Quick Response by Shipyard Helped Prevent Major Bay Disaster.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1996--Fast action by San Francisco Drydock workers kept last Monday's oil spill into San Francisco Bay from becoming a major environmental disaster.

The shipyard stopped the flow of oil, limiting the amount that leaked into the Bay to a relatively small quantity, and deployed containment equipment and cleanup crews quickly.

San Francisco Drydock is San Francisco's only full service ship repair facility and operates the largest floating drydock on the West Coast.

The oil escaped during routine maintenance of a government-owned cargo ship, the Cape Mohican, whose ballast tank had been filled with fuel. San Francisco Drydock had not been told by the ship's operator that a valve connected to this tank opened directly to the environment. Ships are generally required to have two valves between any fuel source and the environment.

Within minutes of discovering the leak, the company responded with more than 100 workers. Response actions included:

-- trimming the drydock to restrict the flow of oil to one direction for more effective containment

-- erecting berms to corral the oil to one side within the drydock

-- alerting the U.S. Coast Guard, State Water Quality Control Board, and California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response, all as required by law

-- contacting emergency response teams, environmental cleanup firms, and environmental organizations.

In the days following the spill, San Francisco Drydock contributed significant resources to the unified effort to clean the Bay, working with the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies to keep a team of cleanup crews working around the clock.

That crew has grown to about 250 people from six separate oil spill contractors and the California Conservation Corps, as well as a wide range of equipment, including:

- 40 skimmers

- 50 to 60 vacuum-like devices that suck oil off the water

- 30,000 feet of fixed boom and thousands of feet of

absorbent boom

- an armada of supply boats, skiffs, and trucks

- pumps and absorbent materials.

"We were able to respond immediately because we have an emergency response plan in place and we train our people on exactly what to do when such an unfortunate incident occurs," said Carl Hanson, San Francisco Drydock's managing director. -0-

NOTE: A FACT SHEET ON SAN FRANCISCO DRYDOCK IS ATTACHED -----------------------------

San Francisco Drydock, Inc.

-- San Francisco Drydock, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is located at the foot of 20th Street. It is San Francisco's only full service ship repair facility.

-- San Francisco Drydock, Inc. occupies 26 acres of land and utilizes two drydocks, one of which is the largest floating drydock on the West Coast, all under lease from the Port of San Francisco.

-- San Francisco Drydock, Inc. is the Port of San Francisco's largest tenant and paid over $1 million in lease payments during fiscal year 1995. In addition, it paid $162,246 in payroll taxes and $175,272 in property taxes during the same period.

-- The shipyard provides indirect revenue to the City by virtue of the fact that a sizable portion of its work force resides within the limits of the City of County of San Francisco and provide revenue to the City for housing and utilities, along with flow down revenue through purchases of goods and services from local businesses and the utilization of public services.

-- The shipyard has an annual payroll of between $10 million to $16 million.

-- San Francisco Drydock, Inc. is the last union shipyard in the San Francisco Bay Area and employs anywhere from 300 to 900 workers at any one time. Up to 30% of the work force is made up of San Francisco residents. Minorities make up approximately 45% of the work force.

-- The work force is represented by 10 separate unions organized under the Pacific Coast Metal Trades District Council.

-- The shipyard performs work on domestic and foreign container ships, cruise liners, tankers, and bulk cargo ships. It repairs 50 to 70 ships per year in its drydocks and another 50 to 100 ships at pierside.

-- The facility has four piers and two floating docks. Dock Number 1 is 654 feet long by 98 feet wide and has a lifting capacity of 21,000 long tons. Dock Number 2 is 900 feet long by 148 feet wide and has a lifting capacity of 65,003 long tons.

-- San Francisco Drydock, Inc. has performed work on many historical ships over the years, including the Eureka, which is maintained as a floating museum by the U.S. National Park Service at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The shipyard also readied the World War II Liberty Ship, SS Jeremiah O'Brien, for its historic roundtrip cruise to Europe commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

-- The company has received widespread recognition and commendations for the quality of its work from government and industry clients, including the U.S. Department of Interior, Department of Defense contractors, Crystal Cruises, and the crew of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien.

CONTACT: Kamer~Singer & Associates for San Francisco Drydock, Inc.

Larry Kamer, 415/280-3600 (pager)

415/512-6800 (office)

larry @kamersinger.com