Manatee deaths studied

GULFPORT, Miss. – The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies is looking into the recent deaths of two manatees in the northern Gulf of Mexico. One was found dead in Mobile Bay on Christmas day, and the other was found alive in the Pascagoula River, but died as it was being taken to the institute. Indications are the two may have succumbed to the cold weather. (Sources: Mississippi Press, 12/30/10, WALA-TV, Sun Herald, 12/29/10)

January sci-tech newsletter available

The latest issue of Alliance Insight, a quarterly newsletter highlighting science and technology in South Mississippi, is now available. The January issue takes a look at what's in store for South Mississippi in 2011. Also included: feature stories about NASA's Stennis Space Center, the Infinity Science Center, South Mississippi's airports and the Tradition planned community. The newsletter is produced by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development. (Source: Alliance Insight, January 2011)

January sci-tech newsletter available

The latest issue of Alliance Insight, a quarterly newsletter highlighting science and technology in South Mississippi, is now available. The January issue takes a look at what's in store for South Mississippi in 2011. Also included: feature stories about NASA's Stennis Space Center, the Infinity Science Center, South Mississippi's airports and the Tradition planned community. The newsletter is produced by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development. (Source: Alliance Insight, January 2011)

Lockheed, Austal get LCS contracts

WASHINGTON - The Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. and Austal USA each a fixed-price incentive contract for the design and construction of a 10 ship block-buy, for a total of 20 littoral combat ships from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2015. The amount awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp. for fiscal 2010 littoral combat ships is $436,852,639. The amount awarded to Austal USA for the fiscal 2010 littoral combat ships is $432,069,883. (Source: NNS, 12/29/10)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $12M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $12,000,000 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract for government-furnished equipment workshare transportation efforts in support of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer. The anticipated modification will provide government-furnished workshare transportation efforts for the procurement of material required for the fabrication of cradles, fixtures, and other equipment that are necessary to safely and securely transport class products from Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (95 percent), and Gulfport, Miss. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/29/10)

Contract: Austal, $465.4M

Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a fixed-price-incentive contract for the fiscal 2010-2015 block buy of Flight 0+ Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The fiscal 2010 LCS Flight 0+ ship award amount is $432,069,883. There are additional line items totaling $33,398,998 for technical data package, core class services, provisioned items orders, ordering, a not-to-exceed line item for non-recurring engineering, and data items. The total amount of the contract is $465,468,881. The contract includes line items for nine additional ships and options for post delivery support, additional crew and shore support, special studies, class services, class standard equipment support, economic order quantity equipment, selected ship systems equipment for a second source and selected ship system integration and test for a second source which, if authorized/exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $4,386,301,775. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (50 percent); Pittsfield, Mass. (17 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (3 percent); Baltimore, Md. (2 percent); Burlington, Vt. (2 percent); New Orleans, La. (2 percent); and various locations of less than two percent each totaling 24 percent. Work is expected to be complete by June 2015. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/29/10)

LCS will have big impact

The Mobile Press-Register takes a look at the impact of a $5 billion contract for Austal USA to build littoral combat ships. It will mean 1,800 extra jobs, but the ripple impact will go well beyond that, ranging from employee spending to the possibility of suppliers setting up shop in Mobile. Congress last week approved buying 10 ships from Austal and competitor Lockheed Martin. The Navy ultimately plans to buy 55 of the ships. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/27/10)

Split LCS by OKd

Congress approved a Navy plan to award a nearly $5 billion shipbuilding contract to Austal USA, doubling the size of the company's Mobile shipyard and creating 1,800 jobs. Once signed by President Barack Obama, the Navy will be able to move forward with a plan to split the purchase of 20 vessels between Austal and Lockheed Martin Corp. Previously, the shipbuilders were in a winner-take-all competition to build 10 LCS, with nine additional ships planned in future years. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/21/10)

Companies chosen for NG test facility

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Jackson County Board of Supervisors agreed Monday to hire a grant administrator, architect and engineer to work on a new land-based testing facility for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. The grant administrator, Gouras and Associates, will help submit a funding proposal to the Mississippi Development Authority. Once approved, the architects, Ocean Springs-based Allred Architectural Group and Biloxi-based Eley Guild Hardy Architects, and engineers at Orion Engineering can begin work. The multimillion-dollar facility will be used for pre-installation assembly, integration and testing of ship components and equipment, as well as other activities. (Source: Mississippi Press, 12/21/10)

Proposals opened for NG work

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The Jackson County Board of Supervisors Monday opened proposals from firms wanting to work on a new testing facility for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. The county will hire a grant administrator, architect and engineer to help submit a funding proposal to the Mississippi Development Authority, said George Freeland, executive director of the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation. He said the process is in its early stages, and a location, construction cost projection and size information is not known. (Source: Mississippi Press, 12/14/10)

Railgun test sets record

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER DAHLGREN, Va. - The Office of Naval Research reached a milestone Friday when it successfully conducted a world-record 33-megajoule shot of the electromagnetic railgun. The railgun uses electricity to propel a projectile at high velocity to destroy a target with kinetic energy rather than explosives. It can fire projectiles at least 110 nautical miles. The railgun is being developed for use on a wide range of ships, including the DDG 1000 and DDG 51. (Source: NNS, 12/10/10) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds DDG 51s, as well as the deck house, helicopter hangar and peripheral vertical launcher system cells for the DDG 1000.

Railgun test scheduled

ARLINGTON, Va. - Navy leaders will be on hand Friday at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division for a record-setting test of the experimental electromagnetic railgun. The Navy will fire a 32-megajoule muzzle energy shot, a new world record. The railgun uses electricity to propel a projectile at high velocity to destroy a target with kinetic energy rather than explosives. A future tactical electromagnetic railgun will hit targets at ranges almost 20 times farther than conventional surface ship combat systems. The railgun is being developed for use on a wide range of ships, including the DDG 1000 and DDG 51. (Source: NNS, 12/08/10) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds DDG 51s in Mississippi, as well as the deck house, helicopter hangar and peripheral vertical laucher system cells for the DDG 1000.

