General Dynamics NASSCO Holds Naming Ceremony for Final BP Tanker

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics , today held a ceremony to name the fourth and final double-hulled oil tanker it is building for BP Shipping Ltd., the Alaskan Legend. BP Shipping Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary and ship operating division of BP p.l.c.

The ceremony took place at the NASSCO shipyard here. Mrs. Shirley Anne Massey, the wife of Morehouse College president and BP board member Dr. Walter Massey, was the honoree at the ceremony and is the ship's sponsor. As ship's sponsor, Mrs. Massey named the ship and broke the traditional bottle of champagne against it.

Construction of the Alaskan Legend began in October 2004. NASSCO placed a strong emphasis on environmental safety in its design. As with the first three Alaska-class ships, the Alaskan Legend is double-hulled, diesel-electric powered, equipped with 20 separate cargo tanks, and has all of its cargo transfer piping inside the hull rather on its decks to reduce the chance of accidental spills. The ship is capable of carrying up to 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and will operate between Alaska and western U.S. ports. NASSCO will deliver the Alaskan Legend to BP Shipping on August 18.

"The Alaska-class tankers are extraordinary ships," said Frederick J. Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. "The BP-NASSCO team worked hand-in-hand to bring them to life. BP's focus on safety and technology drove the ship requirements, NASSCO's engineering staff and planners created the ship's design and build strategy, and our dedicated team of shipbuilders executed the plan."

NASSCO received a contract from BP to build three tankers in September 2000, and a contract to build the fourth ship one year later. The first three Alaska-class ships are already in service: the Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Explorer and Alaskan Navigator.

The Alaska-class tankers are 287 meters (941 feet) long, have a beam of 50 meters (164 feet) and a design draft of 18.5 meters (61.5 feet). The ship's total carrying capacity is 190,000 metric tons at its design draft.

Located in San Diego, NASSCO employs more than 4,500 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States. The shipyard has contracts to build eight T-AKE ships for the U.S. Navy and as many as 14 product carrier tankers for U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. Additional information on NASSCO can be found at http://www.nassco.com/.

BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corporation, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol. BP is a global producer, manufacturer and marketer of oil, gas, chemicals and renewable energy sources. Every day, BP provides energy solutions to approximately 13 million customers in more than 100 countries. More information about BP is available at http://www.bp.com/.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 81,900 people worldwide and had 2005 revenue of $21.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information can be found online at http://www.generaldynamics.com/.

Contact: Karl D. Johnson Tel: 619 544 8860 Fax: 619 544 3541 kjohnson@nassco.com