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NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING PERFORMS REPAIR WORK ON PFC EUGENE A. OBREGON

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., June 10, 1999 – Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS) announced today that it has received a contract to repair and dry dock the PFC Eugene A. Obregon, a Waterman Steamship Corporation Maritime Pre-Positioning ship that arrived at Newport News on May 28. It is scheduled to depart in late June.

Work being done on the ship includes blasting and painting of the hull, main decks and ballast tanks, as well as inspections on the main engine, turbine generator and sea valves.

Staff Photo by John Whalen

PFC Eugene A. Obregon

Pre-positioning ships like the Obregon are chartered by Military Sealift Command (MSC) and carry ammunition, supplies and military vehicles. They are stationed in areas of the world where there is the potential for conflict or a crisis requiring rapid availability of military equipment. Obregon is 821 ft. long, has a beam of 105 ft. 8 in. and a displacement of 51,612 long tons.

Newport News Shipbuilding designs and constructs nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy and provides life-cycle services for ships in the Navy fleet. The company employs 18,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $1.8 billion. Visit NNS on the Web at www.nns.com.