Fifth Product Tanker Launched at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard

July 14, 2008 2:11 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (Oslo: AKPS), a leading U.S. commercial shipyard, launched Hull 009, the fifth in a series of 12 product tankers to be completed by the yard in 2011 and sold to American Shipping Company (Oslo: AMSC), formerly Aker American Shipping.

In the pre-dawn hours of Friday July 11th, the 46,000 dwt vessel was floated off its blocks and transferred from the Building Dock to the Outfitting Dock. While in the Outfitting Dock; testing, commissioning and onboard work will continue until the vessel embarks on sea trials where it will be thoroughly tested prior to delivery to American Shipping Company and subsequent bareboat charter to OSG America.

Hull 009 has been modified to incorporate three improved diesel powered electrical generating sets to power the vessel's electrical system. These diesel engines comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's latest Tier II requirements. When in operation these new engines will produce lower levels of pollutants such as NOx, SOx, and particulate than previous versions. The vessel's emergency diesel generator, hydraulic power packs, and rescue and lifeboat engines have all been upgraded as well.

Newly appointed President and CEO of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Jim Miller stated, "Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is committed to protecting the environment and our nation's waterways through our actions. We maintain a clean record of no environmental violations and have reduced the energy used by the shipyard to construct these vessels by one third. Additionally, as the only shipyard to introduce double hull product tankers to the Jones Act since 1999 we enable the employment of these safe and environmentally friendly ships in place of single hull tonnage."

"American Shipping Company is committed to having the newest, most modern and most efficient vessels in our fleet," said Rob Kurz, American Shipping Company President and CEO. "As our build program with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard progresses, each vessel incorporates improvements over the previous vessels."

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.

American Shipping Company (AMSC) owns and leases world-class quality vessels for operation between ports in the United States. When the current series of twelve tankers is completed in 2011, AMSC will own the most modern product tanker fleet in the United States; and it will be the first company in the United States to own shuttle tankers for use in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Source: Aker Philadelphia Shipyard

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