On  January  20,  2004  JSC  "  Latvijas  kuģnieciība" (LASCO) signed a

Memorandum  of  Agreement  (MOA)  on selling one of its product tankers

Viktorio  Kodovilja  for  scrap.  The  take-over  procedure has already

started  in  China. The MOA was signed in compliance with the Procedure

for  the  Disposal  of  LASCO  Vessels  and  with  the consent of LASCO

Supervisory Council given on 30 July 2003.

Similar  to the resolutions on seven  LASCO  tankers sold for scrap due

to  economic  reasons, the resolution on sale of m/t Viktorio Kodovilja

has  been made based on the projected negative financial results of the

vessel's further employment.

Being  built  in  1976,  m/t  Viktorio  Kodovilja requires considerable

investments  in  its  repair  and  maintenance, and the estimated costs

might  reach  USD  900  thousand. Since the vessel is not a double-hull

tanker,  it  is banned from the EU and USA ports. Further employment of

the  27-year-old tanker is deemed to be problematic also due to the age

limits,  introduced  in  a number of countries. Considering the factors

above, further capital investments in m/t Viktorio Kodovilja would have

been economically unsound.

At  present   LASCO  Group's  fleet  consists  of 30 product tankers, 5

reefer vessels, 1 Ro-Ro/general cargo vessel and 2 LPG carriers.



Marita Ozolina-Tumanovska

Head of PR Departament

Phone: +371 7020120, 9287169

Fax: +371 7820239

E-mail : ozolina@lsc.riga