel, and that Stolt had both withheld and provided false and misleading information about the true extent of the conspiracy.

In February 2004, Stolt-Nielsen S.A., Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd. of Bermuda, and Wingfield filed lawsuits seeking an injunction to prevent the Antitrust Division from indicting them. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted the injunction in January 2005. In March 2006, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the District Court decision and, in June 2006, denied petitions for rehearing. Attempts by SNTG and Wingfield to recall and stay the mandate of the Third Circuit failed, and on Aug. 24, 2006, the District Court dissolved the injunction against the Antitrust Division.

"Stolt-Nielsen is the first company to have its conditional leniency revoked since the current program was announced in 1993," said Barnett. "Removing a company from the Corporate Leniency Program is not something the Division takes lightly but regrettably was necessary in this case to maintain the integrity of the program, which requires that those in the program provide full and truthful cooperation."

Each of the defendants is charged with participating in the conspiracy to suppress competition in violation of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for the conviction of a Sherman Act violation occurring before June 22, 2004, is three years imprisonment and a fine of $350,000 for individuals and a fine of $10 million for companies. The maximum fines may be increased, however, to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either of those amounts is greater than the Sherman Act maximum fines.

Today's charges result from the Division's ongoing investigation of the parcel tanker shipping industry being conducted by the Philadelphia Field Office, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In the fall of 2003, shipping company Odfjell Seachem AS pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to allocate customers, rig bids, and fix prices in the parcel tanker shipping industry and was sentenced to pay a $42.5 million fine. Two Odfjell executives, Bjorn Sjaastad and Erik Nilsen, also pleaded guilty for their roles in the same conspiracy. Sjaastad was sentenced to four months in prison and a $250,000 fine, and Nilsen was sentenced to three months in prison and a $25,000 fine.

In early 2004, a second company, Jo Tankers B.V., also pleaded guilty to conspiring to eliminate competition on contracts of affreightment in the parcel tanker shipping industry. Jo Tankers was sentenced to pay a fine of $19.5 million, and its former co- managing director, Hendrikus van Westenbrugge, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of $75,000 and to serve three months in prison.

Anyone with information concerning price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct in the parcel tanker shipping industry should contact the Philadelphia Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 215-597-7405.

Shipping Company Pleads Guilty to Vessel Pollution; Korean Vessel Used Hoses to Bypass Pollution Prevention Equipment

Washington September 6, 2006 - The Sun Ace Shipping Company, based in Seoul, South Korea, has pleaded guilty to a one-count information for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, in relation to the operation of a bulk carrier vessel the M/V Sun New, the Justice Department announced today.

Specifically, the defendant, which was the operator and manager of a fleet of five ships, is charged with knowingly failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book that fully recorded the disposal of oil residue and bilge into the ocean and then falsifying records to conceal illegal discharges. A joint factual statement filed in District Court in New Jersey stated that, on the night of Jan. 3, U.S. Coast Guard inspectors boarded the Sun New and discovered that members of the engine room crew has used bypass hoses to discharge oily wastes overboard into the ocean without using the vessel's oil-water separator. Upon further investigation, inspectors discovered that the crew of the Sun New had disposed of oil waste into the ocean at least twice during the voyage from South Korea to New Jersey.

Engine room operations on board large oceangoing vessels such as the Sun New generate large amounts of waste oil. International and U.S. law prohibit the discharge of waste oil without treatment by an Oily Water Separator. The law also requires that all overboard discharges be recorded in an Oil Record Book, a required log which is regularly inspected by the Coast Guard.

Per the terms of the plea agreement, the Sun Ace Shipping Company will pay a $400,000 penalty and a $100,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Program, Delaware Estuary Grants Program, which will be used to protect and restore the natural resources of the Delaware Estuary and its watershed. The Sun Ace Shipping Company will also be subject to a three year term of probation, during which its vessels will be banned from U.S. ports and waters.

Earlier this month, a grand jury in Newark, N.J., returned a three-count indictment charging the Chief Engineer and the Second Engineer of M/V Sun New with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships in connection with the use of two bypass hoses used to discharge sludge and oil contaminated bilge waste overboard into the ocean.

Today's case was investigated by marine inspectors from Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, and special agents from the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Kehoe in the Environmental Crimes Section in the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

DryShips Dismisses 'Fool'

New York September 6, 2006 - DryShips Inc. was the object of an article written by Mr. Joe Brady and published in Tradewinds on September 5, 2006. Please find below the article in its entirety.

DryShips dismisses 'fool'

George Economou's US-listed DryShips is dismissing a scathing attack by investment website The Motley Fool as "old news" as it puts the spotlight on a positive review from equity analysts at Oslo-based Fearnley.

Economou came under heavy fire from the "Fool" website in a Friday essay entitled, "DryShips: An Investing Shipwreck." The attack recounted a series of blemishes from over the years, from the default of Economou's Alpha Shipping in 1999 to a series of related-party conflicts reported in DryShips' successful 2005 initial public offering.

"Firstly this is old news, at least one year old," said DryShips chief financial officer Christopher Thomas in a statement to TradeWinds today. "Secondly, the article does not contain any new information that investors are not already aware of, or that we have not addressed in the past through formal SEC reporting or press releases. Indeed we have received very complimentary letters from investors praising us for the transparency of our reporting."

Old news though it may be, the "Fool" column appeared to have a very current impact on DryShips shares, which fell more than 5% on Friday with no other factors known to be affecting the stock. The trend continues today as DryShips is down a further 3%, sinking below $13 in afternoon trading on New York's Nasdaq exchange.

But DryShips is pointing to other opinions, like those of two Fearnley's analysts who last week labeled the owner "our best US dry bet." Pointing out the positive dynamics of the dry market heading into 2007, analysts Rikard Vabo and Lars Erich Nilsen maintained their "buy" recommendation on the stock and increase their near-term target price to $17 from $16.

Thomas also notes that, "Management is the largest single shareholder in DryShips and has not sold a single share of stock since the company went public." He adds that DryShips has expanded from six to 34 bulkers in only 18 months without increasing its debt-to-equity ratio and is in strong position to benefit from dry-market supply/demand fundamentals.

Capital Link Inc. is an investor relations firm servicing the needs of several listed companies including DryShips Inc.

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