LCS dual-buy bill introduced

The Navy's plan to award shallow-water warship contracts to shipyards in both Mobile, Ala., and Wisconsin cleared a hurdle when U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., introduced legislation to approve the purchases. Analysts said the bill, sent to the House Armed Services Committee, gives the dual-buy plan a clearer path to congressional approval before the Navy-imposed Dec. 14 deadline. If Congress signs off, Austal USA in Mobile and a team led by Lockheed Martin each will get contracts to build 10 littoral combat ships, estimated to be worth about $5 billion each. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/04/10)

Workshop scheduled with researchers

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources will present a public briefing on the status of coastal fisheries research at 7 p.m. Dec. 7 in the Caylor Auditorium at GCRL. Topics will include Mississippi’s spotted seatrout population monitoring, cooperative tag and release programs, and efforts relative to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The program is free and open to the public. (Source: Tcp, 12/02/10, based on 11/22/10 USM release)

NG gets $480M contract

The Coast Guard has awarded a $480 million fixed-price incentive contract to Northrop Grumman's Shipbuilding sector to build a fourth National Security Cutter in Pascagoula. A company spokesman said that engineering and planning work will begin immediately and start of construction is scheduled to take place in the third quarter of 2011. The cutter will be 418 feet long and carry a crew of about 110. At peak production, 600 to 700 shipbuilders will be working on the ship. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/30/10)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $43.7M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $43,739,721 modification to previously awarded contract for lifecycle engineering and support services for LPD 17 class integrated shipboard electronic systems. Services include post-delivery planning, logistics and engineering, homeport technical support, integrated product data environment, data maintenance and much more. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by December 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/30/10)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $26.1M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $26,103,188 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for fiscal 2011 class services in support of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt class destroyer. Services included product fabrication, delivery, engineering, and engineering support to integrated power system operations and land-based test site; support for radar cross section and other selected ship signatures; and integrated logistics support. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss., and is expected to be completed by October 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/29/10)

Water closed to royal red shrimping

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed 4,213 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to royal red shrimping. The measure was taken Wednesday night after a commercial shrimper discovered tar balls in his net. Fishing for royal red shrimp is conducted by pulling fishing nets across the bottom of the ocean floor. The tar balls found in the catch may have been entrained in the net as it was dragged along the seafloor. Other fishing at shallower depths in this area has not turned up any tar balls and is thus not impacted by this closure. The tar balls found in the shrimp net are being analyzed by the U.S. Coast Guard to see if they are from the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill, NOAA said. (Source: NOAA, 11/24/10)

Titanium shipbuilding explored

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of New Orleans has been awarded a three-year $4.8 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to advance the science and technology of titanium shipbuilding. The research will focus on the manufacturability and structural performance of a titanium mid-ship section. Both material requirements and advanced welding processes will be investigated. Titanium is more resistant to corrosion than traditional structural steels and aluminum alloys, but lacks robust welding and joining techniques. (Source: Media-Newswire, 11/23/10)

LPD 24 launched

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding launched its newest amphibious transport dock ship Arlington (LPD 24) Tuesday. It's the eighth ship of the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) class of ships, and it's 77 percent complete. The ship's christening is tentatively scheduled for spring of 2011. The LPD 17 ships are 684 feet long and designed to deploy the combat and support elements of Marine expeditionary units and brigades. The ship can carry up to 800 troops and have the capability of transporting and debarking air cushion or conventional landing craft. (Source: Northrop Grumman via GlobeNewswire, 11/24/10)

Is Huntington Ingalls in the future?

Northrop Grumman took another step towards a possible spinoff of its shipbuilding operations in Virginia and Mississippi with another filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new company would be named Huntington Ingalls Industries, after the founders of Newport News shipyard in Virginia and Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss. It would be based in Newport News and be a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. No final decision has been made on whether to opt for the spinoff or to sell the shipbuilding segment. The filing also confirmed plans to close Avondale in Louisiana by 2013 and shift the work to Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss. (Sources: Mississippi Press, Daily Press, Sun Herald, 11/24/10)

Monitors put on sea turtles

GULFPORT, Miss. - The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies will track endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles with satellite monitoring devices and plans to chart their course on a website. Three turtles released Saturday were visible via satellite, and were heading south toward the Chandeleur Islands on Sunday, said Moby Solangi, IMMS president and executive director. Solangi said the research will yield important data on the turtles. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/21/10)

Pascagoula-built ship commissioned

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Navy's newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, USS Gravely (DDG 107), was commissioned in Wilmington, N.C., today. The ceremony honored the late Vice Adm. Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. About 4,000 people attended the commissioning ceremony held at North Carolina State Ports in Wilmington. (Source: NNS, 11/20/10) Gulf Coast note: The ship was built by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. Previous story

Signal gets BP contract

MOBILE, Ala. - Signal International said it's won a contract with BP Exploration and Production Inc. to decontaminate vessels used in response to the Gulf oil spill. More than 100 workers and subcontractors will clean tank barges at Signal's West Yard in Pascagoula, Miss. The value of the contract was not released. Work will run through the end of the year, with a possibility of an extension, company officials said. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/17/10)

Science careers topic of lecture

LONG BEACH, Miss. - Career opportunities in science and technology will be the topic of the Issues and Answers lecture Thursday at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach. The lecture is presented by the Sun Herald and Southern Miss Gulf Coast College of Science and Technology. It will be held at 7 p.m. at the Fleming Education Center auditorium. The panel of Southern Miss professors will share information about career opportunities in geography, biology, industrial engineering technology, molecular biology, mathematics and marine science. The event is free and open to the public. (Source: USM, 11/17/10)

Microbes to the rescue

More answers are beginning to surface about what happened the oil that gushed into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP well during the spring and summer. Scientists have tracked how nontoxic elements of oil became dinner for microbes, and that in turn became food for plankton. The study focused on the way carbon specific to the oil moved through the food web. William Graham, a plankton expert at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, said the speed of how the oil components moved through the ecosystem may affect the overall health of the Gulf. Questions still remain on the toxic portion of the oil. The study, released Monday, was funded by the National Science Foundation, Alabama, and BP research funds distributed through the Northern Gulf Institute at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Sources: Mobile Press-Register, AP via Sun Herald, 11/08/10)

Fishing closure hikes population

MOBILE, Ala. - Research suggests the federal closure of the richest portion of the Gulf of Mexico to all fishing during the spring and summer BP oil spill may be responsible for a dramatic increases in the number of marine creatures, from shrimp to sharks. Scientists from Dauphin Island Sea Lab have been surveying Alabama and Mississippi coastal waters for years, and data collected this year shows a three-fold increase in numbers. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/07/10)

Maritime Training Center set to open

MOBILE, Ala. - On Monday, Alabama Industrial Development Training will open its new $12 million Maritime Training Center. On the outside the building resembles a freighter loaded with containers from different countries. The inside is split in half, with Austal USA occupying one side of the building and AIDT, an arm of the two-year college system, running the other side. The AIDT side is for those interested in learning shipbuilding skills, and the Austal side will be used by the company for employee training. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/07/10) Story on maritime academy in Pascagoula.

Evidence of oil on Gulf floor mounts

While the surface signs of this summer’s oil spill are harder to find, that’s not the case on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. A "multicorer" used to obtain three soil samples, one 140 nautical miles away, one 16 nautical miles from the well and one mid-way, shows a big difference. The soil the furthest away is all mud, while a sample from the intermediate location near Gulfport, Miss., has a thin layer of oil. The one near the well is striped with a bottom layer of mud, a layer that appears to be oil and a top layer of slime that may be oil with bacteria feeding on it. What all this means for sea life is still to be determined. (Source: OnEarth magazine, 11/04/10) Federal scientists have found damage to deep sea corals and other marine life several miles from where the BP well spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists said surveys using remotely operated vehicles down to 4,600 feet and seven miles from the BP well found dead and dying corals, some coated with a brown substance. Further tests are needed to determine if the substance is oil. (Source: AP, 11/05/10)

NG opts for spinoff, not sale of shipbuilding

Northrop Grumman told private-equity firms it's scrapping a plan to sell its shipbuilding business and will instead pursue creating a spinoff. Bids from four private equity concerns fell short of expectations. During the summer Northrop Grumman said it was exploring getting out of the shipbuilding business to focus on its other sectors. The company filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 15 to start the process. (Sources: Bloomberg via Sun Herald, Reuters, 11/05/10) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman has shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia.

