News Releases in 2006

December 4 2006

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Miyahara) has secured a ten-year charter contract with Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. (Head office: Maanshan, Anhui province, China)^*1 for the transport of iron ore from Brazil and Western Australia. A signing ceremony was held on November 27 at the office of Maanshan Iron & Steel in Maanshan and was attended by Mr. Gu Jian Guo, chairman of Magang (Group) Holding Co. Ltd.;^*2 Mr. Lu Kecong, general manager of Masteel International Trade and Economic Corporation;^*3 and Mr. Hidenori Hono, managing corporate officer at NYK.

Shipments will begin from September 2007, and during the first five years of the contract, NYK will transport 600,000 tons of iron ore each year, mainly from Brazil to China. During the second five years, NYK will transport 2,000,000 tons of iron ore each year, mainly from Australia to China. NYK will use a newly built 200,000-ton bulk carrier for the transport of this iron ore.

Maanshan Iron & Steel is the fourth iron and steel company in China with which NYK has secured a long-term charter contract, NYK's sixth long-term charter contract for the transport of iron ore to China.

NYK had previously concluded five long-term charter contracts, each with a term of ten or more years, for the transport of iron ore to China with three of China's major steel producers-Baoshan Iron & Steel, ranked first among steel producers in China; the Jiangsu Shagang Group, ranked fifth; and the Beitai Iron & Steel Group, ranked 19th.

NYK intends to continue to proactively grow its other overseas operations, particularly those in China.

--Essential Terms of Charter Contract--

Term of Contract	10 years
Commencement	September 2007
Carrier	One newly built 200,000-ton bulk carrier (for ten years from 2007)

*1.	Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. was established in 1953. Its head office is located in Maanshan, Anhui province, China. The company produced 9,650,000 tons of crude steel in fiscal 2005, ranking ninth among steel producers in China. In fiscal 2006, the company ranked 29th (tenth among steel producers) out of the top 500 manufacturers in China.
*2.	Magang (Group) Holding Co. Ltd. is the name of the corporate group that includes Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.
*3.	Masteel International Trade and Economic Corporation is a trade and distribution company affiliated with Magang (Group) Holding.