APL Korea

APL Limited and American Automar are members of the Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL Group) which, through American President Lines, Ltd. and APL Co. Pte. Ltd., performs worldwide container transportation services under the APL brand name, with a fleet of over 70 container vessels and an extensive network of terminals and intermodal systems. American Automar, Inc., which was acquired by NOL in May 2001, provides strategic assistance to the U.S. Department of Defense ("DOD") by the operation for the Military Sealift Command ("MSC") of four pre-positioning vessels, three of which are owned by Automar subsidiaries and one of which is owned by the Government and operated by an Automar subsidiary. Automar has chartered vessels to the Military Sealift Command for nearly 20 years.

On 21 January 1997 American President Lines, Ltd., enrolled nine modern containerships in the new Maritime Security Fleet, completing the 47-ship program authorized by Congress late in 1996. Like the other ships in the program, APL s ships will continue to serve international commerce in peacetime. In time of war or national emergency, the ships and the worldwide transportation system supporting them will be available to provide sealift support for America s armed forces. Included are four large containerships APL operated under Marshall Island registry. Under the Maritime Security Program, they will operate under the American flag with American citizen crews. The four ships which were transferred from Marshall Island to U.S. registry are the APL Korea, APL Philippines, APL Singapore and APL Thailand, all delivered within the previous 18 months. Each has the ability to carry more than 4,800 20-foot shipping containers. The four vessels are all time-chartered by APL from American Ship Management (ASM) which was set up to satisfy the ownership requirements of the vessels under the US Maritime Security Programme, following the buyout of APL by Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) in early 1997.

American President Lines (APL) held a christening ceremony at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard for its new C11-class containership, the APL Thailand. The 905-foot-long vessel will operate in APL's trans-Pacific service. The APL Thailand is the third in a series of C-11s being built for President Lines. Other C-11s in service are APL Japan, APL China, APL Singapore and APL Korea. APL Philippines is nearing completion in Korea and was christened in November 1995.

American President Lines, Ltd. (APL) christened the last of its six new C11 class containerships at the Daewoo Heavy Industries shipyard in Okpo, Korea. The APL Philippines entered sea trials in late December 1996. The 4,800-TEU "Post-Panamax" containership joined its five sisterships in the trans-Pacific services of APL and its partners in the multi-trade Global Alliance. Daewoo Heavy Industries constructed three of the six APL C11-class containerships, including the APL Philippines, the APL Singapore and the APL Korea. Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) shipyard of Kiel, Germany, constructed APL China, APL Japan and APL Thailand. The six identical sisterships feature a 66,385-hp MAN B&W diesel engine, capable of powering the vessels at speeds up to 24.6 knots. Other features include advanced bridge navigation equipment, a large capacity shaft-powered main generator, and an on-deck lashing bridge container securing system developed by APL. The C11s represent the next generation of APL's C10-class ships -- which were the world's first post-Panamax-size containerships -- but offer improvements in size, speed and capacity.

On 28 Feb 2001, PSA Corporation achieved a breakthrough vessel rate of 280 containers per hour for the APL vessel 'APL Sardonyx'' at Brani Terminal in Singapore. The new vessel rate represents the highest record that an APL vessel has achieved anywhere else in the world. The previous vessel record rate of 209 containers per hour was achieved on 9 October 2000, during the call of the 'APL Singapore' at PSA's Keppel Terminal in Singapore.

M/V APL China reached the Port of Seattle on 01 November 1998, after encountering historic Typhoon Babs. M/V APL China was one of several merchant ships hit by the typhoon. APL China and President Adams, when they were overrun by the typhoon off Alaska's Aleutian Islands. The damage was extreme. This was said to be the greatest damage incident since the invention of containers, at over US$100 Million. APL's ships, laden with Christmas merchandise and computer components, were battered by 75-foot-high waves caused by a typhoon moving at over 20 knots. APL lost about 400 cargo containers from two ships at sea in October 2003 and had another 500 damaged. The feeding frenzy of lawyers has led to well over $50 million in claims. APL immediately went to court to limit its total liability to $50 million, the value of the ships. APL China took 2 weeks to re-enter service.