Navy building dedicated

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. — The Naval Oceanographic Office has dedicate a new ocean sciences building that consolidates many of the agency’s operations. The $47.1 million building includes 171,600 square feet of space and is within walking distance of NAVOCEANO’s headquarters. NAVOCEANO’s Stennis operation employs about 1,000 Navy and civilian workers. The command operates a fleet of survey ships that map ocean bottoms and collect other data to support Department of Defense operations. (Source: Sun Herald, 05/27/09)

Suit filed against Bender

MOBILE, Ala. - Bender Shipbuilding & Repair faces another lawsuit stemming from a $76.5 million contract for three vessels for GulfMark Offshore Inc. Engine supplier Louisiana Machinery Co. LLC of Reserve, La., said it has not been fully paid for engines delivered to Bender and intended for the GulfMark ships. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/28/09)

Contract: US Marine Inc., $61.6M

United States Marine Inc., Gulfport, Miss., is being awarded a $61,562,641 contract for detail design and construction of 10 Mark V Patrol Boats for the Kuwaiti Navy under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The vessel is designed for coastal patrol and interdiction, and other special operations at sea. Work will be performed in Gulfport, Miss., and is expected to be completed by June 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/22/09)

LCS radar tested

MOBILE, Ala. - A Coast Guard jet made six low passes – 300 to 500 feet – over the Mobile River near Austal USA Thursday, allowing radar tests aboard the littoral combat ship Independence. Austal is part of a General Dynamics Corp.-led team competing to build dozens of the LCS warships. The Independence and a second LCS on order have aluminum trimaran hulls. A team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. delivered the first of its steel-hulled ships to the Navy in the fall and is working on a second vessel. (Source: Mobile Press Register, 05/21/09)

Mabus OKd as Navy secretary

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus was confirmed as secretary of the Navy. The Senate voted unanimously Monday night to confirm Mabus, who succeeds Donald C. Winter. Mabus served in the Navy from 1970-72 as a surface warfare officer, and was Mississippi governor from 1988-92. (Source: AP via Sun Herald, 05/19/09)

VT Halter names chief

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - VT Halter Marine has appointed William E. "Bill" Skinner as chief executive officer and Paul J. Albert as chief operating officer. Former CEO Boyd E. "Butch" King, who was recruited to lead the shipbuilder out of bankruptcy in 2002, died April 20 of a heart attack. Halter is a subsidiary of Alexandria, Va.-based VT Systems, which is owned by Singapore Technologies Engineering. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/19/09)

Bender wins $2.5M contract

MOBILE, Ala. - Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. won a $2.5 million contract to work on a pair of 632-foot Department of Transportation Maritime Administration cargo vessels. The two vessels are the Cape Victory and the Cape Vincent, both roll-on, roll-off vessels that carry wheeled and tracked vehicles. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/19/09)

Special ops craft launched

GULFPORT, Miss. - United States Marine Inc. launched the first of two 82-foot Mark V Special Operations Craft awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command. The first craft will undergo sea trials before its delivery in July and the second will be launched in August. The two craft will eventually be used by the Bahrain navy through a Foreign Military Sales program. The aluminum hull, deck and cabin top are built by Trinity Yachts at its New Orleans facility. The sections are then transported to USMI’s facility in Gulfport for final assembly, outfitting, painting, sea trials and delivery. (Source: The Sun Herald, 05/16/09)

Coast Guard pondering UAVs

The U.S. Coast Guard is still in the market for an unmanned aerial system to extend the surveillance reach of the new National Security Cutter fleet, the head of acquisition for the service said May 11. The Coast Guard ended its planned vertical takeoff UAV program, and has been monitoring other UAV programs, said Rear Adm. Gary Blore, assistant commandant for acquisition. He said the Navy’s Fire Scout appears to be the farthest along but "we’re still waiting for [maritime] radar to be integrated on Fire Scout." (Source: Aviation Week, 05/12/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss., and the first National Security Cutter was built in Pascagoula, Miss.

Christening scheduled

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The USS Gravely, Northrop Grumman's 27th Aegis guided missile destroyer, will be christened Saturday at Northrop's shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship is named for the late Navy Vice Adm. Samuel L. Gravely Jr., the Navy's first black admiral. Gravely died in 2004. The USS Gravely will have a crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. (Source: AP via Sun Herald, 05/12/09)

Work done on two rigs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Signal International said Monday that two rigs owned by Diamond Offshore are back in service after simultaneous work at Signal’s Pascagoula and Port Arthur, Texas, sites. The amount of the contract for the work was not released. Signal International is one of the largest marine and fabrication companies in the Gulf of Mexico region. It has two production facilities in Pascagoula and four in Texas. (Source: The Sun Herald, 05/11/09)

Contract: Northrop, $77.3M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., a sector of Northrop Grumman Corp., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $77,266,923 modification to previously awarded contract for procurement of additional long lead time materials in support of the construction preparation efforts for the second aircraft carrier of the Gerald R. Ford Class. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., and is expected to be completed by October 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/11/09) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman also has shipyards in Pascagoula and Gulfport in Mississippi and New Orleans, La.

Shipbuilding proposal holds no surprises

The defense budget proposal unveiled Thursday includes $1.9 billion to buy three Littoral Combat Ships and $2.2 billion for one DDG-51. Two teams, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, will compete to build the LCS ships, while the DDG-51 is likely to be built by Northrop Grumman in Pascagoula. The General Dynamics LCS team includes Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/08/09)

Austal, Baldwin honored

Site Selection, a magazine that tracks economic development projects, recognized Austal USA and the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance in its May issue. Shipbuilder Austal received an honorable mention in the top North American deals category, and the Baldwin alliance received an honorable mention among Top Economic Development Groups of 2008. Recent alliance accomplishments include Segers Aero Corp., a $7 million project that created 100 new jobs. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/05/09)

Small-boat threat system tested

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - NetFires LLC, a joint venture between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, conducted the second captive flight test of the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System Precision Attack Missile. The system is also one of the key Littoral Combat Ship mission modules to combat small-boat threats. The LCS Mission Module can fire as many as 45 PAM missiles from three container launch units. With a range greater than 25 miles, the PAM missile gives the LCS an increased surface warfare weapon capability. (Source: Raytheon, 05/04/09) Gulf Coast note: The Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., is building LCS ships for the Navy.

Austal to build another LCS

The Navy on Friday awarded a contract to a Bath Iron Works-led team for the construction of Coronado (LCS 4), the second Littoral Combat Ship to feature a high-speed trimaran hull. The 419-foot surface combatant ship will be manufactured by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. It’s scheduled for delivery to the Navy in May 2012. Bath Iron Works in Maine is a subsidiary of General Dynamics. (Source: PRNewswire, 05/01/09)