For Immediate Release

Stamford – March 1, 2006

For the international shipping industry, 2005 was a year of record equity issuance, billion dollar mergers and acquisitions and unprecedented commercial bank loan volume. This week Marine Money International was proud to announce the winners of its coveted Deal of the Year Awards for 2005.

MARINE MONEY DEAL OF THE YEAR AWARDS - 2005 CATEGORY WINNER

Bank Debt:

Euronav

•         Nordea as Sole Bookrunner

 •         Nordea and DnB NOR as Mandated Lead Arrangers

•         Hypo-und Vereinsbank, Calyon, Citibank, Deutsche Schiffsbank, HSH Nordbank, Scotiabank and Royal Bank of Scotland as Co-arrangers

 •         Royal Bank of Scotland for IPO financings

Deutsche Bank for Berlian Laju Tankers

Public Equity: Seaspan in New York

 •         Relational Advisors as advisor to Seaspan:

 •         Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co. as Joint Bookrunning Managers

•         Fortis Securities LLC, Lehman Brothers, UBS Investment Bank, Dahlman Rose, Legg Mason Wood Walker Incorporated, Wachovia Securities, DnB NOR Markets, Dahlman Rose & Company as Co-managers China COSCO Holdings Company Limited in Hong Kong

 •         The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, UBS Investment Bank as Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Sponsors, Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Managers

•         JPMorgan as Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Manager

 •         BOCI Asia Limited, Daiwa Securities SMBC Hong Kong Limited, ICEA Capital Limited, Macquarie Securities Limited, China Merchant Securities (HK) Co., Limited, Kim Eng Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, Cazenove Asia Limited as Co-Managers

Bergesen Worldwide Gas in Oslo:

•         Carnegie, UBS Investment Bank as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners

 •         DnB NOR Markets as Retail Co-lead Manager

•         Enskilda Securities as Co-lead Manager

Private Equity:

Jefferies Capital Partners for Pacific Basin

Fortis Securities LLC for representing Maas Capital

Investments in Diana Shipping

M&A:

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan for AP Moller-Maersk's acquisition of Royal P&O Nedlloyd

DVB for National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia for Acquisition of 30% of Petredec

Leasing:

KGAL and V. Ships for IMC

Dealmaker of the Year:

Morten Arntzen, OSG

Editor's Choice:

DnB NOR Markets and Enskilda for Aker American Shipping ASA

Greatest Contribution to Ship Finance:

Jeremy Kramer at Neuberger Berman and John Sinders at Jefferies & Company

In commenting on the awards, Matt McCleery, President of Marine Money said, "In a year of unprecedented transactional value, it is my pleasure to reward creativity, hardwork and value creation. This year saw more intense competition than ever before, with robust capital markets activity that stretched from Hong Kong to Oslo to New York. Winners should feel proud of their achievements and the success they have delivered to their clients."

Nora Huvane, Editor of Marine Money, commented, "Day in and day out we are in touch with the individuals who made these deals possible. It is our honor to congratulate them on their achievements, knowing of course that these transactions represent only a fraction of their contribution to the industry last year. It is even more impressive when one thinks of it in terms of airplane flights, conference calls, days away from home and sleepless nights."

James R Lawrence, Chairman, said, "in this, our 20th year, we've seen the capital markets enable the formation and continued growth and health of the world's leading marine transportation companies. The winners of this year's awards epitomize the talents and energy of the vital community of financial professionals serving the international shipping industry."

The awards will be presented on June 21, 2006, during Marine Money Week at the Pierre Hotel in New York.

About Marine Money International:

Marine Money International, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is the publisher of Marine Money, the ship finance publication of record and is the organizer of leading industry forums in major shipping markets around the world.