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Construction starts on 8th OSG tanker (5/30)

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard recently issued the following news release, which also is available on their web site HERE AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF EIGHTH TANKER (27.05.08) Vessel is the eighth in a twelve ship build program PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 27, 2008) – A ceremonial steel cutting took place at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (Oslo: AKPS) today with a representative of Aker American Shipping. This officially began production on the eighth tanker in a series of twelve. In the series, four have been delivered and three are currently under construction at the yard – today’s steel cutting marks the fourth. The twelfth vessel is scheduled for completion by early 2011. As part of the building methodology utilized for this series, the first plates cut on the yard’s state-of-the-art plasma cutter will be assembled into the engine room of the 600 foot long vessel. All together, 45 sections, weighing up to 650 tons, are fabricated and assembled in Philadelphia to complete the 46,000 dwt tanker. After delivery from Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, the tanker will be converted to a shuttle tanker for use in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and will be the first Jones Act vessel to serve this new market with strong growth potential. Shuttle tankers transport crude oil from deepwater areas where there are no available pipelines. When completed, the vessel will be sold to the yard’s sister ship owning company, Aker American Shipping (Oslo: AKASA), and in turn, leased to OSG America. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is a leading U.S. commercial shipyard constructing vessels for operation in the Jones Act market. It possesses a state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility and has earned a reputation as the preferred provider of oceangoing merchant vessels with a track record of delivering quality ships. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is a member of the Norwegian-based Aker family of global companies, leaders in global growth markets including energy technologies, energy resources, maritime technologies, seafood and marine biotechnology. ###