Study: Home prices will suffer from closing

NEW ORLEANS - Realtors expect home values to fall by more than 20 percent on the west bank with the closing of the Avondale Shipyard. Most think home prices across the metropolitan area will also be affected. That's according to a study by the Avondale Shipyard Research Project, a consortium of four universities. During initial interviews at the Avondale Shipyard, workers immediately started expressing concerns about housing. Last year, Northrop Grumman said it would close the 5,000-worker shipyard in 2013. The yard, which is down to 3,000 workers, is now owned by Huntington Ingalls, which was spun off from Northrop Grumman. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, AFL-CIO, 09/26/11)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls, $698M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $697,629,899 fixed-price-incentive contract for DDG 114 construction. On June 15, 2011, Huntington Ingalls was awarded a $783,572,487 fixed-price-incentive contract for DDG 113 construction. At the time of contract award, the Navy did not release the contract award amount because it was considered source selection information. For DDG 114 construction, significant amounts of work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Walpole, Mass.; York, Pa.; Charlottesville, Va.; Erie, Pa.; and Burns Harbor, Ind. Work is expected to be completed by July 2018. This contract was procured via a limited competition between Huntington Ingalls and Bath Iron Works. In addition, Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $679,600,348 fixed-price-incentive contract for DDG 115 construction. This contract includes options for DDG 116 construction valued at $665,016,688. Significant amounts of work will be performed in Bath/Brunswick, Maine; Cincinnati, Ohio; Walpole, Mass.; Brunswick, Ga.; Coatesville, Pa.; Falls Church, Va.; Indianapolis, Ind.; York, Pa.; South Portland, Maine; Charlottesville, Va.; Tulsa, Okla.; Anaheim, Calif.; and Portland, Maine. Work is expected to be completed by August 2017. This contract was procured via a limited competition between Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/26/11)

Bids sought for maritime academy

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Jackson County is inviting companies to bid on a $20 million maritime training facility to be built on Ingalls Shipbuilding property. On Monday, the Board of Supervisors and Port Authority's Board of Commissioners passed a joint resolution to advertise bid on the shipbuilding academy. The project, funded through a Hurricane Katrina community development block grant, will help Ingalls expand its two- to four-year apprentice program to about 1,000 students, leaders have said. Construction on the 76,000-square-foot facility is expected to take 18 months. (Source: MississippiPress, 09/20/11)

Navy to christen JHSV Spearhead

MOBILE, Ala. - The Navy will christen the Joint High Speed Vessel "Spearhead" Saturday at 10 a.m. CDT in Mobile. The 338 foot-long aluminum catamaran is being built by Austal USA. Spearhead and the nine other JHSVs under contract allow intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles, supplies and equipment. They can transport 600 short tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots and can operate in shallow-draft ports and waterways. JHSVs aviation flight decks can support day and night air vehicle launch and recovery operations. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama will deliver the ceremony's principal address. (Source: DoD, 09/14/11)

Supervisors OK Ingalls tax break

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls was granted 10-year exemptions Monday by Jackson County supervisors on a portion of its ad valorem taxes. The board unanimously granted two separate exemptions on some newer equipment and property at the shipyard, but the shipyard would still have to pay about 18 mills of the county’s 51.3 mills tax rate. Some tax funds must still be collected for school funds, roads and other expenses, supervisors said. (Source: Sun Herald, 09/12/11)

Ingalls gets cutter contract

Huntington Ingalls photo

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Ingalls Shipbuilding has received a $482.8 million fixed-price-incentive-firm contract from the U.S. Coast Guard for the construction of a fifth National Security Cutter. Construction of the yet-to-be-named WMSL 754 will be done in Pascagoula facility. Ingalls has delivered the first three NSCs. Stratton (WMSL 752), the third of eight planned ships, was delivered to the Coast Guard on Sept. 2. Bertholf (WMSL 750) and Waesche (WMSL 751) have been commissioned. The start-of-fabrication milestone took place for the fourth cutter, Hamilton (WMSL 753), on Aug. 29. (Source: Huntington Ingalls via Globe Newswire, 09/09/11)

Austal rolls out JHSV

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA rolled its first Joint High-Speed Vessel out of the shed and onto a dry dock floating in the Mobile River. The high-speed transport was floated down to BAE Systems, where it is scheduled to be put into the water Sunday. The ship, slated to be delivered to the Navy early next year, is the first in a $1.6 billion, 10-ship contract awarded to Austal in 2008. The JHSV can carry soldiers and cargo at an average speed of 40 mph. Vehicles will be able to roll off even in shallow-water ports. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 09/09/11)

Austal ship to visit Pensacola

The USS Independence (LCS 2), the littoral combat ship built at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., will visit Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., on Sept. 12 to conduct shipboard mission module testing over the next several weeks. Base officials say LCS 2, new generation ship with an aluminum trimaran design, will not be open for tours to the public and fishermen and boaters are reminded that a 5000-foot cordon around the ship will be enforced. (Source: Gosport, 09/09/11)

USS New York to be in NYC for 9/11

The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York will travel to New York City to participate in events honoring the victims and responders from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The announcement was made by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. (Source: DoD, 09/06/11) Gulf Coast note: The ship's bow as made with steel recovered from the World Trade Center. It was built by Northrop Grumman shipyard in Avondale, La. The yard is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Austal impresses Roughead

MOBILE, Ala. - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead visited Austal USA's Mobile shipyard and called it "a model for others to follow." He said he's excited about the commitment and innovation that's gone into the shipyard, which he considers on the leading edge of shipbuilding. Austal, Mobile's largest industrial employer with more than 2,100 workers, is building littoral combat ships and high-speed transports and expects to double the size of its workforce in the next few years. (Source: Mobile Press Register, 08/31/11)

