News Releases in 2006

August 10, 2006

New gantry cranes arriving at the TIPS Container Terminal

TOKYO - Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK; headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Miyahara) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Akimitsu Ashida) today announced that affiliate TIPS Co., Ltd. and NYK have introduced two new large gantry cranes in the TIPS container terminal at Thailand's Laem Chabang Port. The new equipment started operation on July 30.

With new large new cranes, TIPS can accommodate today's massive 6,000 TEU^*1 containerships and offer faster, more efficient loading/discharging of all vessels.

Laem Chabang is the world's twentieth largest port in terms of container volume, handling about 3.8 million TEUs in 2005. The TIPS terminal is playing a key role in the port's success, with volume rising from about 16,000 TEUs when it opened in 1992 to 794,000 TEUs^*2 in 2005.

TIPS focuses its efforts on offering higher-quality services by more efficient operation at Laem Chabang, which has great potential for continued growth.

Profile of TIPS container terminal

Length of wharf	300 meters
Water depth	14.0 meters
Gantry cranes	5 (2 twin-lift spreaders with 17 containers in row available *3) -- new installation (3 twin-lift spreaders with 13 containers in row available)
Total yard area	105,000 m2
Storage capacity (single tier basis)	7,250 TEU

Outline of new gantry cranes

Outreach (max. reach distance from wharf to sea side)	48 meters (twin spreader with 17 containers in row available)
Rated load	50 tons
Manufacturer	Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd. (ZPMC)

*1:	TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit One 20-foot container equals one TEU. TEU figures are used to show the capacity of containers that can be loaded on a containership or trade volume results.
*2:	Including outsourced cargo trade
*3:	Twin-lift spreader: Equipment that can load two 20-feet containers simultaneously