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Philly shipyard reaches milestone (5/16)

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard has issued the following news release, which also is available on the shipyard’s web site here Philadelphia Shipyard Reaches Milestone on Second of Ten New Product Tankers Traditional coin ceremony part of keel laying in yard’s dry dock PHILADELPHIA, PA (May, 15, 2006) – Aker Philadelphia Shipyard achieved another significant milestone in its current ten-ship tanker build program today with keel laying for the second vessel in the series, the sixth ship constructed at the yard since it started production in 2000. On the rainy spring morning, the first section of the double-hulled product tanker scheduled for completion in 2007 was installed in the yard’s Building Dock just a few hundred yards behind the first ship in the series, also currently under construction in the dock. When completed, each vessel will weigh 46,000 deadweight tons (dwt) and be the most modern product tankers in the U.S. domestic fleet. The first ship in the program is expected to be delivered by the end of 2006, with the second vessel scheduled for completion during 2007. All ten product tankers in the series will be owned by American Shipping Corporation, a subsidiary of Aker American Shipping, and chartered to Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). To date, six of the ten tankers in the build program are under signed time charter, with two-ship agreements in place between OSG and Shell, BP and Tesoro. Dave Meehan, President and CEO of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard said, “Keel laying for our second tanker just days after start of production on our third tanker signifies another important step in advancing our yard and the ten ship build program to new levels of efficiency and sophistication. For the first time in its history, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard now has four ships currently under construction, including three tanker vessels of the exact same design,” added Meehan. As part of the ceremony, coins were placed under the keel block in a practice which recreates a longstanding tradition whereby shipbuilders hide special coins in the keel section of a ship as a permanent symbol of good fortune and safe travels. Aker American Shipping CFO Jan Ivar Nielsen represented Aker in the ceremony, with Theo Mandopoulos, OSG’s site manager at the yard, participating from OSG. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. is the shipbuilding subsidiary of Aker American Shipping. In conjunction with affiliated subsidiaries, the state-of-the-art shipyard located on the site of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard is in the midst of a project to build, own, and lease product tankers for the U.S. Jones Act market. Aker American Shipping and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. are members of the Norwegian-based Aker family of global companies, industry leaders in the fields of shipbuilding, fishery, and technology-based solutions for customers in oil, gas, energy, and process industries. ###