Murtha favors split LCS buy

Murtha favors split LCS buy
MOBILE, Ala. – Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha said that if both sides competing for a shipbuilding contract can get costs down, he’d favor buying ships from both. Murtha, D-Pa., made the comment after visiting Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile. Austal is part the General Dynamics team competing to build littoral combat ships for the Navy. The other team is led by Lockheed Martin. Both sides have been criticized for cost overruns. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/30/09)

Panel OKs offshore fish farms

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - A federal panel approved the nation’s first offshore fishing farming industry Wednesday and will send the package to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted 11-5. The vote came after a meeting where the council heard from proponents and opponents. Under the plan, fish will be raised in offshore pens far out in the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: The Sun Herald, 01/28/09)

Contract: General Dynamics, $37.7M

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $37,750,000 basic ordering agreement for Post-Shakedown Availability on the Littoral Combat Ship, USS Independence, LCS-2. The orders to be issued will encompass services that include program management, advance planning, engineering, material kitting, liaison, scheduling and participation in PSA planning conferences and design reviews, and preparation of documentation as required by the Contract Data Requirement List. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (53 percent); Norfolk, Va. (24 percent); and Mobile, Ala. (23 percent) and is expected to be completed by December 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 01/28/09)

Schools get math, science funds

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Some $25,000 will go to help Alabama and Mississippi schools grow their math and science programs, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding said. The grants of up to $5,000 go toward science, technology, engineering and math projects in middle schools. Schools that received grants are Phillips Preparatory School, Mobile, Ala., and in Mississippi, Magnolia Junior High in Moss Point, Gautier Middle School in Gautier, Hancock Middle School in Hancock County, and North Gulfport Middle School in Gulfport. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/28/09)

Offshore pens vote nears

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - Fishery officials are expected to decide next week on a proposal for a new industry that would raise fish in offshore pens far out in the Gulf of Mexico. The plan would permit as many as 20 aquaculture operations to raise fish now available only by catching them in the wild. The decision by the Tampa-based Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has sparked controversy among academics, sportsmen, scientists, fishing industry groups, and others. (Source: Sun Herald, 01/23/09)

Northrop to write off $3B

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Northrop Grumman Corp. will record a fourth quarter loss of $3 billion to $3.4 billion, due to a drop in the book value of its shipbuilding and space technology activities. The company determined that the book value exceeded the fair value. As a result of this charge, the company will report a net loss for the fourth quarter and 2008 when it issues its report Feb. 3. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 01/22/09) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman has a large presence on the Gulf Coast, including shipyards and an unmanned aerial systems plant.

Board OKs tax break for Northrop

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Jackson County supervisors gave Northrop Grumman a 10-year tax exemption on a portion of $75 million the company spent primarily on Katrina repairs. The exemption would save the company an average of $150,000 a year over the 10 years for a total of $1.5 million. (Source: The Sun Herald, 01/21/09)

US Joiner opens new digs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - US Joiner has moved into a new $4.5 million facility that is the largest capital investment for the six-year-old company. US Joiner specializes in marine design and engineering, material management and the installation of marine interiors. The new 110,000 square-foot facility includes a warehouse and office space. The Virginia-headquartered company also has operations in New Orleans and San Diego. Its previous location in Pascagoula was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (Source: Mississippi Press, 01/13/09)

Taylor urges shipyard upgrade

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor thinks Northrop Grumman should upgrade its Pascagoula shipyard and become certified to build nuclear-powered ships. That's what he said during a town meeting Monday. Taylor also wants the Navy to buy more DDG 51 destroyers, which cost far less than the next-generation DDG 1000, in order to more rapidly increase the size of the Navy fleet. (Source: Mississippi Press, 01/14/09)

Signal lands $50M contract

MOBILE, Ala. - Signal International won a $50 million contract to construct components to be used in a drillship reliability upgrade program for Noble Corp., an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. About 200 Pascagoula workers will build the accommodations block and heliports at the East Bank Yard while 800 workers at Signal’s Orange, Texas, facility will construct the stern and sponsons – about 75 percent of the work. Some Pascagoula Signal workers laid off in November and December will be recalled. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, Sun Herald, 01/13/09)

Lockheed gets DDG-51 work

ORLANDO, Fla. - Lockheed Martin was awarded a $15 million contract as part of the Navy's Modernization Program for the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The contract for initial Machinery Control System shipsets and related equipment includes options and engineering services which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $51.5 million. Lockheed Martin provides marine engineering control systems for all Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. (Source: PRNewswire, 01/08/09). Northrop Grumman builds DDG-51 destroyers on the Gulf Coast.

Researchers look for manatee

MOBILE, Ala. - Dauphin Island Sea Lab researchers searched unsuccessfully Monday for a manatee seen over the weekend in a Satsuma creek. Scientsts said they'll continue searching the area this week. The Sea Lab and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2007 launched a manatee sighting network to gather scientific data on manatees in the Mobile Bay area. More than 100 sightings were reported in Alabama waters last year, Sea Lab officials said. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/06/09)

Atlantic Marine buys Millennium

MOBILE, Ala. - The purchase of Moss Point, Miss.-based Millennium Industrial and Marine Solutions by Atlantic Marine Holding Co. should help the Mississippi business capture more work contracts, company officials said. Millennium is a steel and pipe fabrication company specializing in on-site drill rig and offshore vessel repair and conversion. Atlantic Marine Holding Co. owns and operates one shipyard in Mobile and two near Jacksonville, Fla. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/01/09)