IMMEDIATE RELEASE             November 7, 2002

DULUTH, Minn., U.S.A.—The second of three ships bringing enormous pieces of equipment manufactured in Spain and Italy and destined for Canada via record-setting rail shipments is scheduled to arrive in the Port of Duluth-Superior tomorrow (November 8) aboard the Dutch vessel Jumbo Vision.

The Rotterdam-based vessel is scheduled to arrive under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge at approximately 5 p.m., then proceed to Duluth's Clure Public Marine Terminal with equipment destined for the Syncrude UE-1 oil sands project near Ft. McMurray, Alberta.

Jumbo, a heavy-lift shipping company headquartered in Rotterdam, arranged for arrival of the equipment via three ships outfitted with deck cranes capable of handling heavy loads. The first shipment, which arrived in Port August 3, 2002, aboard Jumbo's 314-foot (96-meter) vessel Fairload, consisted of 10 pressure cylinders manufactured in Spain measuring up to 147-feet (45-meters) long and weighing as much as 131 metric tons. It required four special eight-axle railcars supplied by TTX Corp., Chicago.

Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc., will offload the second shipment of equipment (manufactured in Italy) from the Jumbo Vision. This record-setting rail shipment, scheduled to occur November 20, will include seven 520-ton pieces that will require 14 12-axle railcars, and two 200-ton pieces that will require two eight-axle railcars. The largest pieces measure approximately 80-feet (24-meters) in length and are 14-feet, 7-inches (4-meters) wide.

Only 28 of the special 12-axle railcars required for this shipment are available in North America. Syncrude UE-1 is handling the project in conjunction with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Company, Fort Worth, Texas, and Superior, Wis., (to Noyes, Minn.), Canadian National Railway, Edmonton, Alberta, and Montreal, Quebec, (to Edmonton), Rail Link America, Denver, Col., (to Boyle, Alberta), and Athabasca Northern Railway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, (to Ft. McMurray, Alberta).

The third shipment, scheduled to move in spring 2003, will move on a yet-to-be-named Jumbo vessel and be similar in dimension and weight to the Fairload’s.

"The November 20 shipments will represent the largest (in terms of length and weight) multiple loads ever carried over U.S. and Canadian railways, breaking a record set in November 2000 when Jumbo’s vessel Fairlift brought 56 pieces of Japanese-built equipment through the Port for a Shell Canada project in northern Alberta," said Ed Clarke, Calgary, Alberta, senior logistics coordinator for Syncrude UE-1.

"Duluth was once again selected as the North American port of entry because of a combination of its facilities for dimensional cargoes, the professional services provided by Lake Superior Warehousing and the excellent rail service and clearances available. The BNSF is responsible for initiating all clearances and weight and size limitations for the total move to Ft. McMurray. This is the only rail route that can accommodate this size of dimensional equipment."

The largest single loads carried on North American railroads also moved through the Port of Duluth-Superior. In October 1990 two Japanese-built cylinders destined for the BiProvincial Upgrader oil project in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, arrived at the Clure Public Marine Terminal aboard the Dutch vessel Starman Asia. The 773-ton cylinders were transported to Canada on the Asea Brown Boveri 36-axle Schnabel car, the world's largest capacity railcar according to the Association of American Railroads.

"Duluth has the equipment, technology, and, most importantly, the people to make such projects a reality," said Gary Nicholson, Lake Superior Warehousing president.

"Clearances for oversize loads from Duluth are often the best available whether the product is moving via rail or truck. Coupled with the strong work ethic of Lake Superior Warehousing's employees, shippers of oversized cargo are provided with a powerful combination of reasons for choosing Duluth."

The 361-foot (110-meter) long Jumbo Vision, built in 2000 at a Turkish shipyard, is a heavy-load carrier owned by Kahn Shipping, Rotterdam. Local agent for each of the above-mentioned vessels is Guthrie-Hubner, Inc., Duluth.

The Syncrude UE-1 oil extraction and upgrading endeavor is one of several underway in northern Alberta. It involves removing sand from the earth that is impregnated with oil, separating the two and then using new technology to upgrade the oil to a usable product.
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CONTACTS: Gary Nicholson, Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc., 218-727-6646

Ed Clarke, Syncrude UE-1 Project, 403-538-4862

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