---

Marco Polo Seatrade and its affiliated companies have obtained final approval of their plan of liquidation from the New York bankruptcy court overseeing the Chapter 11 case.

The plan was unanimously approved by all Marco Polo creditors, and the court entered the final order at the confirmation hearing, held today.

Antonio Zacchello, managing director of Marco Polo Seatrade, said, "Our companies worked hard with the banks and our creditors to devise a Chapter 11 reorganisation plan, but that did not prove possible. Therefore we have agreed to a consensual liquidation plan which maximises the recovery for all parties. As provided in the plan the six Marco Polo-owned vessels have been handed over to the financing banks and the cash and assets of Marco Polo will be distributed amongst the unsecured creditors. Marco Polo will exit the Chapter 11 proceedings and will continue to retain certain interests in its subsidiaries.

"I am satisfied that this restructuring is finally over after long period and a lot of efforts from all my staff and with the valuable support of the legal and financial advisors. It has achieved the best possible result in the interest of our stakeholders. The coincidence of a very poor shipping market and of the bank credit crunch is hitting severely both our company and the shipping market in general. A painful lesson has been learnt but I am confident that we can once again in the future do what we have always done in more than sixty years of history - which is to deliver a high quality, safe and reliable transportation service to our clients."