Hereby JSC Latvijas kuģniecība (Latvian Shipping Company-LASCO) informs

that  Shipbuilding  Contracts for two product tankers signed on July 6,

2004  have  came  into  effect. The Contracts were signed by LASCO 100%

owned  subsidiary Crown Navigation Inc. and 3.Maj shipyard in Croatia. 



The receipt of a reputable Croatian bank's guarantee, stipulated by the

Contract  to  protect LASCO against the non-performance of the Contract

by  3.Maj  ,  enabled  the payment of the first cash installment to the

shipyard. The receipt of funds was confirmed by 3. Maj yesterday.



As  reported  earlier,  pursuant  to  the  Contract  the  newbuilds are

scheduled  for delivery in the second half of 2008. The two ice-classed

tankers  with  double  hull  will  be constructed to carry both oil and

chemical products and will be sister ships to the eight product tankers

recently ordered by LASCO at 3.Maj . It is planned that bank loans will

cover  70%  of  the  total project costs, while 30% will be financed by

LASCO Group itself.



Additional information:

Marita Ozolina -Tumanovska

Head of PR department

Phone: 00 371 7020120, 9287169

e-mail: ozolina@lsc.riga.lv