NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING WINS CONTRACT TO REPAIR FIVE MAERSK LINES SHIPS

June 9, 1997, NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Newport News Shipbuilding has been awarded a contract for work on five ships operated by Maersk Lines Limited, of Madison, N.J.

The work performed will include dry-docking, maintenance and repair of the five United States-flagged, Roll-On, Roll-off vessels dedicated to the U.S. Marine Corps' Maritime Pre-positioning Ship Program. The ships are M/V 1st LT. Alex Bonnyman, M/V CPL. Louis J. Hauge, Jr., M/V PFC. William B. Baugh, M/V PVT. Franklin J. Phillips, and M/V PFC. James Anderson, Jr.

"We are very pleased to be working once again with such a respected shipping company as Maersk," said Ed Waryas, Newport News Shipbuilding director of Marketing for Commercial Ship Construction and Repair. All five ships have undergone previous repair and maintenance at Newport News Shipbuilding.

"Winning this competed repair contract from Maersk underscores Newport News Shipbuilding's reputation for quality work and on-time delivery," said Jack Finnegan, the company's manager for Ship Repair Marketing.

The first ship will arrive in mid-June and work on all five ships is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of 1998.

Newport News Shipbuilding is America's largest ship design and construction company. It has produced approximately 800 ships during its 111 years of operations - including Navy aircraft carriers, submarines, and cruisers. The company is currently building the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and has begun work in preparation for construction of the Navy's New Attack Submarine. It is also building nine Double Eagle product tankers. Its 1996 revenues totaled $1.87 billion, with earnings before interest and taxes of $140 million. The current backlog is approximately $3.3 billion. The workforce numbers 18,000, making it Virginia's largest private employer.