NG to begin LCS module production

Northrop Grumman was awarded a $29 million Navy contract to begin production of three mission module packages for littoral combat ships. Two surface warfare packages and one anti-mine warfare package will be built at a location not yet determined. The first package is scheduled for early 2012 delivery and the others later that year. The current, initial mission packages were designed by the Navy's Warfare Centers in Panama City, Fla., Dahlgren, Va., and San Diego, where they were built. The LCS is based on a modular concept, where different packages can be used based on the mission. The mine countermeasures package, for example, includes the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, the Remote Minehunting System and the Fire Scout vertical takeoff unmanned air vehicle. The LCS can go to the port where mission packages are staged, off load its current package and replace it with a new one in a few days. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 11/04/10, Mobile Press-Register, 11/05/10) Gulf Coast note: Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., is one of two companies building LCS ships for the Navy; Northrop Grumman Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss; Northrop Grumman has both shipbuilding and aerospace operations in the Gulf Coast.

NOPP presentation scheduled

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The National Oceanographic Partnership Program, which provides funding for collaborative ocean issues research projects, will make a presentation Nov. 15 at Stennis Space Center's Building 1100. Participants will learn more about the program and topics scheduled for funding. NOPP is a collaboration of federal agencies that support ocean research partnerships involving academia, government, industry, and non-governmental organizations. NOPP invests in multiple areas, including oceanographic research and exploration, technology development, resource management, and ocean education. Proposals to the program must have government, university, and private industry partners. The meeting is being hosted by the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology. For more information, contact MsET's Belinda Gill at 228-688-3144. To register. (Source: MsET, 11/04/10)

Navy wants to split LCS contract

The Navy would buy Littoral Combat Ships from both Austal USA and Lockheed Martin under a new proposal by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Wednesday that the plan would have Austal make 10 of the ships in Mobile, more than doubling its workforce of 1,800. Lockheed’s 10 would be built in Wisconsin by Marinette Marine Corp. The deal, if approved by Congress, would replace an earlier plan by the Navy to pick one of the two competing ship designs. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, NNS, 11/04/10)

Science center topping out date set

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - A "topping out" ceremony has been scheduled for Nov. 17 for the Infinity Science Center being built near NASA's Stennis Space Center. The ceremony marks a milestone in construction of the multimillion-dollar education center, set to open in 2012. In addition to the placing of a tree at the highest part of the structure, there will be remarks by key officials. Infinity, located near the Mississippi-Louisiana state line and the Mississippi Welcome Center along Interstate 10, is designed to interest young people in science, technology, engineering and math, and to increase the public’s understanding of the earth, space and ocean science work done at Stennis Space Center. (Source: Tcp, 11/01/10)

Destroyer leaves for homeport

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The guided missile destroyer Gravely left Friday for Wilmington, N.C., where it’s scheduled to be commissioned Nov. 20. Gravely, DDG 107, which was delivered to the Navy in July, is the 27th Aegis-class destroyer to be built at Northrop's Pascagoula shipyard. (Sources: Mississippi Press, WLOX, 10/29/10) Previous story

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $48.1M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $48,107,835 modification to previously awarded contract for additional planning and advanced engineering services in support of the LHA replacement (LHA[R]) Flight 0 amphibious assault ship (LHA 7). Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by May 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/28/10)

Maritime academy design closer

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Architects are moving in on a design for the $20 million Jackson County Maritime Trades Academy. The design was presented to the Jackson County Board of Supervisors during its regular meeting Monday morning. The federally funded academy at a nine-acre site is designed to provide a skilled workforce and help Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding expand its two- to four-year apprentice program from 610 to 1,000 students. Originally, the county planned to turn over ownership of the facility to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Now Northrop Grumman will eventually own the building and handle daily operations. (Source: Mississippi Press, 10/26/10)

Oil found on seafloor

Scientists who were aboard two research vessels studying the Gulf of Mexico oil spill's impact on sea life have found substantial amounts of oil on the seafloor. The oil was in samples dug up from the seafloor in a 140-mile radius around the site of the well, said Kevin Yeager, a University of Southern Mississippi assistant professor of marine sciences. He was the chief scientist on the research trip, which ended last week. (Source: USA Today, 10/24/10) Previous story of oil found on seafloor

More federal waters opened

Another 7,000 square miles of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico has been reopened to commercial and recreational fishing. That leaves just four percent still closed as a result of this summer’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the latest opening is 60 miles east of the well site, between the Florida-Alabama state line and Cape San Blas, Fl. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10/22/10)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $62M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $62,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee not-to-exceed modification to previously awarded contract for advance procurement of long lead time materials in support of Landing Platform Dock 27. Work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to be completed by August 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, Northrop Grumman, 10/20/10)

Oyster farming finds new importance

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. - Scientists at Auburn University’s Shellfish Laboratory on Dauphin Island find their work has new significance in the wake of this summer's oil spill. Oyster farming is popular in other parts of the U.S., but was never found economically viable in coastal Alabama. Now, Auburn's Shellfish Lab is working with volunteers and leading experiments to see if such farming can be a money maker. A demonstration at Point aux Pines near Bayou La Batre may show a way. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/18/10)

Spin-offs can be winners

The Mobile Press-Register on Sunday took a closer look at what might happen with a spin-off of Northrop Grumman's shipbuilding sector. Some think a shipbuilding operation turned loose from the parent could be a winner for investors. The company says it's leaning toward a spin-off, but is also meeting with large buyout firms. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/17/10) Northrop Grumman owns shipyards in Pascagoula, Miss., Avondale, La., and Newport News, Va., and this past summer said it’s considering getting out of the shipbuilding business. At least one company, Cleveland Ship, has made its interest public. The company filed a Form 10 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a first step. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 10/15/10)

San Antonio won't deploy

NORFOLK, Va. - The USS Mesa Verde will deploy as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group in the summer of 2011, replacing the USS San Antonio, the U.S. Fleet Force Command announced. Work is still being done on the trouble-plagued San Antonio to return it to the fleet. (Source: NNS, 10/15/10) The first ship of its class, the San Antonio, LPD 17, has had a series of problems, including its propulsion system, since it was commissioned more than four years ago. An investigation found the shipbuilder, Northrop Grumman in Avondale, La., and the Navy at fault for not catching problems earlier. Mesa Verde, LPD 19, is the third ship of the class and was built by Northrop Grumman in Pascagoula, Miss.

