VT Halter eyes expansion

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - VT Halter Marine plans to diversify and expand its Pascagoula shipyard with the addition of a floating dry dock that will let it begin repairing semi-submersible drilling rigs and new Panamax-sized ships. The proposed dock is 715 feet by 389 feet and is L-shaped. It would be placed on the west side of Bayou Casotte, with the existing VT Halter facilities to the north and Signal International to the south. The board of directors still has to give final approval. (Source: Mississippi Press, 06/23/11)

Corrosion found on new LCS

A littoral combat ship built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., will have to be dry-docked to remove water jets that have suffered corrosion, according to a report by Bloomberg. The Navy has discovered "aggressive" corrosion in the propulsion areas of the aluminum-hulled USS Independence. In February, the Navy found another ship in the series, this one built in Wisconsin by a team led by Lockheed Martin, had developed a crack through the hull. (Source: Bloomberg, Mobile Press-Register, 06/17/11)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a fixed-price-incentive contract for DDG 113 construction, engineering change proposals, and design budgeting requirements. As this award represents the first DDG 51 class ship to be awarded for the continuation of the DDG 51 class program, and there is a competitive solicitation for additional DDG 51 class ships, the contract award amount and percentages of work to be performed in each location for DDG 113 are considered source selection information and will not be made public at this time. Significant work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Walpole, Mass.; Burns Harbor, Ind.; York, Pa.; and Charlottesville, Va. Work is expected to be completed by July 2017. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/15/11)

JHSV module damaged

MOBILE, Ala. - A 50-ton block of the second Joint High Speed Vessel being built at Austal USA broke loose over the weekend, fell three feet and tipped over, the shipbuilder confirmed to Navy Times. The block is one of 44 units that make up a JHSV. The extent of the damage to the module and the cost of repairs are still being assessed. The shipyard is building JHSVs and littoral combat ships. (Source: Navy Times, 06/14/11)

Taber to work on LCS, JHSV components

MOBILE, Ala. - Taber Extrusions will build components for a littoral combat ship and joint high-speed vessel being built by Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. The work will be done at Taber's two manufacturing facilities, one in Gulfport, Miss., and the other in Russellville, Ark. Austal will use Taber extrusions for decking, superstructure and bulkheads. The work is for the LCS Jackson and JHSV Fortitude. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/08/11)

Union gets another shot at Austal

MOBILE, Ala. - A union is getting a third shot to enlist workers at Austal USA's Mobile River shipyard, and an election could come as soon as late July. That's according to a lawyer representing Local 441 of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association. That group has been trying to represent Austal's workforce since 2002. Two previous elections were vacated by federal authorities who found that the company engaged in unfair labor practices with respect to the organizing effort. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/05/11)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls, $25.3M

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a contract modification in an amount not-to-exceed $25,300,000 to previously awarded contract for long lead time material for DDG 113. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio (60 percent), and Pascagoula (40 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/02/11)

Destroyer arrives in Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. - The William P. Lawrence arrived in Mobile on Friday, where her crew will remain until the formal commissioning ceremony on June 4. After the commissioning, the ship will head for its home port in San Diego. The ship is 510 feet long and carries a crew of about 300. The 60th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and is the 28th destroyer and 90th surface combatant from the Pascagoula shipyard. The ship is named for Vice Adm. William Porter Lawrence, who received his Naval Aviator Wings at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/28/11)

Contract: General Dynamics, $744.1M

General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $744,129,956 modification to previously awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of two mobile landing platform ships. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (62 percent); Mobile, Ala. (7 percent); Pittsburgh, Pa. (6 percent); Beloit, Wis. (5 percent); Crozet, Va. (2 percent); Chesapeake, Va. (2 percent); and Belle Chasse, La. (1 percent), with other efforts performed at various sites throughout the United States (8 percent) and outside the United States (7 percent). Work is expected to be complete by February 2014. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/27/11)

VT Halter wins contract

VT Halter Marine won a contract to build a 112-foot offshore articulated tug barge for New York-based Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. The tug will be similar to others built for Bouchard in previous years by Halter Marine. Construction is set to begin next month at the Moss Point Marine facility in Escatawpa, with delivery September 2012. The company has 1,800 workers at yards in Moss Point, Pascagoula and Escatawpa. (Source: Mississippi Press, 05/26/11)

Navy rejects ship

A new ship designed to carry a billion-dollar ballistic missile tracking radar failed its acceptance trials earlier this month and will need repairs before it can enter service. The Howard O. Lorenzen, built by VT Halter Marine at Moss Point, Miss., is a 534-foot-long ship intended to carry the Cobra Judy Replacement radar, a key sensor used in treaty monitoring and verification for ballistic missile issues. Repair will be done at Kiewit Offshore Services in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Source: Defense News, 05/26/11)

