JAPANESE SHIPOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
Kaiun Building, 2-6-4, Hirakawa-cho
Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 102-8603, Japan
Tel : +81-3-3264-7180
Fax : +81-3-5226-9166
E-mail: int@jsanet.or.jp

28 February 2013, Tokyo

PRESS RELEASEThe Japanese Shipowners’ Association Urges the Suez Canal Authority toRescind the Canal Toll Increase
In response to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) recently announcing the toll increase from 1
May 2013, the Japanese Shipowners’ Association (JSA), which is addressing the Canal
issues in close communication with the Japanese government, the International Chamber ofShipping (ICS) and the Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF), officially submitted its letter to theSCA, dated 27 February 2013.

In the letter, the JSA expressed deep disappointment at the unilateral toll increase without
any dialogue between the SCA and Canal users, following the 3% toll increase in March
2012.

While sharing sympathy to some extent that the Egyptian government is dependent

on the Canal tolls as an important source of income for the country, in order to obtain foreign
currency revenue and weather the ongoing financial difficulty, it can be recognised from acommonsense perspective that the SCA should avoid easily passing on the added burden in
the form of toll increases to vessels transiting this highly public infrastructure connecting theMediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

The impact of the 2012/2013 toll increases for JSA

members would amount to additional accumulative costs of approximately US$189 million
during the period from 2011 to 2020.

Furthermore, the JSA is also concerned with the current process in which a very short
three-month notice period is given for Suez Canal toll adjustments.

In this context, wewould have to say that the SCA does not take the business practices of shipping companies
into account.

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Taking into account all factors, in particular the absence of sufficient dialogue before therecent announcement, the JSA urges the SCA to rescind the current planned increases, aswell as review the current toll-adjustment process, including notice periods of less than sixmonths.

We believe that our position is shared within the international shipping industry.

In addition to the above, the JSA sincerely believes that an establishment of regulardialogues covering broad topics between the SCA and the shipping industry would
contribute to a deepening of mutual understanding and the achievement of maximum
benefits to both parties. The JSA would be happy to actively engage in an exchange ofinformation with the SCA.

Finally, according to a press release dated 22 February 2013 by the Ministry for Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), it was agreed at the 7th Japan-UK Maritime
Policy Dialogue on 19 February that the Canal toll increase issue should be taken up at aforthcoming meeting of the Consultative Shipping Group (CSG) to be held in Hamburg,
Germany, in April 2013.

The JSA pays close attention to intergovernmental discussions.

MLIT Press Release (Japanese only)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/report/press/kaiji01_hh_000188.html

The JSA’s comments are available at its website: http://www.jsanet.or.jp/e/index.html

For further information, please contact (Mr) Daijiro Mizushima at int@jsanet.or.jp.

= End =The Japanese Shipowners' Association (JSA) is a nationwide maritime organisation ofJapanese nationals who are owners, charterers and operators of ships with a capacity of
100 gross tons and over. The JSA consists of 100 Japanese shipping companies. The
purpose of the JSA is to promote fair and free business activities in the shipping industry
and to contribute to the healthy development of Japanese shipping. To accomplish thispurpose, the JSA provides a forum to exchange views among members, undertakes
various activities such as research, public relations, and the production of statistics anddata, as well as to express its opinion to related parties concerned.

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