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More milestones at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (11/14)

Union-contracted Aker Philadelphia Shipyard has issued the following news release, which also is available on their web site HERE Milestone Reached on Third Tanker in Ten Ship Build Program at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Keel Laying Ceremony Takes Place in Yard’s Building Dock PHILADELPHIA, PA (November, 13, 2006) – Two days after the naming ceremony was held for the first product tanker in its ten ship series, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard achieved another significant milestone in the build program with keel laying for the third vessel in the series. The first section of the double-hulled product tanker scheduled for completion in late 2007 was lowered into the yard’s Building Dock, the same dock where construction is underway on the second ship in the series. As part of the ceremony, coins were placed under the keel block recreating 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. Michael Giantomaso, Vice President of Human Resources, and Stephen Lalumera, President of the Boilermakers Union, represented Aker American Shipping in the ceremony, with Captain John Marquis and Chief Engineer Ed Hastings, participating from Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). 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, formally named the Overseas Houston in a ceremony held at the yard on Saturday, November 11, will 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 OSG. To date, eight of the ten tankers in the build program are under signed time charter, with agreements in place between OSG and Shell, BP and Tesoro. In addition to the Overseas Houston and the two vessels under construction in the Building Dock, production on the fourth tanker in the series is advancing, with steel cutting for that vessel having begun four weeks ago. 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. ###