One Million Dollars for Great Lakes Shipyard

Cleveland, Ohio - The US Maritime Administration and the US Department of Transportation announced today that it had awarded a $1,068,474 grant from the Small Shipyard Grant Program to The Great Lakes Towing Company and its Shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio.

The grant from the Maritime Administration will provide Great Lakes Shipyard, which is operated by The Great Lakes Towing Company, with funds to enhance lighting and purchase a burn table, a scissor lift, welding equipment, scaffolding, air skids, a boom lift, a generator and a self-propelled transporter.

Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, operates a full-service shipyard specializing in new construction, repairs, and modifications of all types of vessels and barges. The Shipyard is currently undergoing a major expansion that includes a new state-of-the-art 770-ton Marine Travelift; the largest on the Great Lakes, second largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the third largest in the World.

The nearly completed Shipyard Expansion Project will have created 100 new sustainable career jobs and will contribute to increased regional economic growth and new business opportunities on land that was formally an underutilized Superfund site.

The Company has a long-standing policy of supporting Cleveland, the Northeast Ohio Area, and State of Ohio businesses. This policy has a substantial economic ripple effect to Ohio suppliers and vendors, to State, County, and City governments, and local communities. The economic ripple effect to Ohio businesses is conservatively estimated at $0.52 from every revenue $1.00 the Company receives, excluding the additional positive effect of our $3.0 million dollar annual payroll in 2010. From a national view, the economic ripple effect to other businesses and communities is conservatively estimated at $0.39 from every revenue $1.00 the Company receives, excluding the additional positive effect of our $4.7 million annual national payroll in 2010.

In addition to the Shipyard, The Great Lakes Towing Company operates the largest fleet of tugs on the Great Lakes serving 40 ports and has been in continuous business since 1899. To learn more about the company and its shipyard, visit www.thegreatlakesgroup.com.