2012-05-29 11:30:07 CEST

2012-05-29 11:31:22 CEST


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English
Aspo - Company Announcement

ESL Shipping took delivery of newest ice-strengthened vessel in Vietnam 


ASPO Plc   STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE     May 29, 2012 at 12:30

ESL Shipping Ltd, part of the Aspo Group, has taken delivery of a new 56,000 dwt
vessel from the Korean Hyundai Mipo shipyard. M/s Kumpula is the second of two
dry cargo vessels built in Vietnam, and owned by ESL Shipping. The vessel was
named in a ceremony on Friday May 18. Mrs Anja Arteva, the spouse of Matti
Arteva, Vice-Chairman of the Aspo Board, adopted the role of godmother to the
vessel. The ships of ESL Shipping have traditionally been named after localities
of Helsinki.

M/s Kumpula is a supramax class vessel and has built-in cranes as well as a
ballast water treatment system. The length of the vessel is 197 meters and
maximum draft with a full cargo is 13.0 meters. She sails under the Finnish
flag.

In January 2012, ESL Shipping took delivery of m/s Arkadia, the first of its dry
cargo supramax vessels from the same shipyard. The vessel has been in traffic in
the Baltic Sea area since March."The new Kumpula and her sister vessel m/s Arkadia are the first 1A ice-
strengthened dry cargo vessels in their class. Both are tailor-made for the
cargo traffic in the Baltic Sea area and for operations in demanding
conditions," says Markus Karjalainen, President of ESL Shipping."Kumpula is a part of the fleet renewal specified in ESL Shipping's strategy,"
says Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo Group. "The new vessel will further strengthen our
position as the leading dry cargo transport company in the Baltic Sea area."

ESL Shipping transports dry bulk materials, mainly in the Baltic Sea region; in
2011, approximately 13.3 million tons. The cargo mainly consists of ore, coal
and limestone. The steel industry's share of transports was 60 percent, and the
energy industry represented 30 percent. Including the new ship, the shipping
company's fleet consists of 18 vessels, 14 of which it owns in full. Two are
time-chartered, one is bareboat chartered and one is partially owned. The total
dead weight capacity of the vessels is approximately 322,000 tons.

M/s Kumpula - technical details:
Tonnage 56.348 dwt
Length 197.08 m
Breadth 32.26 m
Draft 13.00 m
Ice class 1A

ASPO Plc

Aki Ojanen
CEO

For further information, please contact:
Aki Ojanen, CEO Aspo Plc, +358 9 521 4010, +358 400 106 592, aki.ojanen
(a)aspo.com, www.aspo.com
Markus Karjalainen, President ESL Shipping Ltd, +358 400 888 020
markus.karjalainen (a)eslshipping.com, www.eslshipping.com

Aspo is a conglomerate that owns and develops business operations in the Baltic
Sea region focusing on demanding B-to-B customers. Our strong company brands -
ESL Shipping, Leipurin, Telko and Kaukomarkkinat - aim to be the market leaders
in their sectors. They are responsible for their own operations, customer
relationships and the development of these. Together they generate Aspo's
goodwill. Aspo's Group structure and business operations are continually
developed without any predefined schedules.

DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
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www.aspo.com




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