Project Ozone Ltd. Signs Ship Supply Contract With Hyundai Mipo for OXYGEN Network.

HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 1999--Project Ozone Ltd. has selected Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd. to supply ships for the installation and maintenance of Project OXYGEN(TM) Network, the global undersea cable Network. A contract calling for the initial construction of 13 ships, with options for 10 more, was signed today by J.I. Lee, President of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and Chairman Neil Tagare and President Lawrence Cahill of Project Ozone Ltd.

Project Ozone Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Project Oxygen Ltd., the company that will build and operate the OXYGEN Network. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard was selected from a short list of three shipyards and awarded the contract after extensive technical and commercial negotiations.

The ships will be used for the installation of the undersea cable making up the OXYGEN Network, as well as its maintenance under the Project OZONE maintenance agreement. Delivery of the ships is to begin in June, 2000. The ships will be 126.5 meters in length with a deadweight of approximately 8,000 tons. Their service speed is expected to be 14.5 knots fully loaded, ensuring their timely response to the global maintenance requirements of the OXYGEN Network.

"As the advantages of international electronic networks become apparent, more and more users are coming on-line to gain access to vast banks of information," said President Lee of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. "Indeed, undersea optical cable lines are so popular among such users as Internet organizers etc. that the number of users is currently outstripping its capacity. At this juncture, we are so happy to have an opportunity of participating in this huge and most advanced international optical fiber cable laying project."

"We are pleased to have access to the capabilities of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard," said Lawrence Cahill, President of Project Ozone Ltd. "These ships represent a major advance in design and cable laying technique for ships used to install and maintain undersea cables."

The ships will have unique dynamic positioning capabilities that will allow them to maintain position in heavy seas and to follow a pre-described course as needed when laying undersea cable. They will use state-of-the-art local-area networks (LANs) connecting computers containing such information as cable repair and ship operation data, the first time on-board LANs have been connected to ship propulsion systems. Each ship will also have a real-time video feed, which will allow OXYGEN Network owners to observe repair operations via the Internet.

Since its establishment in 1975, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has specialized in the new building and conversion of special-purpose ships like cable layers, drill ships, pipe layers, FPSO (floating production storage and offloading) units, asphalt carriers, pitch carriers, and other medium sized cargo ships at its shipyard in Ulsan, Korea. Its experienced engineers, skilled labors and modernized facilities with flexible operation of four graving docks ensure its worldwide clients of high quality ships in competitive time.

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has built numerous specialized ships for customers worldwide, including two drill ships for a French owner, an FPSO unit for a Norwegian owner, a pipe layer for French owner, a cable layer for a British owner, two FPSO units for a Brazilian owner, a self-unloading bulk carrier for an American owner. Apart from building and conversion of ships, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard is also well known to ship owners worldwide for drydocking and repair of ships.

Project OXYGEN Network is a planned global undersea optical fiber cable network with a first phase comprising approximately 168,000 kilometers of optical fiber cable, 99 landing points in 78 countries and locations, and a minimum capacity of 1,280 Gbit/s on every segment. Cable installation is scheduled to begin in 1999, with the major trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific links operational in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The first phase will be complete in early 2003.