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For Immediate ReleaseContact: Sara Price
Construction underway on third double hull tanker NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Litton Avondale Industries of New Orleans, LA laid the keel of the M/V POLAR DISCOVERY on August 28, 2000 for Polar Tankers, Inc., of Long Beach, CA (formerly ARCO Marine, Inc.). The third of three Millennium Class tankers being built at Avondale to carry crude oil from Alaska to the West Coast of the United States, M/V POLAR DISCOVERY will sail through some of the most severe trade routes in the world. The POLAR DISCOVERY will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2002. The first Polar tanker under construction at Avondale, the POLAR ENDEAVOUR, is scheduled to enter the Alaskan trade in early 2001, and the second tanker, the POLAR RESOLUTION, is also scheduled for delivery later in 2001. The tankers are named in honor of the ships of legendary explorer Captain James Cook. The Millennium Class "next generation" tankers are the first new crude-oil carriers being built for the Alaskan trade in compliance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The Millennium Class tankers are being built to meet and/or exceed existing and proposed environmental regulations. The tankers are being built with double hulls that exceed regulatory minimums, double independent engine rooms, twin propellers and twin rudders. The Millennium Class vessels will have all cargo, fuel and lubricating oils isolated from the ship’s side by ballast tanks or void spaces. The vessels will meet pending regulations for air emissions from engines. The ships are also being painted with tin-free anti-fouling paint in deference to proposed regulations. M/V POLAR DISCOVERY and her sister vessels of the class are 272.69 M long by 46.2 M wide by 26.3 M deep (894.7’ x 151.6’ x 86.29’). The vessel is powered by twin 11,060 KW (15,000 BHP) slow-speed diesel engines. The ship has a 2206 KW (3000 HP) bow thruster. The design speed is 16.5 knots loaded and 17.5 knots in ballast. The POLAR DISCOVERY’s tanks will hold just over 1,000,000 barrels of cargo at full capacity and 125,000 DWT of cargo for Puget Sound, Washington. The POLAR DISCOVERY will be equipped with the latest electronics to ensure safe and efficient operation. Polar Tankers is the shipping division of Phillips Alaska, a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum Company. Polar Tankers' fleet consists of five vessels ranging in size from 50,000 to 265,000 DWT. All of the fleets are employed in the Alaskan crude trade. Litton Ship Systems (LSS), headquartered in Pascagoula, Mississippi, includes Litton Avondale Industries, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding and the Litton Ship Systems Full Service Center, both in Pascagoula. LSS, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals, primarily in Mississippi and Louisiana, is one of the nation’s leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types. LSS has a firm business backlog exceeding $5.6 billion, in a variety of naval and commercial shipbuilding programs. Litton is the largest builder of non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and designs, builds, and overhauls surface ships for government and commercial customers worldwide. The company is a leading information technology (IT) contractor to the U.S. government and provides specialized IT services to commercial customers and government customers in local/foreign jurisdictions. Litton is a leading provider of defense and commercial electronics technology, components, and materials for customers worldwide. Headquartered in Woodland Hills, California, Litton has more than 40,000 employees and more than $5 billion in annual revenue. For more information, visit Litton’s web site at www.litton.com.
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