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Stolt-Nielsen Limited




A subsidiary of           Aldwych House                   Tel:  +44 207 611 8960
Stolt-Nielsen S.A         71-91 Aldwych                   Fax:  +44 207 611 8965
                          London WC2B 4HN                 www.stolt-nielsen.com
                          England


NEWS RELEASE
                                               Contacts: Richard M. Lemanski
                                                         USA 1 203 625 3604
                                                         rlemanski@stolt.com

                                                         Valerie Lyon
                                                         UK 44 20 7611 8904
                                                         vlyon@stolt.com

                   STOLT-NIELSEN S.A. LOWERS EARNINGS GUIDANCE

London,  England - September 26, 2002 - Stolt-Nielsen  S.A. (Nasdaq:  SNSA; Oslo
Stock Exchange:  SNI) announced that in light of today's announcement of lowered
earnings  guidance  by  its  publicly-traded  subsidiary,  Stolt  Offshore  S.A.
(Nasdaq:  SOSA; Oslo Stock Exchange:  STO), it is now anticipated  that the 2002
full year  earnings for  Stolt-Nielsen  S.A. will be between $0.30 and $0.50 per
share before restructuring charges.

Stolt Offshore's lowered earnings guidance is due to three factors:  operational
problems mainly experienced on three projects, a timing delay on a major pipelay
contract in Nigeria, and a weak Gulf of Mexico market.

The third quarter results in the Stolt-Nielsen  Transportation Group Ltd. (SNTG)
and Stolt Sea Farm  Holdings plc (SSF)  developed as  anticipated.  SNTG's third
quarter results were on par with the second  quarter.  While SSF's third quarter
results were up from the second quarter  benefiting from the seasonal harvest of
bluefin tuna,  the business  continued to be negatively  impacted by weak prices
for salmon.

In light of the poor  results  for SOSA,  SOSA's  Board of  Directors  agreed to
accept an offer from SNSA to exchange  $40 million of  outstanding  debt owed by
SOSA to SNSA for 9.4 million  SOSA Common  shares at an exchange  price of $4.25
per share. This will bring SNSA's ownership up to 63 percent.

Stolt-Nielsen  S.A. is one of the world's  leading  providers of  transportation
services for bulk liquid  chemicals,  edible oils,  acids,  and other  specialty
liquids. The Company, through its parcel tanker, tank container,  terminal, rail
and barge services,  provides integrated  transportation for its customers.  The
Company also owns 63 percent of Stolt Offshore S.A.  (Nasdaq:  SOSA;  Oslo Stock
Exchange:  STO),  which  is a  leading  offshore  contractor  to the oil and gas
industry. Stolt Offshore specializes in providing technologically  sophisticated
offshore  and subsea  engineering,  flowline  and  pipeline  lay,  construction,
inspection,  and  maintenance  services.  Stolt  Sea Farm,  wholly-owned  by the
Company,  produces and markets  high  quality  Atlantic  salmon,  salmon  trout,
turbot, halibut,  sturgeon, caviar, bluefin tuna, and tilapia.


This news release  contains  forward-looking  statements  as defined in the U.S.
Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995.  Actual future  results and
trends could differ  materially  from those set forth in such  statements due to
various factors.  Additional  information  concerning these factors is contained
from time to time in the Company's  U.S. SEC filings,  including but not limited
to the  Company's  report on Form 20-F for the year  ended  November  30,  2001.
Copies of these  filings may be obtained by  contacting  the Company or the U.S.
SEC.



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