Catalina Express Announces Service-Change, with All Long Beach Service Temporarily...

Catalina Express Announces Service-Change, with All Long Beach Service Temporarily Relocated to San Pedro

SAN PEDRO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--Catalina Express is temporarily moving all of its scheduled Long
Beach-to-Avalon boat service from the Downtown Long Beach Catalina
Landing to its port at Berth 95 in San Pedro. The move, necessary to
accommodate dredging in the Long Beach channel leading to the Catalina
Landing basin, is effective Wednesday, January 16 through Friday,
February 29, 2008.

Dredging operations are required to open access to the port, which
has faced increasing problems caused by silting from LA River rain
run-off. The US Army Corps of Engineers will perform the $3.5 million
dredging project. Work is expected to begin the last week in January
and take approximately one month, after which Catalina Express will
resume normal operations at the Long Beach Landing.

Catalina Express has been operating with narrow access to the
Catalina Landing Port since the rains of January 2005 brought on the
silting issues. Catalina Express has been working for over three years
with the Abbey Company, City of Long Beach, City of Avalon and the
Corps of Engineers to obtain federal funding to perform the dredging
that would clear a 200' wide by 20' deep channel from the stern of the
Queen Mary to the Landing, providing free unobstructed access to this
busy port. Funding was approved in December and plans were made to
begin dredging by the end of January. The recent rains of January 5th
and the low tides that followed, forced the Catalina Express to
advance its schedule and move operations to San Pedro at this time.

Catalina Express will operate the Long Beach schedule of service
from San Pedro. Provisions are being made for frequent travelers and
their parking arrangements. For schedule information, visit
www.catalinaexpress.com, or call 800-429-4601.

Catalina Express
Elaine Vaughan, 310-519-7971
Elaine@catalinaexpress.com
or
Maris Somerville, 310-207-5663
maris@somervillepr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008