Scientists optimistic about funding

Gulf Coast university researchers are optimistic about getting a fair share of the $500 million in grant money to study the effects of the oil spill. Experts from the Gulf Coast are most familiar with the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico and could add a lot to the studies, said Denis Wiesenburg, vice president of research at the University of Southern Mississippi. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a consortium of the five Gulf states, will administer $500 million in grants that BP committed over 10 years. A board of scientists will manage the study effort, known as the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. BP and the alliance will each choose half of the board members. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/14/10)

Report says ferries sold

MOBILE, Ala. - Two ferries built by Austal USA to shuttle people and goods between the Hawaiian Islands were sold at auction to the federal government. Hawaii Superferry ordered the two ferries in 2004, but the company filed for bankruptcy after a state law that allowed the company to operate while an environmental study was done was ruled unconstitutional. The Virginian-Pilot reported that the ships were sold for $25 million each to the U.S. Maritime Administration this week. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/12/10)

Contract: Austal, $203.7M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $204,652,897 modification to previously awarded contract for the exercise of construction options for ships four and five of the Joint High Speed Vessel program. The JHSV will provide high speed, shallow draft transportation capability to support the intra-theater maneuver of personnel, supplies and equipment for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala., and is expected to be completed by December 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/12/10)

Infinity science center taking shape

HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. – The Infinity Science Center, an interactive facility begin built near Stennis Space Center along Interstate 10, is beginning to take shape. Work began May 3 near the Welcome Center in South Mississippi not far from the state line with Louisiana. The building is scheduled to be finished in August. About 90 percent of the steelwork is up and 80 percent of the concrete is done. A "topping off" will be celebrated in the next few weeks. Backers are still raising some $2 million for the $12 million interactive exhibits. Infinity will highlight ocean, space and earth science through fun exhibits at the center. It's expected to open in the spring of 2012. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/10/10)

Signal International lands contract

Signal International won a $32.4 million contract with Transocean Offshore Drilling to refurbish and upgrade the company's Deepwater Navigator drillship. Signal will use its yards in Pascagoula, Miss., and Mobile for the work, which should take 160 days. Signal is hiring in all crafts at both yards. In Pascagoula it will hire 300 workers and in Mobile 100. The Pascagoula shipyard has 600 workers and the Mobile yard 240. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, Sun Herald, 10/08/10)

90 percent of federal waters now open

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week reopened to commercial and recreational fishing another 2,927 square miles of Gulf of Mexico waters off eastern Louisiana. This is the eighth reopening in federal waters since July 22 in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. No oil or sheen has been documented in the area since July 31. The remaining closed area now covers 23,360 square miles, or about 10 percent of the federal waters in the Gulf. (Source: NOAA, 10/05/10)

Fuel loaded on newest transport

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding achieved a key milestone by loading 100,000 gallons of fuel aboard the company's sixth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship over the weekend. The loading of fuel is important as the shipbuilder prepares to light the San Diego's first generator and later send the ship to sea for its first sea trial. The generator light off for LPD 22 is scheduled for next month. The ship was christened in June and is scheduled for sea trials in the second quarter of 2011. The 684-foot long ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines. It's powered by four turbo-charged diesels. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 10/06/10) Previous story

AFL-CIO gets in shipyard fight

The AFL-CIO is throwing its weight behind Louisiana shipworkers in a bid to save thousands of jobs. Northrop Grumman, owner of the Avondale shipyard, issued the first round of pink slips to workers on Monday. Northrop Grumman, which has 5,000 workers at the Avondale yard, said in July that it would close the yard and shift the work to its shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The company also said it's looking at shedding all of its shipbuilding sector, including Pascagoula and Newport News, Va. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said his organization is meeting with government officials and prospective buyers of the shipbuilding unit to try and find a solution that will keep the unit on the job. (Source: The Hill, 10/05/10)

Bidder reported for shipyards

Bloomberg is reporting that Cleveland Ship LLC, formed to bid for a new class of U.S. Navy oilers, made an offer for Northrop Grumman Corp.’s shipbuilding unit. The Cleveland-based company did not specify the value of its Sept. 23 bid. Cleveland Ship said it had expressed interest earlier this year in buying Northrop Grumman's shipyard in Avondale, La. Northrop Grumman said in July it will be closing the Louisiana shipyard and consolidate work in Pascagoula, Miss. But the company also said it is considering selling its entire shipbuilding sector, which also includes Newport News, Va. (Source: Bloomberg, 10/04/10)

Oil spill impact: Signs looking good?

Some of the researchers most familiar with the northern Gulf of Mexico say the ocean looks like it should as fall begins, but they agree it could be years before any losses related to this summer's Deepwater Horizon oil spill become apparent. "Working from the grand caveat that most of the information we have is anecdotal and suggestive," said Monty Graham, a biologist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, "it does not appear that there are large pools of oil running around on the bottom, wreaking havoc." (Source: Mobile Press Register, 10/03/10) Earlier last week, a NOAA scientist said more than 30,000 samples taken in the Gulf of Mexico show the Gulf is recovering from the spill. Janet Baran, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist who is co-leading the subsurface oil monitoring program, said samples taken in about 10,000 locations in shallow to deep water, as well as the ocean floor, show no visible signs of oil. Oil content of the samples is now being described as being in parts per billion rather than million, representing a thousand-fold decrease in the amount of oil in the water, she said. (Source: Mississippi Press, 09/30/10)

Contract: Signal Technologies, $8M

Signal Technologies Corp., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $7,967,525 firm-fixed-price contract for repair, upgrade and new construction of high-voltage power supplies and distribution units for the AN/SLQ32 electronic warfare system components. The AN/SLQ-32(V) countermeasure system is installed on Navy and Coast Guard ships as well as several foreign military ships, and is the standard electronic warfare system that provides surveillance, warning and countermeasure against complex missile attacks. This effort is in support of the repair, upgrade and manufacture of high voltage components through replacement of nonconforming parts and restoration of the system to a ready-for-issue condition. These units will be used by the organic repair depot and Navy Inventory Control Point to support various ships in the Navy and Coast Guard. These parts are unique components of the AN/SLQ-32(V). Work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and is expected to be completed by September 2015. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/30/10)

GCRL shows off new lab

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory this week showed off its new $2 million Marine Environmental Research Lab at its Cedar Point campus. The lab has dozens of tanks where scientists can control variable like salinity, flow rate and food sources. The 6,700-square-foot facility includes a 3,700-square-foot experimental wet lab, a 3,000-square-foot analytical lab, a clean room, environmental control chambers and more than $1 million in scientific equipment. Funding came from the U.S. Department of Education grant made available to institutions of higher learning affected by Hurricane Katrina. Construction on the building began March 2008 and was completed in April 2009. (Sources: WLOX-TV, Sun Herald, 09/28/10, Mississippi Press, 09/29/10)

