August 22, 2008 

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Washington June 6, 2006 - The Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 0.1 percent in April from its March level, rising for the second consecutive month, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported today.

TSI is a single seasonally adjusted index of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, including railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline, and local transit.

Russia Seaports Triple Service to Foreign Trade - Ivanov

St Petersburg June 6, 2006 (Itar-Tass) - Seaports support more than 40 percent of Russia's foreign trade, Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a meeting of the government's Maritime Collegium on Tuesday.

"In 2005, 407 million tonnes of cargoes were handled at Russia's ports, which is more than three times the figure of 1999," he said.

"As a result, the proportion of the adjacent states such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland has curtailed in the total volume of the reloading of Russia's cargoes from 37 percent to 17 percent last year," Ivanov said.

WestPac LNG Corporation: Approval Process Begins for Prince Rupert LNG Terminal

Prince Rupert BC June 6, 2006 - WestPac LNG Corporation is proposing to build a $350 million dollar Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receipt and transshipment terminal on Ridley Island, an industrial park 11 kilometers outside of this northern port city. The Calgary-based company has formally begun the environmental assessment and regulatory review process by filing its Project Description with the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

"When built, our terminal will provide the Northwest Coast, Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of BC with access to a reliable supply of natural gas that should contribute to future economic development and power possibilities," says Mark Butler, President of WestPac.

To conduct the environmental assessment, WestPac has retained Jacques Whitford -- a national consulting firm that has successfully completed several LNG-related environmental assessments on both coasts of Canada and in Qatar, in the Middle East.

WestPac earlier entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Prince Rupert Port Authority for a 30-year lease, with a provision for three, ten-year extensions, with the Port for 100 hectares on Ridley Island adjacent to existing grain and coal shipping terminals.

The Project will include a new marine berthing facility with transfer piping to onshore LNG storage tanks; two to four onshore LNG storage tanks, with a total capacity to transship the natural gas equivalent of up to one billion cubic feet per day of LNG; a natural gas liquids extraction facility, with storage; infrastructure for barge, rail car and truck, LNG and natural gas liquids loading; and LNG re-gasification facilities with a capacity of up to 130 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and related infrastructure for interconnection to existing pipelines at the Project site.

The Prince Rupert LNG terminal will create at least 300 jobs during construction and about 30 full time jobs once operational in 2011. The proposal has already received expressions of support from the local community as a means of bringing natural gas to the area for affordable energy to support existing industry and enable future economic development.

A full and complete analysis of any risks associated with the establishment of the LNG terminal will be met through the environmental assessment and regulatory review of the project. The proposed terminal will be designed and constructed to Canadian and international standards for LNG facilities. There will be an extensive public consultation process. "We are committed to treat any concerns with thoughtful regard and consideration," says Butler.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority operates the deepest harbor in North America offering easy and ice-free navigation access that can safely accommodate LNG tankers. "The port will rigorously assess the proposed terminal beginning with a full environmental assessment," notes Don Krusel, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Prince Rupert Port Authority. "We know numerous ports around the world operate safe LNG facilities and we're confident that WestPac will develop and operate their facility to the highest standards."

Krusel points out that the LNG facility also fits well with the Port's strategic plan to diversify port operations and grow a dynamic and sustainable business that will also help ensure the long-term economic health Prince Rupert and the region.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond agrees, adding, "An unrestricted supply of natural gas becomes a catalyst for future investment and jobs because the availability of abundant, secure supplies of natural gas will remove bottlenecks that have constrained growth and development in the past."

LNG facilities are not new to British Columbia. A production facility has operated in the Tilbury Island region of Greater Vancouver since 1971 without incident. Seven LNG projects have been announced in Canada including a proposed terminal in Kitimat and an LNG project was approved on Vancouver Island within the past year.

The LNG terminal will help meet future demand for natural gas and electricity in BC and across North America at a time when costs are rising and reserves are decreasing. It will provide new and flexible energy options for planners in the Province of British Columbia by allowing access to natural gas in volumes and at locations where gas was not previously available or where it could not be economically transported.

LNG is transported in specially insulated ships and pumped into safe double-walled storage tanks at LNG terminals for later delivery by smaller vessels, truck or rail. LNG can be re-gasified for distribution through the natural gas pipeline system.

Liquefied natural gas is created by cooling natural gas into a liquid state at a temperature of minus 162C. This reduces the space natural gas occupies by 600 times making it practical for transport and storage. Ship, truck and rail car have safely transported it for more than 50 years. More than 33,000 ship cargoes of LNG have been safely transported over a combined distance of 60 million miles without serious mishap or fatality. Annually, more than 150 ocean tankers safely transport more than 110 million tonnes of LNG, a volume greater than all gas consumed in American homes each year. LNG provides the only source of natural gas for use in both Korea and Japan, with one LNG cargo arriving into Tokyo Harbor every 20 hours.

Acergy S.A. Charters New Build Heavy Construction Ship

London June 6, 2006 - Acergy S.A. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with DOFCON ASA for the charter of the Skandi Acergy, a new build heavy construction ship. The 8-year charter will commence upon delivery, which is scheduled for the second quarter of 2008.

Construction is taking place at the Aker Søviknes Yard in Norway and, once complete, the ship will be a class leader amongst heavy construction ships. The new ship will be 153 meters in length, will have a cargo deck area of 2,100 m2 and will be fitted with a heave compensated crane with 400 metric tonne lift capability, a 3,000 tonne under deck carousel and have Class 3 dynamic positioning. The ship will meet the latest environmental criteria, have a fast transit speed and will have an ice class hull enabling her to operate in the Barents Sea and Northern North Sea.

Bruno Chabas, Chief Operating Officer, said, "The charter of this new ship will give us greater flexibility of operations in the North Sea market and her high transit speed also makes her eminently suitable for the worldwide market. By entering into this charter, we continue to implement our strategy to rejuvenate our fleet, making it younger, more versatile and better suited for our client requirements."