Page 17: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2, 2006)

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SeaBuilders, LLC said it is accepting orders for the first quarter of 2008 to construct 30,000 barrel and 60,000 bar- rel oil barges. The company also announced that it has received an initial $3 million round of funding from

Harbor Bunkering Corporation of

Puerto Rico. SeaBuilders shipyard opened to provide capacity, as well as a new, more efficient approach to barge building, according to the company.

SeaBuilders is expecting to leverage its

Lean Manufacturing Process to build barges faster, more efficiently and more cost effectively. "We are delighted to offer the industry a solution —

SeaBuilders is available to now take orders and by leveraging the Lean

Manufacturing Process, we will be able to meet the pressing demands of indus- try to come into compliance to meet the pending requirements under the Oil

Pollution Act of '90,” said Eric Rivera,

Executive Vice President of

SeaBuilders. "SeaBuilders is the next generation of barge building. They are a company built from the ground up by an experi- enced team driven to meeting the indus- tries' demands," said Alfredo Santaella

Suarez, CEO of Harbor Bunkering.

SeaBuilders shipyard is located in

Corpus Christi, Texas. The SeaBuilders' focus will be to focus on the develop- ment of 30,000 barrel barges (the C5

Series) and 60,000 barrel barges (the

C10 Series). "While the marine and oil industry have worked to meet the demands for the larger barges and tankers, the barge building industry has pent up demand for the smaller sized barges with the 2015 deadline looming," said Jack

Walsh, Executive Vice President. "SeaBuilders will play a critical role in the marine and oil industries meeting the timetable with high quality barges that are delivered on time and on budget," added Rivera.

New Shipyard — SeaBuilders — Opens in Texas

OSG Acquires Maritrans

Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) and

Maritrans Inc. announced that OSG has com- pleted the acquisition of Maritrans Inc., a U.S.

Flag crude oil and petroleum product shipping company that owns and operates one of the largest fleets of double hull Jones Act vessels serving the East and U.S. Gulf coastwise trades. The acquisition was made pursuant to the definitive merger agreement between the companies announced on September 25, 2006.

Based on 12 million shares outstanding and the assumption of net debt outstanding as of

September 30, 2006, the transaction is valued at $471 million. OSG financed the acquisition with borrowings under its revolving credit agreement and intends to repay up to $300 million of this amount from qualified with- drawals under its Capital Construction Fund (CCF). The transaction is expected to be imme- diately accretive to OSG's earnings, before consideration of any transaction synergies.

Maritrans will be renamed "OSG America, Inc."

As a result of the combination, OSG's U.S. Flag fleet now totals 35 operating and newbuild ves- sels that include handysize product carriers, a car carrier, dry bulk carriers and articulated tug barges. OSG's U.S. Flag fleet provides U.S.- based companies with a broad range of short- haul and long-haul transportation and lightering services. The strategic acquisition also gives

OSG a presence in all four major U.S. trading routes.

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