The Stena Sonangol Pools are comprised of and support both charter services and owners who wish to leverage their position through market fluctuations. The Pool absorbs some of the risk by spreading it over several ships vs. one or two ships that would trade on the open spot market.

To achieve this all vessels in the Pool are assigned Pool points to ensure a neutral and equitable system for the net revenue distribution which can:

• readily be described and is transparent to vessel owners, and
• be used to evaluate new vessels entering the Pool

Net revenue distribution is defined here as pool freight revenue for any given period less all voyage costs expenses.

The fundamentals behind this system, developed by Richardson Lawrie Associates (RLA), is that it 'values' vessel characteristics from the perspective of their impact on net voyage earnings in each market sector measured against benchmark voyages. All vessels are 'traded' on all routes within each market or market sector to ensure that relative strengths and weaknesses are captured. Generally, data is derived from a trading period of approximately one year and reviewed annually.

The results from the relative earnings assessments are thereafter allocated weightings to the individual routes used. The weightings are based on trade volumes, fixture quantities and the actual or prospective business profile. Pool points for each vessel, or each class of vessel, is derived from this part of the Model. The pool points are used within a formula that provides the 'net revenue distribution factor' for each vessel or class of vessel. The distribution factor is used to provide the allocation of income for each given vessel prior to deduction of any pool management fees.

This system ensures that over time the Pool participants benefit from the Pool’s overall performance while reducing the impact of market volatility.