FIRST SEMESTER RESULTS 2009

ANTWERP, Belgium, 22nd July 2009 – The executive committee of Euronav NV (EURONEXT BRUSSELS: EURN) today reported its preliminary and unaudited financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2009.

The company had a net income of USD 27.1 million (first semester 2008: USD 205.2 million) or USD 0.54 (first semester 2008: USD 3.97) per share, for the first semester 2009. EBITDA for the same period was USD 123.6 million (first semester 2008: USD 309 million).

The average time charter equivalent rates (TCE) obtained by the company’s owned VLCC fleet in the Tankers International (TI) pool was approximately USD 28,700 per day in the second quarter (second quarter 2008: USD 97,950 per day) and USD 38,100 in the first semester of 2009 (first semester 2008: USD 99,900 per day).

The average time charter equivalent earnings of the Euronav Suezmax fleet, was USD 31,500 per day in the second quarter (second quarter 2008: USD 44,800 per day) and USD 34,900 per day for the first semester 2009 (first semester 2008: USD 40,750 per day).

The result of the second quarter is positively affected by the revaluation at marked-to-market levels of non cash items such as hedge instruments on interest rates for a total of USD 5.9 million.

In June, Euronav took delivery of a Newbuilding Suezmax from Samsung Heavy Industries from South-Korea. The ship was named Felicity (2009 – 159,000 dwt) and is being operated under time charter contract with Total for a period of up to 30 months.

Earlier this month, Euronav and Samsung Heavy Industries have come to an agreement to convert the VLCC Hull numbered 1895, ordered in July 2008 (see press release 22 July 2008) and due for delivery in the first quarter of 2012, to an en-bloc contract for two ice strengthened Suezmax tankers to be delivered in the third quarter of 2012 and 2013 respectively. The en-bloc price is USD 170 million. The delivery dates will, in effect, postpone part of the capital investments for Euronav by more than one year and better align the newbuilding program with expected fleet replacement requirements.

The TI Asia and TI Africa, currently being converted to FSO service vessels are expected to be delivered by the end of the third and fourth quarter respectively. Upon delivery, the vessels will begin their long time charter contracts to Maersk Oil Qatar AS. This project is a joint venture between OSG and Euronav NV.

Since the end of the first quarter, the market has softened noticeably to levels lower than previous years but following a much anticipated seasonal trend. This is due to a lower demand for transportation caused by a reduced demand for crude oil as part of the global economic recession. Furthermore, the low freight rates were exacerbated by sharply rising bunker costs. Management remains cautious in respect of the outlook for the rest of the year.

So far in the third quarter, VLCC rates remain low but with a high volatility: Euronav VLCC fleet operated in the tankers International pool has earned USD 27,000 per day and 49% of the available days have been fixed.

FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE PLEASE GO TO EURONAV CORPORATE WEBSITE www.euronav.com

Euronav is an integrated owner, operator and manager able to provide complete shipping services in addition to the carriage of crude oil on its fleet of modern large tankers. The crude oil sea-borne transportation market is cyclical and highly volatile requiring flexible and proactive management of assets in terms of fleet composition and employment. Euronav operates its fleet on both the spot and the period market. Most of Euronav VLCCs as well as all VPLUS are operated in the Tankers International pool. Euronav operates at the moment all of its Suezmaxes and Aframaxes under period charter contracts with oil majors, leading refiners and oil traders such as BP, Glencore, Petrobras, Sun Oil, Total Valero and Vitol. Fleet management is conducted by three wholly owned subsidiaries: Euronav Ship Management SAS and Euronav SAS, both French companies with headquarters in Nantes (France) and with a major branch office in Antwerp and Euronav Ship Management (Hellas) Ltd with its head office in Piraeus, Greece. The skills of its directly employed seagoing officers, shore-based Captains and Engineers give Euronav a competitive edge in high quality design, maintenance and operation. Euronav vessels fly Belgian, Greek and French flag. The use of national flag together with operational and maintenance standards in terms of age, appearance and performance which are higher than industry norms enables Euronav to employ part of its fleet on long-term charter with fixed earnings to secure financial visibility.

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This release was published on openPR.