USA: Trai Thien Signs Six Long-term Shipping Contracts

Trai Thien USA today announced that, due to growing demand for the Company’s services, it has signed six long-term contracts with agents based in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines to transport nearly 1.5 million tons of cargo in Southeast Asia over the coming three to five years, representing an estimated $45 million in revenues at current rates, and accounting for approximately eighty-five percent of the current fleet’s capacity.

Khanh Nguyen, President and Founder of Trai Thien USA, commented, “Even through global economic headwinds that affected so much of the worldwide shipping industry, Trai Thien managed to maintain its dry bulk shipping business and continue gaining traction in its niche Southeast Asia market space. We consider these long-term contracts to be a strong indicator of growing demand and confidence in the market, as well as the agents’ confidence in Trai Thien’s ability to provide professional services and accommodate growing market demand.”

About Trai Thien USA

Trai Thien USA is a fast-growing Vietnam-based dry bulk shipping company operating a 21,990 DWT fleet comprised of six geared bulk vessels specialized in providing ocean transportation services for raw material input items such as coal, ore, grain, lumber, cement, steel and fertilizer throughout the Southeast Asia region. In order to meet anticipated continued growth in demand from an expanding base of overseas and domestic Vietnamese customers, as well as to expand the geographic regions that it can service to include potentially more profitable routes in East and South Asia, Trai Thien has made deposits to acquire six larger 7600 DWT vessels, which depending on the company’s ability to meet additional capital resource requirements, are expected to be delivered in 2012.

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Source: Trai Thien USA, October 14, 2011.