Austal trims workforce

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA laid off 15 employees Friday and plans to cut another 47 jobs. The cuts are due to Austal finishing work on a second ferry and a contract Austal expected falling through. After the layoffs, Austal will employ 1,067 workers at its Mobile River shipyard. (Source: Mobile Press Register, 04/11/09)

Mobile maritime museum breaks ground

MOBILE, Ala. - Groundbreaking was held Thursday for GulfQuest, a $36 million maritime museum on the downtown Mobile waterfront. GulfQuest, the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, will be between the Convention Center and Alabama cruise terminal. The museum, slated to open in 2011, will feature interactive exhibits. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/09/09) Gulf Coast note: Pensacola, Fla., also hopes to build a maritime museum at a proposed multi-purpose maritime park.

IG raises reporting issues

The Navy wrongly reported tens of billions of dollars in shipbuilding equipment as expenses instead of construction costs, the Pentagon Inspector General says. The IG also questions the Navy’s system of ship evaluation and says some of the service’s internal controls are lacking. (Source: Aviation Week, 04/09/09)

Northrop, GD reach ship agreement

The New York Times is reporting that Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics agreed on Wednesday to a deal clearing the way for three DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers to be built at GD-owned Bath Iron Works in Maine. The newspaper cites Pentagon officials. Northrop, which planned to build one of the destroyers in Pascagoula, Miss., will contribute major components to the ships. In return, Northrop will restart production of DDG-51s, an older model destroyer, in Pascagoula. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had said Monday that if the two companies could not reach an agreement, only one DDG-1000 stealth ship would be purchased by the Navy. (Source: New York Times, 04/08/09)

Fire Scout preps for final exam

Fire Scout unmanned helicopters will be ready for their first deployment later this year, paving the way to full-rate production, possibly before 2010. A story in the April issue of Seapower said two Fire Scouts will be aboard the guided missile frigate USS McInerney when it deploys with the Fourth Fleet to the Southern Command’s area of operations. Fire Scouts, built in part in Moss Point, Miss., were intended for use on Littoral Combat Ships, but delays in that program prompted the Navy to test the system on a frigate. (Source: Seapower, April 2009) Gulf Coast note: Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., is building one of the LCS prototypes.

Gates wants just three DDG-1000s

Defense Secretary Robert Gates affirmed Monday the Pentagon’s plan to end production of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyers at three ships, but he wants them built by Bath Iron Works in Maine. He also wants to restart production of the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class at Northrop Grumman' shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. Gates also announced plans to order three littoral combat ships instead of two in the coming fiscal year. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/06/09)

Cargo ships to park at former base

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - A New England company will park two cargo ships at the former naval base on Singing River Island so they can be call upon for the government in case of a national emergency. Jackson County Port Authority Tuesday approved a sublease contract with Reading, Mass.-based Darkwater Marine Services to berth the ready reserve fleet vessels. The agreement goes to the Jackson County Board of Supervisors on Monday. (Source: Mississippi Press, 04/01/09)

Mabus tapped as Navy secretary

Ray Mabus, former governor of Mississippi, is being tapped as secretary of the Navy. Governor from 1988 to 1992, Mabus was President Clinton's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He endorsed President Obama before the 2008 primary season and campaigned on his behalf. Mabus has spent the last several years in business. Mabus served in the Navy as a surface warfare officer. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. (Source: Washington Post, 03/28/09)

Norhrop has $23B backlog

ST. MARTIN, Miss. - Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding has a $23 billion backlog of business and nine ships to be delivered within the next year. That’s according to president Mike Petters, keynote speaker at the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation's Spring Investors Meeting. Housing and insurance costs remain the biggest challenges for the company locally, Petters said. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/27/09)

Training, maintenance concerns raised

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee has raised concerns about the Navy’s manning, training and maintenance. Rep. Solomon Ortiz of Texas cited recent collisions, grounds and a fatal accident, as well as 10 ship commanders being relieved of duty for failure to maintain training over the past three years. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/26/09)

Makin Island Navy sea trials completed

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The amphibious assault ship Makin Island, LHD 8, has successfully completed Navy acceptance sea trial in the Gulf of Mexico. The builder sea trial was in February. The ship has the first gas turbine/electric-powered propulsion system ever used on large deck amphibious assault ships. Makin Island is 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and weighs 42,800 tons. Its 70,000 horsepower hybrid propulsion system will drive it to speeds in excess of 20 knots. It’s designed to transport a force of almost 2,000 Marines and use helicopters, landing craft and amphibious assault vehicle. Makin Island is scheduled for commissioning at its San Diego homeport in October 2009. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 03/20/09)

