Ken:  I reviewed the letter from Mr. S. Huey Long that you forwarded to me regard= ing his suggestion that you discuss with Mr. Ravi N. Tikoo the Dabhol situa= tion and more specifically the Lakshmi LNG carrier and in return agree to l= et him bid on future LNG carrier chartering or financing business.
As you = probably recall, we are a minority investor in the Lakshmi, with Mitsui OSK=  Lines the majority investor and operator of the vessel.
We are not really=  in a position to control decision making with respect tot he vessel and ar= e currently maneuvering to get Mitsui to buy out our position.
Accordingly= , I do not think there is anything productive to be gained from Mr. Tikoo w= ith respect to the Lakshmi.
As to whether he can help more generally with = respect to India, I defer to your judgement.
I think we are already well c= onnected and engaging any additional intermediaries carries more risk in te= rms of confusion, mixed messages or inappropriate behavior from a FCPA pers= pective.
If you would like I can have our LNG group respond with a polite = letter informing him that we are not currently considering any additional L= NG carriers, but that we would be happy to allow him to arrange a meeting a= t such time in the future as we have shipping needs.
Jim

Shipping Financial Services Corp.
Ken: I reviewed the letter from Mr. S. Huey Long that you forwarded to me regard= ing his suggestion that you discuss with Mr. Ravi N. Tikoo the Dabhol situa= tion and more specifically the Lakshmi LNG carrier and in return agree to l= et him bid on future LNG carrier chartering or financing business.
As you = probably recall, we are a minority investor in the Lakshmi, with Mitsui OSK= Lines the majority investor and operator of the vessel.
We are not really= in a position to control decision making with respect tot he vessel and ar= e currently maneuvering to get Mitsui to buy out our position.
Accordingly= , I do not think there is anything productive to be gained from Mr. Tikoo w= ith respect to the Lakshmi.
As to whether he can help more generally with = respect to India, I defer to your judgement.
I think we are already well c= onnected and engaging any additional intermediaries carries more risk in te= rms of confusion, mixed messages or inappropriate behavior from a FCPA pers= pective.
If you would like I can have our LNG group respond with a polite = letter informing him that we are not currently considering any additional L= NG carriers, but that we would be happy to allow him to arrange a meeting a= t such time in the future as we have shipping needs.
Jim
lakshmi lng carrier happy allow et bid future ken reviewed letter tikoo dabhol situa intermediaries carries risk arrange meeting time ith rms confusion position control decision