NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING AWARDED SHIP REPAIR CONTRACT FOR THREE MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND SHIPS

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., July 19, 2001 – Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE:NNS) announced today that it was awarded a ship repair contract by Waterman Steamship Corporation for three Military Sealift Command (MSC) pre-positioning ships. Terms of the contract have not been disclosed.

Pre-positioning ships carry ammunition, supplies and military vehicles. They are stationed in areas of the world where there is a potential for conflict or requiring rapid availability of military equipment.

The ships and their scheduled arrivals are as follows: SS SGT. Matej Kocak, August 10, 2001; SS PFC Eugene A. Obregon, October 12, 2001; and SS Major Stephen W. Pless, December 14, 2001.

Work to be performed on the ships will include hull and deck preservation; ballast and cargo tank preservation; stern ramp overhaul and preservation; crane overhaul; boiler re-tubing; main and emergency generator maintenance; cargo crane and ramp testing; and normal regulatory body inspections. 

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 nearly 17,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $2 billion. Visit NNS on the Web at www.nns.com