For Immediate Release

Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax

BETHLEHEM, Pa., August 1, 1997 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation said today that it has terminated discussions with Baltimore Shipbuilding and Drydock, LLC, for the sale of its BethShip Sparrows Point Yard in Maryland. Negotiations for the sale of this business were part of a comprehensive restructuring plan announced last October which, with the related announcement concerning BethForge and CENTEC, will now have been implemented.

Both organizations expressed regret that the negotiations were not successfully completed and cited the inability to resolve several complex and significant issues.

Bethlehem and Baltimore Shipbuilding said they appreciate all of the efforts of the many federal, state and local officials and agencies in their attempts to help the parties resolve some of these complex and significant issues.

Bethlehem said it is important to continue to focus its efforts and resources on its steel business, implementing the restructuring plan announced last October, and ending the losses from its underperforming divisions, including BethShip.

The Yard presently has approximately 100 active employees who are performing maintenance-related and other miscellaneous work. All of these employees were among those receiving notification last March of a planned permanent shutdown, issued by Bethlehem under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN).

Bethlehem said that it will proceed to permanently close the Yard in an orderly manner and initiate a sale of the Yard's assets.