Avondale to be subject of study

NEW ORLEANS, La. - As the Avondale shipyard moves toward closing in 2013, researchers from several universities are teaming to study the 73-year-old facility's economic and cultural contributions to the region. In the coming months, faculty from Loyola, Tulane, Southern University New Orleans and the University of New Orleans plan to survey current and former shipyard employees on a range of topics. Part of the research will focus on examining potential mental and physical health impacts the winding down of the facility may be having on its shrinking workforce. Northrop Grumman, which owned the yard until it was spun off as part of Huntington-Ingalls, decided last year to close the yard. (Source: Times-Picayune, 05/22/11)

Austal growth and the Big Six

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA's transformation from a commercial ferry builder to a player for Department of Defense contracts has been impressive. But it isn't yet in the same league as the Big Six. Part of the reason it still needs to prove the value of the ships it's building, and get into position to build even more complex vessels. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/22/11)

DDG 110 leaves Pascagoula shipyard

The Navy's latest Aegis guided missile destroyer, the William P. Lawrence, left Ingalls Shipbuilding Thursday and headed out for several days in the Gulf of Mexico. It will later arrive in Mobile, Ala., for its June 4 commissioning before heading to its home port in San Diego. The ship is 510 feet and weighs 9,500 tons and can carry a crew of 300. Four gas-turbine propulsion plans will power the ship to speed above 30 knots. Christened in April 2010, DDG 110 honors the late Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, who spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. The ship is the 28th destroyer built at the Pascagoula shipyard. (Sources: Sun Herald, 05/19/11, Mississippi Press, 05/20/11)

Ingalls to research welding improvements

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard won a $2.7 million grant for a project to improve shipyard welding. Ingalls was one of six shipyards sharing about $14.6 million in project grants from the National Shipbuilding Research Program. Funding is from the U.S. Navy and industry groups. The idea is to develop a process to eliminate over-welding to reduce distortion. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/09/11)

Army transfers JHSVs to Navy

The Army has transferred to the Navy all five of its Joint High Speed Vessels. The Memorandum of Agreement was signed May 2, and clarifies relationships, identifies roles and responsibilities and provides an implementation plan. Initially the JHSV program was envisioned to have five of the first 10 JHSVs assigned to the Army, with the Navy getting the rest. But at the Army/Navy Warfighter Talks in December 2010, both services agreed to assign all of the vessels to the Navy. The Military Sealift Command will crew the JHSVs with civilian mariners or contract mariners. Joint High Speed Vessels will be used for fast transport of troops, military vehicles and equipment. (Source: NNS, 05/05/11) Gulf Coast note: The catamaran ships are built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

BAE to showcase ship repair

HOUSTON - BAE Systems will showcase its ship repair capabilities at the 2011 Offshore Technology Conference May 2-5 in Houston. With more than 5,000 workers, BAE Systems does drydock and pierside repairs and in maintenance, overhaul and conversion of commercial and military vessels. It has six full-service shipyards, including the 423-acre site in Mobile, Ala., and a satellite ship repair facility in Moss Point, Miss. (Source: Business Wire, 04/28/11)

Huntington Ingalls names shipyard chiefs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., owner of Pascagoula’s 10,800-employee shipyard, said its board of directors approved Irwin F. Edenzon and Matthew J. Mulherin as corporate vice presidents and presidents of the company’s two major shipyards. Edenzon was named president of Ingalls Shipbuilding and Mulherin became president of Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. HII, previously the shipbuilding division of Northrop Grumman Corp., began operating on March 31 as an independent, publicly traded company. (Source: Mississippi Press, 04/26/11)

BAE to provide LCS guns, coms

BAE Systems will provide the external communications and primary gun systems for 10 littoral combat ships to be built by Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. BAE, which runs a shipyard in Mobile, will build the 57-mm gun systems used to defend against aerial, surface or ground threats. BAE will also be building radio and antenna systems and other types of specialized equipment and hardware for ship communications. The work will be done at BAE facilities in California, Maryland, Kentucky, Minnesota and Sweden. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/15/11) Gulf Coast note: BAE Systems also has operations in Gautier, Miss., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

BAE eyes more workers

MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile facility of BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards will add up to 400 workers to finish building an oil tanker, a company official said. The shipyard on the east bank of Mobile River has 600 workers and another 200 to 250 contractors. The extra workforce is needed to finish a tanker for Mid-Ocean Tanker Co. LLC of South Norwalk, Conn. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/07/11)