Ingalls starts work on new cutter

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Ingalls Shipbuilding celebrated the "start of fabrication" of the U.S. Coast Guard's fourth National Security Cutter, Hamilton (WMSL 753). The milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut and fabricated utilizing a robotic plasma arc cutting machine at Ingalls' steel fabrication complex. Ingalls received the $480 million contract to build Hamilton in November 2010. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard in the fall of 2014. Ingalls has delivered the first two NSCs, Bertholf (WMSL 750) and Waesche (WMSL 751). Stratton (WMSL 752), the third of eight planned ships in the Legend class of cutters, will be delivered to the Coast Guard Friday. (Source: Huntington Ingalls via GlobeNewswire, 08/30/11)

Mk 38 Tactical Laser System concept tested

BAE Systems, Boeing, and the Navy recently conducted a successful test of the Mk 38 MOD 2 Tactical Laser System concept at Eglin Air Force Base in Eglin, Fla. The concept is a proposed high energy laser addition to the Mk 38 naval gun systems currently deployed on most surface combatants. The field testing demonstrated a capability to identify and classify targets and provide rapid hand-off to the Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated Experiments system for interdiction. The test system fired against air and surface maritime targets. Additionally, swarm tests were conducted to simulate an attack by a large number of fast, maneuvering small boats, intermingled with neutral boat traffic. These tests demonstrated a consistent ability to detect, track, classify and engage threat vessels at tactically relevant ranges. (Source: BAE Systems via Business Wire, 08/30/11)

UNO gets money for high-tech tools

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of New Orleans received $306,216 from the Department of Defense to buy equipment that features a welding technique that has been used on the space shuttle's external tank. The equipment will be used on ships. Known as friction stir welding, the technique has been used at UNO's National Center for Advanced Manufacturing since 2002. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 08/22/11)

BAE shipyard wins contract

MOBILE, Ala. - BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards announced its first contract to build a new ship from scratch at its Mobile River facility. Weeks Marine Inc. hired BAE to build a 356-foot-long, 79-foot-wide dredging vessel for use in the U.S., according to BAE. The twin screw trailing suction hopper will have a capacity of 8,500 cubic yards. The contract is worth $85 million, according to BAE. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/18/11)

Bollinger sued over cutters

The Justice Department has accused Bollinger Shipyards Inc. of Lockport, La., of falsifying data that led the Coast Guard to contract with the firm to lengthen eight deepwater cutters, all of which turned out "unseaworthy and unusable." The allegations are made in a civil suit filed in July in U.S. District Court Washington, D.C., and made public Wednesday. The suit claims Bollinger exaggerated the structural hull strength of the eight boats it had contracted to lengthen from 110 feet to 123 feet. The suit seeks unspecified damages. In a statement Bollinger said the company has a spotless record for honest and fair dealings. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 08/18/11)

Union contests Austal vote

MOBILE, Ala. - Local 441 of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board after a failed attempt earlier this month to organize Austal USA. The complaint claims, among other things, that Austal coerced and intimidated employees. Austal USA President Joe Rella said company representatives acted in a lawful and professional manner throughout the election process. Workers voted 613-367 against unionizing. Austal is Mobile's largest industrial employer, with more than 2,100 workers. It's building littoral combat ships and high-speed transport vessels for the Navy. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/17/11)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $7M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $6,986,478 option exercise modification to previously awarded contract for management and engineering services to maintain and modify as necessary the design of DDG 51-class combat system compartments and topside arrangements, in support of the program executive officer Integrated Warfare Systems. The required services for DDG 51-class ships include program management and operation support, quality assurance, configuration management, ship design integration, fleet lifecycle engineering support, installation support, firmware maintenance, combat system test and evaluation, Navy-furnished material support, special studies, and future-ship integration studies. Twenty-two percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss. Other sites where work will be done are Moorestown, N.J. (37 percent); Bath, Maine (25 percent); San Diego, Calif. (6 percent); Washington, D.C. (5 percent); Norfolk, Va. (3 percent); Port Hueneme, Calif. (1 percent); and Syracuse, N.Y. (1 percent). Work is expected to be completed by September 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/17/11)

BAE gets grant for Mobile yard

MOBILE, Ala. - BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for a steel profile processing system. The money is through a U.S. Maritime Administration grant program designed to assist small shipyards modernize facilities to increase productivity of shipbuilders. BAE will use the money for an automated system for cutting and welding stiffening profiles to steel plates on ships. BAE has about 800 workers at its Mobile yard. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/16/11)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls, $11M

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $10,999,993 modification to previously awarded contract for research, development, test, and technical services for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer. Technical services include technology development, analytical modeling, qualification of materials, potential design/process improvements, and design excursions. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (80 percent), and Gulfport, Miss. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/15/11)

Stratton returns from sea trials

Huntington Ingalls photo

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries' third U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Stratton (WMSL 752), returned from sea after successfully completing acceptance sea trials. The ship spent two days in the Gulf of Mexico testing all systems for the Board of Inspection and Survey. INSURV evaluated Ingalls' test and trials team as it conducted extensive testing of the propulsion, electrical, damage control, anchor handling, small boat and combat systems. The 418-foot NSC is the flagship of the Coast Guard's cutter fleet, designed to replace the 378‐foot Hamilton-class High-Endurance Cutters, which entered service during the 1960s. Stratton is scheduled for delivery to the Coast Guard on Sept. 2. It's the third of eight planned ships in this new class of multi-mission cutters. Bertholf and Waesche have been commissioned and in service. The construction contract for a fourth cutter, Hamilton, was awarded in November 2010 and construction will begin on Aug. 29. (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 08/12/11)