[ Wallenius Lines Ready for Further Volume Growth and Ex..]

Wallenius Lines Ready for Further Volume Growth and Extended Customer
Service

Wallenius Lines has taken delivery of its new ship MS DON QUIJOTE from
Daewoo Okpo Shipyard in Korea. She is the sixth ship in a series of n
ine ordered.
The delivery of MS DON QUIJOTE, with 13 decks and the capacity to take
5,850 cars, will increase the total tonnage available to Wallenius. M
S DON QUIJOTE will be introduced into Wallenius Lines’ round-the-worl
d service. The company is now better equipped to meet the constantly i
ncreasing volumes being shipped by its customers.
The vessels in the Daewoo series are all state-of-the-art ships and ve
ry flexible. They are suitable for all of the company’s trades, i.e.
for pure car carrier traffic and for trades primarily taking roro carg
oes(heavy units, such as trucks, agricultural machinery, etc.).
MS DON QUIJOTE and her sister ships are also very easy to load and unl
oad, which will provide a productivity increase in most ports of a goo
d 20 per cent, compared with earlier ships. This is due to the ships s
traight and efficient internal ramp system.
In 1997 Wallenius Lines carried a total of 1,165,000 cars, compared wi
th 970,000 in 1996. The company has a 16 per cent share of the global
market.
This year delivery will be taken of a newly-built charter ship. Two ro
ro vessels have also been chartered to strengthen the fleet. The remai
ning three ships on order from Daewoo will be delivered in 1999 and 20
00. Including the newbuildings and the chartered vessels, Wallenius Li
nes’ fleet now consists of 39 vessels.