Austal starts work on second JHSV

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal has started building a second high-speed transport ship for the military. The Joint High-Speed Vessels is 338 feet long and will be able to carry up to 600 tons of cargo and travel an average speed of about 35 knots. They will be used by the Army and Navy. Austal began work on the first JHSV in December and anticipates a December 2011 delivery to the Army. This second ship is for the Navy with a delivery date of June 2012. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 09/28/10)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $12.2M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $12,180,103 modification to previously awarded contract for additional infrastructure improvements to NGSB shipyards. This modification is for additional infrastructure improvements at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Gulf Coast shipyards, which were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in calendar year 2005. The infrastructure improvements are: a ship cleaning system for the NGSB facility in Pascagoula, Miss.; accuracy control equipment for the NGSB facility in Pascagoula, Miss.; a Haeusler Collar Forming work cell for the NGSB facility in Pascagoula, Miss.; a material handling system for the NGSB facility in Pascagoula, Miss.; cable plant management system for the NGSB facilities in Pascagoula, Miss. and New Orleans, La.; specialized flushing equipment for the NGSB facility in Pascagoula, Miss.; and a five axis saw for the NGSB facility in Gulfport, Miss. The contracted improvements at NGSS facilities are part of a series of contracts with Gulf Coast shipbuilders to be awarded under Section 2203 of Public Law 109-234, emergency supplemental appropriations for Defense, The Global War on Terror and Hurricane Recovery 2006. The purpose is to expedite recovery of shipbuilding capability in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina by repairing and/or replacing shipbuilding facilities, to make lasting improvement in shipyard facilities that would result in measurable cost reductions in current and future Navy shipbuilding contracts, and to improve the ability of shipbuilding facilities on the Gulf Coast to withstand damage from potential hurricanes or other natural disasters. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (75 percent), Gulfport, Miss. (21 percent), New Orleans, La. (4 percent), and is expected to be completed by August 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/10)

Contract: VT Halter, $8.4M

VT Halter Marine, Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded an $8,436,603 firm-fixed-price contract for infrastructure improvements to their shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. This contract is for infrastructure improvements at VT Halter Marine's Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in calendar year 2005. The infrastructure improvements are for shipyard paving, utility improvements, crane rail extensions and the procurement of additional crawler and overhead cranes. The contracted improvements at VT Halter Marine facilities are part of a series of contracts with Gulf Coast shipbuilders to be awarded under Section 2203 of Public Law 109-234, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Hurricane Recovery 2006. The purpose is to expedite recovery of shipbuilding capability in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina by repairing and / or replacing shipbuilding facilities, to make lasting improvement in shipyard facilities that would result in measurable cost reductions in current and future Navy shipbuilding contracts, and to improve the ability of shipbuilding facilities on the Gulf Coast to withstand damage from potential hurricanes or other natural disasters. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to be completed by July 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/10)

Pisces on two-week mission

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The NOAA ship Pisces left Pascagoula Friday for a two-week mission to collect samples around the Deepwater Horizon wellhead. A team of 15 federal and academic scientists is on board the 209-foot Pisces to collect water and sediment samples within 25 miles of the site of the oil spill. The ship’s mission to see what’s on the seafloor and the water column. The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. The runaway well spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico until the flow was stopped July 15. (Source: Mississippi Press, 09/25/10)

Oil's impact on whale shark

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill fouled a stretch of feeding habitat for whale sharks, possibly killing some of the world's largest fish, new research suggests. Oil from the April 20 Deepwater Horizon spill, which wasn't capped until mid-July, flowed into an area south of the Mississippi River Delta, where a third of all northern Gulf of Mexico whale shark sightings have occurred in recent years. The spill came at the worst possible time at the worst location for whale sharks, said biologist Eric Hoffmayer, who studies whale sharks at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Some of the whale sharks may have moved away to waters less impacted by the spill. (Source: National Geographic News, 09/24/10)

Bollinger to build more cutters

Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., has a contract with the Coast Guard to build four additional Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters. The new 154-foot cutters bring the total number of vessels Bollinger is building for the Coast Guard under its current contract to eight. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09/21/10)

Runaway well finally dead

The runaway Deepwater Horizon well is finally dead. Cement pumped into the well at the start of the weekend sealed it for good. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen on Sunday said the well no longer poses a threat. It was April 20 when the BP well exploded, killing 11 workers. It spewed 206 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico in the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The flow of oil was stopped July 15 with a temporary cap, but the cementing deep below the floor of the Gulf of Mexico killed it for good. (Source: AP via Mobile Press-Register, 09/19/10)

$40 million test facility in bill

A Senate subcommittee voted this week to fund a $40 million land-based testing facility that would be built in Pascagoula, Miss. The facility would be used by Northrop Grumman to test electronic and other complex components on the ground prior to installing them on Navy vessels. The Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee cut more than $8 billion from President Obama's request for the Defense Department for 2011. The bill next goes to the full Senate Appropriations Committee. (Source: Mississippi Press, 09/18/10)

Life line for Avondale?

Two Louisiana lawmakers say the Navy will announce Friday steps to ensure continued work for 5,000 workers at Northrop Grumman’s Avondale, La., shipyard. Northrop plans to close the yard by 2013 and consolidate in Pascagoula, Miss. But the Navy plans to move up construction of tankers from 2017 to 2014 and will guarantee two amphibious transport ships now under construction in Avondale will be completed there, Sen. Mary Landrieu and Rep. Charlie Melancon said Thursday evening. Northrop Grumman is also exploring selling all its shipyards. (Source: Reuters, 09/16/10)

Predatory lionfish found off Alabama, Pensacola

Lionfish have been seen off Alabama and Pensacola within the last week, posing a threat to native species. Lionfish, native to the south Pacific, apparently arrived in U.S. and Caribbean waters via the aquarium trade. Over the last dozen years, Lionfish have become established in the Bahamas and along the Atlantic Coast. Studies in the Bahamas show lionfish are reported to have eaten up to 60 percent of the native fish on coral reefs. The fish has a mane-like array of venomous spines around its body. The sting is described as painful and can cause nausea. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 09/16/10)

LCS final bids in

Both teams wanting to build Littoral Combat Ships for the Navy have submitted final proposals. Lockheed Martin and Austal USA are competing to have their design selected for at least 51 more LCS ships. Lockheed Martin’s version is being built in Marinetta, Wis., and Austal’s is being built in Mobile, Ala. Along with the design selection, the Navy will award contracts for 10 ships to be ordered between 2010 and 2014. (Source: Defense News, 09/15/10)

Oil found on gulf floor

Scientists say they are finding oil from the broken BP well well below the surface on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. Oil at least two inches thick has been found a mile under the surface. Under that oil was dead shrimp and other small animals, according to a University of Georgia researcher. Researcher Samantha Joye said they found oil as far as 80 miles from the site of the spill. (Source: AP via Sun Herald, 09/13/10)

Grant funds specimen catalogue

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory's Natural History Museum has received a $190,000 rapid response grant from the National Science Foundation to catalogue thousands of invertebrate specimens from the northern Gulf of Mexico. About 15,000 lots of specimens are involved in the project, said museum curator Sara LeCroy. She said the lab has a large collection taken about 15 years ago from the same places where more recent samples were taken. It will allow for a pre-spill and post-spill comparison. (Sources: University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi Press, 09/13/10)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $12M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $12,088,100 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. The required services for DDG 51 class ships and CG 47 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 work sites are in New Jersey, Maine, California, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New York. Work is expected to be completed by January 2011. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/09/10)

