On July 13, General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), delivered the fourth ship of its State-class product carriers to American Petroleum Tankers, LLC, a joint venture of the Blackstone Financial Group. The ship is named Empire State, the state nickname of New York. NASSCO began constructing the Empire State in January 2009. At a length of 600.4 ft, the double-hulled ship has a cargo capacity of approximately 331,000 barrels. The Empire State will be used initially to carry refined petroleum products for the Department of Defense under a commercial charter.