March 9th, 2011

Ammonia Releases

In December of 2007, UniSea, Inc. discovered that on two occasions a condenser tube leak in some of its refrigeration equipment at the Dutch Harbor, Alaska facility accidentally resulted in the release of ammonia to Iliuliuk Harbor, Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Upon confirming the releases, UniSea reported them to State and Federal authorities. The refrigeration equipment involved in the releases had been rebuilt in the 1990’s and had been routinely maintained and inspected and had not shown signs of significant wear. After UniSea reported the releases, both the State of Alaska and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a thorough and complete 3 year review of the Company’s environmental and safety practices on site and through numerous volumes of data. UniSea personnel provided complete cooperation throughout the investigation.

The government found in its investigation a number of documented small releases of ammonia and other waste products dating back to 2005. These releases had been properly reported to the government and the government had not raised any questions about them at the time nor did they require further investigation. The government decided that the accidental ammonia releases and other small releases nonetheless violated anti-pollution statutes. They proposed a monetary penalty and entered into a consent decree requiring UniSea to take steps to reduce the risk of accidental ammonia releases in the future. UniSea negotiated the monetary penalty and consent decree in good faith and is taking all necessary steps to comply with the government requests.

It is important to note that there was absolutely no harm to marine wildlife; no fish or marine mammals were harmed; and there was no danger at any time to the public or UniSea’s employees. No seafood products were impacted in any way.

UniSea voluntarily spent $1.6 million dollars to make further state of the art improvements to its environmental protection and refrigeration systems shortly after the discovery of the December discharges of ammonia. These improvements were made before UniSea reached agreement with the government on the consent decree, and were made by the Company to minimize the risk of a similar incident. UniSea has never had any prior environmental investigations in its 35 years of continuous operation in Alaska and prides itself on being a good steward of the environment in which we live and operate.

UniSea has received numerous regulatory awards for compliance with safety requirements. OSHA has bestowed its Star Site status on UniSea’s operation under OSHA’s Voluntary Protection program from 2002 until the present. UniSea continues to be a member of:

• International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration
• North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners Association
• American Society of Safety Engineers
• OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program Participants Association