Study: Microbes not depleting oxygen

Government scientists are reporting that microbes are consuming the oil in the Gulf of Mexico without depleting the oxygen in the water and creating “dead zones.” Outside scientists said this so far vindicates the decision by BP and the government to use chemical dispersants deep underwater to break up the oil. Oxygen levels in some places where the BP oil spilled are down by 20 percent, but that’s not low enough to create dead zones, according to the 95-page report released Tuesday. (Source: AP via Sun Herald, 09/07/10) NOAA news release

Austal continues to hire

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA employs more than 1,800 people at its Mobile River shipyard and continues to hire more, according to a company spokeswoman. The company started the year with about 1,000 workers, but increased hiring because of a contract to build high-speed transport ships for the U.S. military. It’s also competing for a $5 billion contract to build 10 littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 09/08/10)

Cap removed from ruptured well

BP has successfully removed a temporary cap from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The cap had initially sealed the well July 15. The next step is to remove the damaged blowout preventer and replace it with a new one. Then a relief well will be completed and the ruptured well will be permanently sealed with mud and cement. The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and dumping 206 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The damaged blowout preventer will be taken to NASA's Michoud facility in New Orleans for forensic study by the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which are jointly investigating the disaster. (Sources: USA Today, Reuters, 09/02/10) Meanwhile, NOAA reopened 5,130 square miles of Gulf waters stretching from the far eastern coast of Louisiana, through Mississippi, Alabama, and the western Florida panhandle. The closed area now measures 43,000 square miles, 18 percent of the federal waters in the Gulf. At the height of the spill, 37 percent was closed. In another well-related incident, there was a fire aboard the Mariner Energy production platform in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday. There were no fatalities and apparently no oil leak.

NSF awards two grants

The National Science Foundation is awarding a Mississippi State University assistant professor almost $200,000 in rapid response funding to study the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impact on Louisiana salt marshes. Deepak Mishra's project is assessing overall salt marsh health and productivity by comparing pre- and post-spill satellite images. Mishra says the maps and tools developed during the one-year study will aid coastal managers in Louisiana as they evaluate and prioritize the large-scale marsh restoration efforts. (Source: MSU, 08/31/10) In another NSF rapid response grant, a University of Alabama molecular biologist was awarded $110,000 to study tiny, transparent animals that live in Gulf Coast waters. Matthew Jenny, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UA, will study sea anemones, small animals related to the corals that build ocean reefs. Jenny, working in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will collect anemones from coastal waters of Alabama to Louisiana. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/27/10)

Kemp's Ridley turtles released

GULFPORT, Miss. - Four endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles were released Monday into Mississippi Sound after being healed at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. The turtles were caught by fishermen in May and June. Three were treated for hook wounds after being caught at local piers. The fourth had been in what officials said was critical condition after being revived on a shrimp boat. IMMS President and Executive Director Moby Solangi believes since Mississippi waters didn’t have as much oil as other states, more wildlife sought refuge from the crude here. (Source: Sun Herald, 08/30/10)

Degraded oil tested for dispersant

Degraded oil collected in the Mississippi Sound tested positive for several of the main ingredients in Corexit, the dispersant used to break up oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. That's according to scientists working for a New Orleans-based lawyer. The oil was collected a mile north of Horn Island Aug. 9. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/31/10) Earlier this month, Dauphin Island Sea Lab Director George Crozier and Robert Shipp, chairman of the University of South Alabama's Marine Sciences Department, said at a lecture that using dispersants to combat the spill will cause problems in the northern Gulf of Mexico for years to come, but not because the chemicals used to break up the crude pose any health risk. They said the problem is that by suspending bits of oil in the water column, generations of filter-feeding organisms could be lost in portions of the northern Gulf. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/28/10)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $6M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $6,000,000 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 Office Integrated Warfare Systems. The required services 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 works sites are Moorestown, N.J., Bath, Maine, San Diego, Calif., Norfolk, Va., Port Hueneme, Calif., and Syracuse, N.Y., and is expected to be completed by September 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/27/10)

Funds to improve university connectivity

Mississippi will get a portion of $20 million being awarded by the National Science Foundation to enhance broadband access and bolster connectivity for academic research. NSF awarded 17 universities or state education groups. In one project, money will be used so Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi can expand Gigabit accessibility to researchers in modeling and multiscale simulations of complex systems. The upgrade will bolster the state's capacity to pursue collaborative research in biological systems simulation, computational biology, and computational chemistry. Another project in Louisiana is also of interest to Mississippi. That state will receive money to extend the high-bandwidth optical network of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative to Xavier University in New Orleans. LONI provides cyber infrastructure across Louisiana, and includes Mississippi’s four research universities. LONI is Mississippi’s connection to the National LambdaRail, a coast-to-coast broadband network for advanced research. Each award provides just over $1 million for up to two years. (Source: NSF, 08/25/10)

Contract: Horizon, $8.6M

Horizon Shipbuilding Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., was awarded a $8,619,510 firm-fixed-price contract to acquire a welded steel hulled commercial standard inland river tow boat for the Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Memphis District, for towing services for Memphis, Little Rock, and Vicksburg districts. Work is to be performed at Bayou La Batre with an estimated completion date of Feb. 20, 2012. Eighteen bids were solicited with eight received. US Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/26/10)

Shipyard trimming 300 jobs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding today issued a worker adjustment and retraining notification for 292 employees at the Gulf Coast shipbuilding facility at Pascagoula. The company also expects to reduce another 350 employees in Pascagoula by year's end. The cyclical nature of shipbuilding, where employment levels rise and fall based on contracts, is blamed for the latest round of cuts. (Source: Sun Herald, 08/25/10).

LCS contract delayed

The Navy confirmed this week that it will not award a $5 billion contract for 10 littoral combat ships this summer, but instead delay the decision until closer to the end of the year. Austal USA and Lockheed Martin are competing with two different designs to build the ships. At stake are at least 51 vessels. The service already has bought two ships from each competing team. When complete, the LCS fleet will number about one-sixth of the entire U.S. fleet. Austal USA employs about 1,500 people in its Mobile River shipyard. Austal officials have said the LCS contract would necessitate the hiring of another 2,000 workers. (Sources: Mobile Press-Register, 08/20/10, Defense News, 08/23/10)

NIUST gets $4.87M

The University of Mississippi-led National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology is getting $4.87 million in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The funding will be used for infrastructure costs associated with operating and managing the institute, as well as for individual research projects. NIUST was established in 2002 through a cooperative agreement involving the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi and NOAA's Undersea Research Program. NOAA also released $999,000 for the nonprofit Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss. (Source: WLOX-TV, Mississippi Business Journal, 08/18/10) NIUST has three divisions, including the Undersea Vehicles Technology Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Underwater oil subject of search

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - A three-pronged search of the Mississippi Sound for underwater oil will begin this week and will include Vessels of Opportunity and six Mississippi-owned skimmers, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality officials said Tuesday. Trudy Fisher, MDEQ executive director, said the search for submerged oil would provide a complete picture of whether any oil remains in the water. The search will extend from Mobile Bay to the Louisiana state line. (Source: Mississippi Press, 08/18/10)

