U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C. www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm

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PRESS BOOK

May 04, 2005

Page 1 of 1

B05-013

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has approved four applications under Section 9 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended. They include:

Ø Crowley Marine Services, Inc., Seattle, WA, has received approval to sell the 7,979-gross-ton tank barge, BARGE 102 to Farham Enterprises, Inc., a Panamanian corporation, and transfer said Vessel to Panamanian registry and flag.

The vessel was built in 1970 in Galveston, TX.

Ø Noble Asset Mexico LLC, Sugar Land, TX, has received approval to transfer the 5,924-gross-ton mobile offshore drilling unit NOBLE SAM NOBLE, to Liberian registry and flag, without change in the ownership of said Vessel.

The vessel was built in 1982 in Orange, TX.

Ø American Commercial Lines LLC, Jefferson, IN, has received approval to sell the 1,038-gross-ton tank barge N.M.S. NO. 1802 and the 1,919-gross-ton tank barge N.M.S. NO. 3100 to Fransisco Javier Carstensen Lanz, a Mexican corporation, for scrapping in Mexico.

The N.M.S. NO. 1802 was built in 1975 in St. Louis, MO, and the N.M.S. NO. 3100 was built in 1972 in St. Louis, MO.