Houston
(June 27, 2002) - EnerSea Transport LLC (EnerSea) and Hyundai Heavy
Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI) announce the creation of a strategic maritime
alliance. This partnership will initially complete vessel design and obtain
'class approval in principle' certification for EnerSea's breakthrough
VOTRANS™ compressed natural gas (CNG) marine transport vessels. Upon
completion of that process, HHI will build the first VOTRANS™ fleet of
vessels for EnerSea's transport services projects."The
joining of forces between EnerSea and Hyundai is a defining moment in the
commercialization of CNG marine transport," stated Paul Britton, EnerSea's
Managing Director. "This alliance will bring together one of the world's
premier shipbuilders with the industry's most advanced CNG technology.
Yesterday's stranded gas is much closer to market today."Hyundai's
D.Y. Han, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the
Shipbuilding Division, said "This alliance is the culmination of several
months of cooperation and discussions, and we are most pleased to be working
with EnerSea. The CNG market has tremendous potential, and we look forward
to contributing as part of the leading technology and team in this emerging
industry. This alliance will support EnerSea's capability to execute large
CNG projects."Hyundai Heavy Industries is the
largest ship builder in the world, accounting for about 15% of the global
shipbuilding market, and has built 41 gas-carrying vessels (LNG & LPG) to
date and is building 13 gas carrying vessels (LNG & LPG). VOTRANS™
technology provides the unprecedented capability of moving up to 2 billion
cubic feet of CNG per ship over distances up to 4,000 miles at significantly
lower total cost than liquefied natural gas (LNG) or pipelines.EnerSea and HHI will work with
a world-leading classification society to pursue 'class approval in
principle' of the vessel design. The vessel design will be focused on HHI's
shipyard and capabilities to construct these new CNG vessels. EnerSea
expects design and certification work to be completed by the end of 2002.
The alliance and the accomplishments resulting from the work program will
complement EnerSea's current marketing efforts, and will enable the
immediate application of its transport services to help monetize remote, or
stranded, natural gas resources worldwide.The Houston based maritime
broker, Lone Star R.S. Platou & Braemar Inc (LST) is the broker and
consultant for EnerSea and assisted in building this strategic maritime
alliance. LST's Managing Director Phil Elmore stated "I am extremely
satisfied that our team has been able to bring these two dynamic parties
together and I have full faith that this venture will be a successful in
commercializing VOTRANS™ technology."Details about and contact
information for Houston-based EnerSea Transport, LLC can be found at
www.EnerSeaTransport.com. Details for HHI can be found at
www.hhi.co.kr.
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