New study ups remaining oil estimate

A team of Georgia researchers using government data estimates that as much as 79 percent of the oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon well remains at large in the Gulf of Mexico. The estimate is by researchers with the University of Georgia and Georgia Sea Grant. Two weeks ago the federal government issued a report saying three quarters of the oil had been captured, burned, dispersed, evaporated, degraded or dissolved in the water. The Georgia report, unlike the federal analysis, was not subject to peer review. (Source: New York Times, USA Today, 08/17/10)

Study to focus on salt marshes

The National Science Foundation has awarded a rapid response grant to scientist Eugene Turner of Louisiana State University and colleagues to measure the impacts of oil and dispersants on Gulf Coast salt marshes. The researchers will track short-term and longer-term exposure to oil and dispersants. The coast of Louisiana is lined with extensive salt marshes whose foundation is two species of Spartina grass. The biologists will document changes in these critically-important grasses, as well as in the growth of other salt marsh plants, and in marsh animals and microbes. The grant is one of many Gulf oil spill-related rapid response awards made by NSF. The agency so far has made more than 60 awards totaling nearly $7 million. (Source: NSF, 08/16/10)

Oil recovery panel created

Gov. Haley Barbour has created a panel of scientists, business leaders and local officials to study the impact of the BP oil disaster and come up with a long-term recovery plan. The Mississippi Gulf of Mexico Commission will be a 34-member board of scientists and business leaders, with representatives of local governments serving as ex-officio members. The panel will work with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance and various state agencies to develop a plan to submit to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the former governor of Mississippi. (Source: Sun Herald, 08/16/10)

Tug, barge christened

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - A new articulated tug barge was christened Tuesday at the VT Halter Pascagoula shipyard. VT Halter and Crowley Maritime Corp. partnered to build the tank vessel. Crowley's articulated tug barges consist of a tank vessel, which is the barge, and a large tug positioned in a notch in the stern of the barge. The tug was built at the company's Moss Point yard and the barge at the Pascagoula yard. VT Halter employs about 1,500 at its three Jackson County facilities, which include an Escatawpa yard.(Source: Sun Herald, 08/10/10, Mississippi Press, 08/11/10)

Project harvests 3,000 pounds of shrimp

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - An aquaculture project at the Gulf Coast Research Lab has harvested about 3,000 pounds of shrimp, the largest since the program began in the mid-1980s. The project is designed to show the viability of raising saltwater shrimp at a commercial facility. Eight of a dozen tanks at the Cedar Point lab were drained Tuesday morning, yielding the shrimp. The tanks are 100 feet long, 11 feet wide and 30 inches deep. Jeff Lotz, chairman of the University of Southern Mississippi Department of Coast Sciences and director of the marine aquaculture program at GCRL, said the program aims to harvest about 500 pounds of shrimp per tank every 13 weeks, the minimal production for a commercial facility. (Source: Mississippi Press, 08/11/10)

Sea level rise topic of study

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $750,000 for the first year of a $3 million research project to develop the information and tools needed to plan for sea level rise and other consequences of climate change along more than 300 miles of the northern Gulf of Mexico’s shoreline. The study team, led by Dr. Scott Hagen of the University of Central Florida, will develop sea level rise computer models to predict the impacts storms and rising water levels pose to an area between coastal Mississippi and Northwest Florida. The area being studied has three sites in NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System. (Source: NOAA, 08/05/10)

Cement in well has hardened

BP says the cement sealing the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has hardened and engineers can now begin drilling the final 100 feet of a relief well meant to permanently seal the blowout. The company said it will be next weekend before the two wells meet. The company used pressure tests to confirm the cement from the static kill had hardened. (Source: AP via Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, 08/08/10) The Deepwater Horizon blew up April 20, killing 11 workers. Some 4.9 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico until the well was capped July 15. It's the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.

State waters opened

All state waters in Mississippi will open to commercial and recreational fishing late Friday. The reopening involves all territorial waters including those south of the barrier islands to finfish and shrimp fishing that were closed because due to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. All commercial and recreational crab and oyster fishing remain closed in the affected areas. (Source: Sun Herald, 08/06/10) The Deepwater Horizon spewed millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico between April 20 and July 15. It’s now been sealed with heavy mud and cement.

Scientists: Most of leaked oil gone

Some three-quarters of the oil from the BP spill is has been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down. That's according to a federal report released today based on estimates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior. The figure is based on 4.9 million barrels of oil released from the well between April 20 and July 15, when the ruptured Deepwater Horizon well was capped. Heavy mud was packed into the well between Tuesday and today. (Sources: Multiple, including NOAA, USAToday, Bloomberg, 08/04/10)

Well killed by heavy mud

The BP well that spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico has been killed by heavy drilling mud. BP made the announcement early Wednesday. Technicians will determine, perhaps as soon as today, whether to follow the mud with cement that would seal the well permanently. (Source: McClatchy via Sun Herald, 08/04/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil flowed freely until a cap was put in place July 15.

Signal gets $15M contract

Mobile, Ala.-based Signal International won a $15 million contract for work on Noble Corp.’s Jim Thompson semi-submersible drilling rig, the company announced Monday. Signal will do the work at its east yard in Pascagoula. The company will add more than 150 workers for the job. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/03/10)

New oil spill estimate released

A new analysis by government scientists says the runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico gushed 4.9 million barrels, or 205.8 million gallons of oil, the largest accident spill ever. The well spewed out 62,000 barrels a day initially, then eased to 53,000 barrels a day until it was capped July 15, according to the Flow Rate Technical Group. Of that, some 800,000 barrels were captured. The new numbers were released Monday night. It's considerably higher than the 138 million gallons from the Ixtoc I blowout in 1979. A pumping test and a "static kill" at the site will be delayed until Tuesday after a small hydraulic leak was discovered in the capping stack hydraulic control system. (Sources: Washington Post, Bloomberg, AFP, 08/02/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. BP leased the rig from Transocean.

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $17.2M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $17,224,434 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for fiscal 2010 class services in support of class product fabrication, delivery, engineering and engineering support of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer. Ninety-five percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula and five percent in Gulfport, Miss., and is expected to be completed by December 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/02/10)

Sound opened for fishing

BILOXI, Miss. - The Mississippi Sound reopened today for recreational catch and consumption after a nearly four-week closure due to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources closed the Sound in the first week of July, then reopened it a week ago for catch-and-release purposes. Now, anglers will be allowed to keep their catch. The opening includes all waters in the Mississippi Sound to the barrier islands, not the waters south of the islands. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/30/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil and gas spewed into the Gulf of Mexico until a cap was put in placed and fully closed July 15. Oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico has diminished since through weathering, microbe action and skimming. The long-term impact, however, is still unclear. The well is expected to be permanently capped next week.

