EDISON, NJ–(EMWNews – August 11, 2008) – U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. (NYSE: USS) (the

“Partnership”) today announced that its Board of Directors has elected

Ronald L. O’Kelley as President and Chief Executive Officer of the

Partnership. Mr. O’Kelley has served as a director of the Partnership’s

general partner since the Partnership went public in November 2004. Mr.

Paul Gridley, who has served as the Partnership’s chairman and chief

executive officer, will relinquish his role as Chief Executive Officer,

although he will remain as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Gridley said, “Ron is a seasoned and well-respected veteran in the

financial and business arena and brings extensive experience and knowledge

in global finance and business management. Ron has tremendous experience

in managing companies undergoing difficult market challenges. At this

critical juncture, we have determined that U.S. Shipping is best led by an

executive having this skill set. His experience in varied industries

provides a broad business perspective that will be a valuable addition to

our management team in this new phase of our development. I look forward

to continuing to work with Ron as we work to address the challenges faced

by the Partnership and meet the needs of our customers and other

stakeholders.”

“We thank Paul for his dedicated work on behalf of the Partnership, and we

look forward to benefiting from his continued strategic guidance,” said Mr.

O’Kelley. “Under Paul’s leadership and vision, we have assembled a superb

management team, a valuable asset base and an impressive customer

franchise. Having faced a number of challenges this year, we are focused

on enhancing our financial position and delivering on our commitment to

safety and efficiency in meeting customer and industry standards. I am

confident that the company is taking the right steps to move forward on a

sound basis.”

Ronald L. O’Kelley joined the Board of Directors of our general partner in

October 2004. Mr. O’Kelley is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of

Atlantic Coast Venture Investments Inc., a private investment company. Mr.

O’Kelley served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and

treasurer of State Street Corporation from 1995 to 2002, as Chief Financial

Officer at Douglas Aircraft Company from 1991 to 1995 and as Chief

Financial Officer at Rolls Royce Inc. from 1983 to 1991. He also served in

senior financial positions at Citicorp from 1975 to 1983 and at Texas

Instruments Incorporated from 1969 to 1975. Mr. O’Kelley is also a director

of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. Mr. O’Kelley serves as an advisor to the

Donald Jones Center for Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business

and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

About U.S. Shipping Partners L.P.

U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. is a leading provider of long-haul marine

transportation services, principally for refined petroleum products, in the

U.S. domestic “coastwise” trade. U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. is also

involved in the coastwise transportation of petrochemical and commodity

chemical products. For additional information about U.S. Shipping Partners

L.P., please visit www.usslp.com.

This press release may include “forward-looking statements” as defined by

the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than

statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address

activities, events or developments that the Partnership expects, believes

or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking

statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the

Partnership based on its experience and perception of historical trends,

current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it

believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Such statements are subject

to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are

beyond the control of the Partnership, which may cause our actual results

to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking

statements. Such assumptions, risks and uncertainties are discussed in

detail in the Partnership’s filings with the SEC and include, among other

things, the willingness of our lenders to amend our credit agreement on

commercially acceptable terms and to continue to make advances to us under

our revolving credit facility to meet our working capital requirements,

increased financing costs, no occurrence of an event of default under our

credit agreement that would allow our lenders to demand immediate repayment

of all outstanding borrowings under the credit facility, future charter

rates, demand in the spot market for vessels and timely and on-budget

delivery in the second half of 2008 of two ATBs currently under

construction.

Contact Information: Albert Bergeron 1-866-467-2400