April 22, 2008

In our initial news release on this subject, we announced that around 10:10 a.m. Japan time (4:40 a.m. local time) on April 21, 2008, a small unidentified boat east of the Yemeni city of Aden approached the NYK VLCC Takayama and fired some form of munition. We can now update that information as follows.

・Damage and Leak of Fuel Oil
Crew members on board have confirmed the existence of a 20-millimeter hole on the port side near the stern of the ship. A few kiloliters of fuel oil appear to have leaked through this hole, but the hole has since been patched. No increased risk of fire currently exists.

・The Small Unidentified Boat
The ship manager, TMM, has reported to the Maritime Safety Agency that the weapon used by the small unidentified boat appeared to be a rocket launcher. However, this has not been confirmed. Therefore, we remain uncertain about the exact weapon fired.

・Movement of Takayama
Takayama is sailing to Aden so that an extensive inspection of the vessel can be conducted. Its estimated arrival time at the port of Aden is 6 a.m. local time (around 12 p.m. Japan time).