ELETSON AFFILIATE REDUCES NEWBUILDING ORDERS

PIRAEUS, February 23, 1996 -- Karos II Shipping Corporation, an affiliate of Eletson Holdings Inc. ("Eletson") and the Ukranian Development Corporation (UDC) have mutually agreed to the cancellation of two of the three remaining newbuilding contracts with the Zaliv shipyard in the Ukraine. The delivery of the last vessel, a 68,000 deadweight (dwt) double hull product tanker is scheduled for May 1996. Upon delivery, Eletson will enter into a long term bareboat charter agreement and will trade the vessel together with the three Zaliv sisterships it already owns. As part of the agreement, Eletson will prepay the remaining obligations owed to UDC in connection with the first three Zaliv vessels on favorable terms.

Eletson owns and operates one of the world's largest fleets of medium-size product tankers. The fleet presently consists of 19 vessels, seventeen of which were delivered after 1989, with a combined capacity of approximately 973,000 dwt. In addition to the aforementioned vessel, company affiliates have on order four 46,500 dwt vessels with the Tenneco/Newport News shipyard in the U.S. to be operated by the company under long term bareboat charters and due for delivery in 1997 and early 1998.

Eletson contact: Vassilis E. Kertsikoff, New York (212) 867-2423