Maritrans States Position On U.S. Army Corp of Engineer's Newest Deepening Study; Company Believes Study To Be Flawed Due To Missing Data.

Business Editors

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2003

Maritrans Operating Company L.P., the operating subsidiary of Maritrans Inc. (NYSE: TUG), today announced that it believes the benefits of deepening the Delaware River to 45 feet have been again severely misstated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("ACOE").

The ACOE report, released in December 2002, concluded that the benefits to cost ratio of the deepening project was 1.18 to 1. The report states that the major benefit of this project is in the form of reduced lightering expenses for refineries along the Delaware River. Maritrans Operating Company L.P., which performs a very high percentage of all lightering for area refineries, reports that the ACOE understated the actual volume of lightering by approximately 25 percent and under-reported the number of hours spent lightering by approximately 35 percent. These are key statistics in the report's calculations, and we believe that the ACOE's errors result in a substantial overstatement of the benefits of the project.

Maritrans Operating Company L.P. has again provided the ACOE with compelling historical facts about lightering operations in an effort to have the information included. While this information had previously been provided at the ACOE's request, it was not included in the final analysis of the deepening project's feasibility.

In June 2002 the U.S. General Accounting Office ("GAO") issued a report in which it reviewed the ACOE's initial economic justification to dredge the Delaware River to 45 feet. The ACOE agreed with the GAO findings and committed to perform a re-analysis of the economic justification for the project. The reanalysis was issued in December 2002.

While Maritrans supports the development of the Port of Philadelphia, we have maintained for the last ten years that the expenditure of more than $200 million of taxpayer money required for the project cannot be justified on objective economic grounds. If the project becomes fully funded at the federal and state levels and is fully constructed (including access dredging by private refineries), it would have a material adverse effect on Maritrans' lightering business. Maritrans has and continues to remain available to work constructively with the ACOE to make sure they are basing their studies on accurate information.

ABOUT MARITRANS

Maritrans Inc. is a U.S. based company with a 74-year commitment to building and operating petroleum transport vessels for the U.S. domestic trade. Maritrans owns and operates one of the largest fleets serving the U.S. coastwise trade. The Maritrans fleet currently consists of four oil tankers and eleven oceangoing married tug/barge units with an aggregate fleet capacity of 3.6 million barrels, with over half of its capacity double-hulled. Maritrans is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and maintains an office in the Philadelphia area that supports the Company's Northeast crude oil lightering operations. The common stock of Maritrans Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TUG."

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

The information in this news release includes certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable, but could be affected by a variety of factors relating to the dredging and its impacts on oil companies' operating and sourcing decisions and the general financial, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions affecting the oil and marine transportation industry in general.