Contract: Lockheed, $49.9M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Maritime Systems and Sensors, Integrated Defense Technologies, Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a fixed price contract not-to-exceed $49,877,689 for FY08 MK 41 Vertical Launching System production and delivery requirements. The MK41 VLS program is integral to the navies of nine allied and friendly foreign nations. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy and the governments of Turkey and Australia under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Fourteen percent of the work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., 64 percent in Baltimore, Md., 19 percent in Minneapolis, Minn., 2 percent in Eagan, Minn., and 1 percent in Virginia Beach, Va. Work is expected to be completed by December 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/20/09)

Contract: Rolls-Royce, $5.7M

Rolls-Royce Marine International Inc., Walpole, Mass., is being awarded a $5,672,842 cost plus fixed fee contract for a Compact High-Power High-Density Waterjet. The objective of this contract is for research to implement the waterjet technology developed in Phase I to resolve the anticipated cavitation erosion issues. This includes the preparation of the detailed design and fabrication of two full-scale waterjet prototypes for demonstration. Seven percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss., 90 percent in Walpole and 3 percent in Sweden. Work is expected to be completed September 2011. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/19/09)

Contract: C&G Boat, $17.6M

C&G Boat Works, Inc., Mobile, Ala., was awarded a $17,584,236 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option to construct two Yard Patrol Training Craft used to train midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. Work will be performed in Mobile and is expected to be completed by March 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/18/09)

Study: Stretch out LCS production

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Navy should consider stretching out production of the littoral combat ship past the planned 2019 cutoff, according to a 90-page report released by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The military wants to build 55 of the close-to-shore vessels as replacements for vessels being phased out. Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile is nearing completion of one LCS prototype. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/18/09)

Bender, customer reach agreement

MOBILE, Ala. - Bender Shipbuilding & Repair reached an agreement with one of its largest customers, Overseas Shipholding Group, to cancel millions of dollars in contracts. The settlement ends obligations under three contracts that include six tug-barge combinations and two tugs, work valued in excess of $500 million. The problem has been delays, which Bender blamed on workforce and supply issues created by Hurricane Katrina, which hit the region in 2005. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/17/09)

Contract: Northrop, $31.8M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $31,800,000 basic ordering agreement for Post-Shakedown Availability for DDG 51 Class Destroyers. The orders to be issued are for PSA planning and support services and will include advance planning, engineering support, on-site engineering liaison, craft assistance, the ordering and processing of required material in support of PSAs. If necessary, orders may be issued to NGSB for PSA planning and support and emergent industrial availabilities for DDG 51 Class Destroyers built by Bath Iron Works Corp. if BIW is unable to perform the work. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. and in the ships' homeport, which may include Norfolk, Va.; San Diego, Calif.; and Mayport, Fla., and is expected to be completed by September 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (Source: DoD, 03/16/09)

Navy presses for more littoral ships

Navy officials pressed their case to buy more than 50 new littoral warships despite frustration on Capitol Hill over ballooning costs and the Navy's lack of future planning for the ship program. Navy officials told the House Armed Services panel Tuesday that they are committed to buying 55 Littoral Combat Ships and to cutting the cost of the ships after the price of the first two more than doubled. But Navy officials were met with skepticism from lawmakers who grilled them. (Source: The Hill, 03/10/09)

Contract: LPI, $7.3M

LPI Technical Services, Chesapeake, Va., is being awarded a $7,315,330 contract to provide engineering and technical services for shipboard systems and equipment associated with firefighting, damage control, and personnel protection. About three percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss., and the rest in Norfolk, Va., (30 percent), San Diego, Calif., (30 percent), various unspecified locations (14 percent), Mayport, Fla., (10 percent), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, (10 percent), and Ingleside, Texas, (3 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2012. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity (Source: DoD, 03/09/09)

OSG wants to cancel Bender contracts

MOBILE, Ala. - Overseas Shipbuilding Group wants to cancel millions of dollars in contracts with Bender Shipbuilding & Repair. Bender said Wednesday it's weeks away from resolving the dispute. A Bender executive said the problem stems from repeated delays in delivering six tug-barge combinations and two tugs. Much of the blame is placed on materials and workforce issues created by Hurricane Katrina. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/05/09)