Twelve U.S. shipyards to receive MarAd grants
The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) announced on July 24 that it would award $9.46 million in grants to 12 shipyards in 10 states for infrastructure improvements and equipment upgrades.
The grants, provided through the Small Shipyard Grant Program, foster efficiency and modernizations that allow shipyards to compete more effectively in the global marketplace. Acting Maritime Administrator Paul ‘Chip’ Jaenichen made the announcement at Jeffboat LLC, one of the grant recipients, located in Jeffersonville, Ind.
“Improvements at our shipyards mean more ships can be built right here in the United States, which means more jobs for hard-working Americans,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “These grants are about creating new opportunities in our local communities, as well as competing in the global economy.”
For this latest round of awards, MarAd received 113 grant applications requesting $96 million in assistance, far exceeding the $9.46 million made available for the grants. The grants fund a variety of projects including infrastructure improvements and equipment upgrades to increase operational competitiveness and quality vessel construction.
“It is no secret that the economic ripple effect of our nation’s shipyards is far-reaching,” said Jaenichen. “While shipyards improve their infrastructure, they’re also creating new opportunities in industries and communities across the country.”
The following is a list of the recipients and their grants:
All American Marine, Bellingham, Wash. – $999,100
Blount Boats, Warren, R.I. – $680,272
C&C Marine and Repair, Belle Chasse, La. – $999,920
Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp., Salisbury, Md. – $559,686
Conrad Orange Shipyard, Orange, Texas – $686,539
Dorchester Shipyard Inc., Dorchester, N.J. – $945,800
International Ship and Repair & Marine Services, Tampa, Fla. – $980,260
Jeffboat LLC, Jeffersonville, Ind. – $845,817
Lyon Shipyard, Norfolk, Va. – $779,168
North Florida Shipyard, Jacksonville, Fla. – $459,160
Seacraft Shipyard LLC, Amelia, La. – $1,100,000
Thames Shipyard and Repair Co., New London, Conn. – $422,264
Signet Maritime Corp. delivers Signet Magic
Signet Maritime Corp. on Aug. 1 announced delivery of its newest vessel, a Robert Allan-designed AZ 25/60 class towing and escort tug Signet Magic from Signet Shipbuilding & Repair, in Pascagoula, Miss. The Signet-owned ASD will serve multiple Gulf of Mexico locations for harbor assist, and ship and rig escort, designed specifically to work under limited maneuvering conditions.
Signet Magic was christened July 26 in the Port of Pascagoula. Brenda Dahl, wife of Joseph Dahl, general manager at Signet Shipbuilding & Repair, was the christening sponsor.
“This 61.4 metric ton bollard pull tractor tug will be immediately inserted into our expanding energy services and harbor escort division to enhance our high-tech fleet of tugs where we enjoy an average fleet age of 6.5 years,” said Signet Maritime President J. Barry Snyder.
Measuring 80 feet by 36 feet with a draft of by 15 feet, 11 inches, the tug is powered by a pair of EPA Tier 3 Caterpillar model 3516C diesel engines producing a total 5,150 bhp at 1,600 rpm with two fixed pitch Rolls-Royce model US205 Z-drives.
It is outfitted with a Markey DEPCF-48 electric bow hawser winch and a DEPC-32 deck winch on the stern, two John Deere 125-kW, 60-Hz, 480-V generators and a remote off-vessel firefighting system. The tug features accommodations for five in three staterooms.
Signet’s fleet expansion construction program includes three additional tractors for coastal and offshore towing to be delivered in the first quarter and second quarter of 2014.
Ingalls completes aft launch system for new destroyer
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding division, announced July 25 that it has delivered the final aft peripheral vertical launch system (PVLS) assemblies to the U.S. Navy for the Zumwalt-class destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001). The two units for the PVLS were delivered a week early.
“Our shipbuilders have done an outstanding job in incorporating lessons learned from the first aft PVLS products,” said Ingalls DDG 1000 Program Manager Steve Sloan. “Delivering these products a week early demonstrates smart shipbuilding by using previous experiences to integrate an improved plan to do it better the second time around. With a constant focus on safety and quality, our shipbuilders have done outstanding work on these units.”
General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works is building the DDG 1001 hull, while Ingalls is building the PVLS assemblies in Pascagoula and the composite hangar and deckhouse at the company's composite center in Gulfport. The PVLS distributes the missile launchers for the destroyer in separate four-cell launcher compartments along the ship's hull. It is an alternative to the traditional centralized missile magazines found on DDG 51-class ships.
Four assembly units make up the aft PVLS. The first two units were delivered in July 2012. The rest of the DDG 1001 work is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2014.
Ingalls Shipbuilding authenticates the keel of its 11th transport dock ship
Ingalls Shipbuilding authenticated the keel of the company's 11th amphibious transport dock ship, Portland (LPD 27) on Aug. 2.
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Amos, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and principal speaker for the ceremony, noted the first-in-class USS San Antonio (LPD 17) was presently off the coast of Yemen alongside another Ingalls-built ship, USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).
“That lead ship of this great warship class, with its Marines, is serving the Navy and our nation very proudly today,” Amos said. “It’s in harm’s way as we speak. Realizing that Portland is scheduled to be the last ship in this class, nothing would warm my heart more and nothing would make me work harder than to continue to build this class of ship.”
Portland, named in honor of Oregon's most populated city, is currently about 7 percent complete. The ship is scheduled to launch in early 2016 and is scheduled to deliver to the U.S. Navy in late 2017. Somerset (LPD 25) is preparing for builder’s sea trials and John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is 50 percent complete and will launch next year.
Bonnie Amos, wife of Gen. Amos, is the ship’s sponsor. She authenticated the keel of LPD 27 saying it had been “truly and fairly laid.” Her name was welded onto a steel plate by Ingalls welder Marty Peterson.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is building the entire LPD 17 San Antonio-class of ships, the newest addition to the Navy's 21st century amphibious assault force. To date, eight ships have been delivered to the Navy. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via embarked air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the Osprey.
Bay Ship & Yacht Co. unveils new dry dock
Bay Ship & Yacht Co. on San Francisco Bay, builder of super yachts and commercial vessels recently expanded its capacity and capabilities by unveiling a new covered dry dock that accommodates vessels displacing up to 6,300 long tons with a maximum beam of 76 feet. It is the only dry dock on the West Coast to be fully enclosed by a retractable roof and is a conversion of the submersible Hughes Mining Barge (HMB-1), which played a role in a covert Cold War operation.
According to the company, CIA documents declassified in 2012 that HMB-1 was built in the 1970s by the U.S. Navy as part of Project Azorian, a top-secret plan to salvage the Soviet submarine K-129, which sank while reportedly carrying three nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The barge was designed to submerge to 160 feet and sit on the seabed during the transfer of heavy equipment required to retrieve the sub. After Project Azorian’s conclusion, HMB-1 was transferred to Lockheed Martin, where it became a floating dry dock for the Navy’s experimental 164-foot SWATH vessel Sea Shadow.
This unique dry dock facility offers the benefits working in inclement weather, quality control for marine coating applications, and a greener workplace by limiting the release of potential toxins and pollutants into the atmosphere.
The HMB-1 facility has expanded the yard’s dry dock capacity by 18 feet in width and more than doubled its lift capacity.
