Latest News from Great Lakes Shipyard

• Great Lakes Shipyard Delivers Bridge Pontoon To New York New Jersey Rail for Brooklyn, NY to Jersey City Water-Rail Link Cleveland, OH - Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Group, announced today that it had fabricated and delivered a "bridge pontoon" to New York New Jersey Rail LLC (“NYNJR”), New York City’s only rail car float business serving the New York-New Jersey Region. The bridge pontoon is a unique maritime rail component of New York New Jersey Rail’s infrastructure rehabilitation program, and acts as a floatation chamber to support an active rail bridge located on the Brooklyn, New York waterfront. The bridge pontoon was constructed at Great Lakes Shipyard’s new state-of-the-art facilities on the South Bank of the Old River Channel in two (2) modules and was transported by truck to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority docks where it was loaded onto a train for delivery to Brooklyn, NY. NYNJR is part of the national transportation rail system and moves rail freight by rail barge across NY Harbor between Brooklyn, New York and Jersey City, New Jersey. NYNJR carries a wide range of goods to include Food & Consumer goods, Recyclables, Building Materials, Scrap, Brick, Lumber, Plastic, and Large Steel Beams. As part of an infrastructure rehabilitation program, NYNJR selected Great Lakes Shipyard to construct the "bridge pontoon”. NYNJR Managing Director James Cornell said “After a thorough source selection process, only Great Lakes Shipyard, a new state-of-the art fabrication facility, was able to manufacture and deliver this critical replacement for our infrastructure in record time and to our satisfaction. We look forward to the new floatation chambers deployment and sea-trials to test the durability of this design. One of our top priorities has been the rehabilitation of this important and unique marine rail route and increase the reliability and safety of our operation for our trans-harbor railcar freight operations in the Ports of New York and New Jersey.” The Great Lakes Group of transportation companies have been in Cleveland since the turn of the 19th century. Recently, the Cleveland-based Company decided to build a new fabrication and repair facility for the construction of unique custom-designed sectional and truckable barge units such as the bridge pontoon, and for tugboat construction. • NEW “HANDYSIZE” TUG ADDRESSES NICHE U.S. MARKET TWO HULLS NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION TUGZ International, LLC, the well-known and successful owner-charterer of the “Z Class”, 4,000 hp multipurpose U.S. flag reverse tractor tugs designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants, Seattle, is introducing a new Jensen designed tug to fill the niche between the 2,000 - 3,000 hp tug market for harbor work, fireboats, and construction operations as well as for coastal towing. The newly designed “HANDYSIZE” Class describes the new tug design as just the right size, just the right power, environmentally sound, fuel efficient and versatile enough to accomplish most tug jobs at the lowest operating cost, “when bigger is just too big, and smaller is more than enough.” This series of tugs will be built at TUGZ’s affiliate Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio. The shipyard recently opened new state-of-the-art facilities for tug and barge construction. Not new to shipbuilding or to tug operations, some of the The Great Lakes Group of transportation companies have been around since the turn of the 19th century and its tugs operate on all the Great Lakes, all the coasts, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska. For many years it also owned and operated a Gulf shipyard too. “There is a real market need and we have had serious inquiries”, said Ronald C. Rasmus, President of the Group. “Studies have shown that there are more than 1,500 U.S. flag tugs over 30 years old in the less than 3,000 HP range that will need to be replaced over the next few years. Owners of this handysize range are looking for a low cost, fuel efficient, versatile workhorse, and our new “HANDYSIZE” Class tug design just fits the need.” The Great Lakes Shipyard will build the “HANDYSIZE” Class tugs for sale, or for lease-purchase or charter through its affiliate TUGZ. Two tugs are now under construction with deliveries November 2007 and April 2008. The tugs are available as ASD’s or as nozzled Twin-Screw Conventional models for those operators whose work application makes the Z-drive unnecessary and too expensive. Some operators believe that the conventional tugs will work better in ice and in debris-filled, low, and muddy waters. The new tug has some very interesting features in its design to minimize operating costs. Among them: • More Steel. No matter the use, the “HANDYSIZE” Class will be built to last. Using an ABS “ice-class” hull standard for sturdiness and icebreaking, if applicable, the increased 5/8ths inch steel thickness and tighter framing in the bow and stern ensures an increase in the useful life of the tug beyond the normal or statutory life. • Meets all USCG regulatory requirements. Built to Loadline and ABS standards. Because the tug is less than 79’ and less than 100 gross tons there are several advantages that translate to operational flexibility and savings: (i) Loadline Certificate is not required; (ii) Only one (1) Licensed Operator is required ?" other crewing at Owner’s discretion; (iii) Crew not required to hold AB or OS ratings; (iv) Merchant Mariner Documents are not required for crew other than for Licensed Operator. • Designed for two (2) man operation with bridge control of engine room and deck winches; • High fuel efficiency; • Smaller environmental footprint; • Meets or Exceeds EPA Tier II emissions regulations. Measuring 74.0’ (22.6m) in length with molded beam of 30.0’ (9.1m) and a maximum draft of 11.0’(3.3m) the tug attains a bollard pull of 36 short tons (72,000 pounds est.) and a free running speed of 12.0 knots from a pair of Cummins QSK 38 diesels each developing 1,400 hp at 1,800 revolutions/ minute. These turn 72.0” diameter Kaplan type propellers inside Type 37 stainless steel lined nozzles and Twin Disk MG 540 with 5.17:1 ratios. A pair of 65kW generator sets provides the electrical needs while the standard 2,000 gpm fire pumps, which feeds a single forward deckhouse-mounted monitor, is driven off one of the generators. Additional fire monitors and foam capability for a fireboat version of the tug are available as an option. Keel coolers provide a saltwater-free engine room. Ahead of a well insulated forward bulkhead are two twin-bunk crew cabins and a laundry. On the main deck, a single cabin for the captain is located on the starboard side of the deckhouse opposite the mess room, and a toilet/shower room is located portside aft. All the accommodations are air conditioned. There is a full walk-around bridge deck with steps up from main deck, fore and aft. One central door aft and internal staircase gives access to the traditionally laid out wheelhouse. Eleven windows and three lower windows forward provide 360° view. The exhaust casings are cut off a waist height to ensure good visibility. Amongst an impressive array of wheelhouse electronics is a pair of radar units, a GPS, autopilot, compass, and an optional Techsol engine room monitoring and alarm system. A unique feature of the design is that the steel structure and deck have been strengthened to accommodate a range of customer requirements which can be installed at the time of construction or later, without need of performing major steel work. These options include a forward hawser winch, an aft towing winch, and a knuckle boom crane. The tug is designed for seven-day endurance for coastal service and the tank capacities include 21,600 gallons of fuel and 1,800 gallons of potable water. More details about the availability of this 74-foot Handysize tug and The Great Lakes Group of companies can be found on www.thegreatlakesgroup.com.