Maritrans Inc. Announces Tender Offer

Maritrans Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved the initiation of a modified "Dutch auction" tender offer by Maritrans to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of its outstanding common stock at a price per share of not less than $11.00 per share nor in excess of $12.50 per share. The tender offer is expected to commence on Monday, December 17, 2001 and to expire, unless extended, at 5:00 P.M., New York City Time, on Friday, January 18, 2002. Under the tender offer, stockholders will have the opportunity to tender some or all of their shares at a price within the $11.00 to $12.50 price range. Based on the number of shares tendered and the prices specified by the tendering stockholders, Maritrans will determine the lowest per share price within the range that will enable it to buy 2,000,000 shares, or such lesser number of shares that are properly tendered. If stockholders of more than 2,000,000 shares properly tender their shares at or below the determined price per share, Maritrans will purchase shares tendered by such stockholders, at the determined price per share, on a pro rata basis. Stockholders whose shares are purchased in the offer will be paid the determined purchase price per share net in cash, without interest, after the expiration of the offer period. The offer is not contingent upon any minimum number of shares being tendered. The offer is subject to a number of other terms and conditions specified in the offer to purchase that is being distributed to stockholders. Stephen A. Van Dyck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Maritrans, said "We believe that our stock continues to be undervalued in the market and that a repurchase of our stock is consistent with our goal of maximizing stockholder value. At the same time, our offer provides those who wish to sell shares an opportunity to do so at a premium over recent trading prices and without incurring transaction fees." The dealer manager for the offer is Merrill Lynch & Co. The information agent is D. F. King & Co., Inc. The offer to purchase, letter of transmittal and related documents will be mailed to stockholders of record and will also be made available for distribution to beneficial owners of Maritrans' common stock. None of Maritrans, its board of directors, the dealer manager and the information agent is making any recommendation to stockholders as to whether to tender or refrain from tendering their shares into the tender offer. Stockholders must decide how many shares they will tender, if any, and the price within the stated range at which they will offer their shares for purchase by Maritrans. Maritrans Inc. is a U.S. based company with a 73-year commitment to building and operating petroleum transport vessels for the U.S. domestic trade. Maritrans is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and maintains an office in the Philadelphia area that supports its Northeast crude oil lightering operations.