Scientists discuss spill impact at forum

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - Scientists from the Gulf Coast Research Lab presented a more hopeful picture about the effects of the oil on the environment. They said lab tests show bacteria eat both the oil and dispersant, and researchers are having a hard time finding the underwater plumes that existed earlier in the oil disaster. The comments were made during a lecture Thursday night. In another matter, Bill Hawkins, director of GCRL, said no one on his staff is on retainer to do research for BP. A report in the Mobile Press-Register earlier this month said BP was trying to hire scientists to do research under condition they not release any of their findings for three years. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/29/10, Mississippi Press, 07/30/10)

Permanent plug before Aug. 1 possible

BP may move up the schedule for its effort to permanently plug the Gulf of Mexico well that caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The static kill would involve pumping mud into the top of the well and perhaps sealing it with cement, and may be done before Aug. 1. The well was capped July 15, and no oil has spewed into the Gulf of Mexico since then. Government scientists decided no leaks will be triggered by a static kill. (Source: Bloomberg, 07/29/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Millions of gallons of oil spewed into the water until it was capped in the middle of the month. Oil that had been on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico has been vanishing through weathering, oil-eating microbes and skimming operations. Scientists believe oil is also still in the water but out of sight.

Oil spill Day 100

It's been nearly two weeks since oil has spewed into the Gulf of Mexico from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to a temporary cap that sealed the geyser July 15. Bob Dudley, the new chief executive of BP, said he doesn't think any more oil will gush into the Gulf of Mexico. A permanent fix will come in mid-August when relief wells reach their target and the pipe is sealed with mud and cement. Significantly less crude is floating on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, some breaking up due to weathering and oil-eating bacteria, some remaining sub-surface. Consequences of the spill may take years to identify, and BP's compensation fund should be flexible enough to account for long-term losses, a panel of experts from Alaska's Exxon Valdez tanker spill told a Senate panel Tuesday. The April 20 explosion the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers and gushed up to 184 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. (Sources: Multiple, 07/28/10)

NG delivers destroyer Gravely

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Pascagoula yard on Tuesday delivered its 27th Aegis guided missile destroyer, Gravely, to the Navy. DDG 107 is 510 feet long and weighs 9,500 tons. It will be commissioned Nov. 20, in Wilmington, N.C. (Source: Mississippi Press, Northrop Grumman, 07/27/10)

Scientists to discuss oil spill impact

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - Scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Lab will discuss the impact of the oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem at the next Issues and Answers lecture series Thursday night. The series, sponsored by the Sun Herald and USM, will be at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center. USM's Bill Hawkins, the panel moderator, said it may take years to know the full effects of the spill on the water and the marine life, but he hopes the lecture will help people understand what is going on. (Source: Sun Herald, USM, 07/24/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. The ruptured well spilled oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico until July 15. A permanent fix is expected early next month. 

Drill rig, others, returning to spill site

Tropical Storm Bonnie has weakened into a tropical depression, so a drilling rig and a dozen other ships working to repair the busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico are returning. Workers on Friday moved away from the projected path, but since then the threat has diminished. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, leader of the federal response, said Saturday it will take 24 to 36 hours to get the drilling ship back at the site, and at least a week before drilling can begin again. The well has been capped for more than a week. Vessels relaying video images and seismic readings from undersea robots monitoring the leaky well are still in place and may be able to stay. (Sources: New York Times, AP via Mobile Press-Register, 07/24/10)

Ship christened by First Lady

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - It took two swings of the bottle, but First Lady Michelle Obama on Friday christened a Coast Guard cutter named for the organization’s first female commissioned officer. Some 3,000 people showed up for the ceremony. The First Lady praised Capt. Dorothy C. Stratton as a pioneer who joined the Coast Guard during World War II and eventually oversaw more than 10,000 enlisted women and 1,000 commissioned officers. The ship, built by Northrop Grumman, will be delivered next summer and patrol waters off northern California. (Source: Multiple, including AP via NPR, Mississippi Press, Sun Herald, 07/23/10) Previous story

Keel laid for JHSV

MOBILE, Ala. - The Army and Navy this week authenticated the keel for the future Army Vessel Spearhead, JHSV 1, at the Austal USA shipyard. The event symbolically recognizes the beginning of ship construction. Spearhead is the first ship to be built as part of the DoD's Joint High Speed Vessel program, managed by the Navy's Program Executive Office Ships. The ship is expected to be delivered to the Army's 7th Sustainment Brigade in 2012. The second ship of the class, the future USNS Vigilant, will be delivered to the Navy the following year. (Source: NNS, 07/23/10) Previous story

Well to remain plugged

Ships over the crippled well in the Gulf of Mexico were ordered to evacuate ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie, but the leaky cap fixed to the well head will remain closed while they are gone. The storm could delay another 12 days the push to plug the well using mud and cement. (Source: AP via Sun Herald, 07/22/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers.

Well deemed OK; new fix eyed

BP is considering a plan that could permanently seal the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. Kent Wells, a senior vice president for BP, said the company was studying a "static kill" in which heavy mud would be pumped into the capped well, forcing the oil and gas back down into the reservoir. A decision to proceed could be made in several days. Meanwhile, scientists Monday determined that methane gas seeping from the seafloor nearly two miles from the well was a natural occurrence and not related to a pressure test to assess the well's condition. (Source: New York Times, 07/19/10)

First Lady to christen ship in Pascagoula

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Pascagoula this week for the Friday christening of the Coast Guard cutter Stratton at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. Stratton, a 418-foot cutter, is the third in an eight-ship program. It's named after the first commissioned female officer in the Coast Guard. Northrop Grumman announced last year that Michelle Obama would be the sponsor of the Legend class ship. (Source: Mississippi Press, 07/19/10)

Leak detected away from well

A leak has been detected a distance from the wellhead that was capped Thursday to stop the flow of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's oil spill response director, ordered BP to prepare to open the cap at the wellhead should the seepage be confirmed. No information was available on the size of the leak, the distance from the wellhead or how it was discovered. (Sources: CNN, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Bloomberg, 07/18/10)

Cap may remain shut

BP executive Doug Suttles said Sunday that a cap used to shut off the oil geyser in the Gulf of Mexico seems to be holding, and may remain shut until a relief well can provide a permanent fix later this month or next month. That differs from the plan the federal government laid out Saturday, which calls for temporarily releasing oil into the Gulf while the cap is connected to tankers at the surface. (Sources: Washington Post, AP via Houston Chronicle, 07/18/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil flowed into the water until a cap was put in place last week.

"A Whale" fails

The massive oil skimmer "A Whale" has proven inefficient in sucking up oil in the Gulf of Mexico spill. The oil is too dispersed to take advantage of the converted Taiwanese supertanker's enormous capacity, said Bob Grantham, a spokesman for shipowner TMT. The 10-story-tall, 1,100-foot-long ship boasted it could process 21 million gallons oily water a day. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 07/16/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil had been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico until it was capped during the week. Officials are still monitoring the cap to ensure it's working.

Oil flow stopped

BP says oil has stopped leaking into the Gulf for the first time since April. BP slowly dialed down the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the busted well holds. The 2:25 p.m. CDT shutoff of the oil is a significant milestone in BP's effort to stop the flow of oil and gas. (Source: AP, 07/15/10) The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Oil has soiled coastlines from Texas to Northwest Florida. A relief well to permanently seal the leak is proceeding.

Colle Towing has new owner

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Colle Towing, founded in 1878 in Pascagoula, has changed ownership and is now Colle Maritime, a division of Signet Maritime Corp., headquartered in Houston. The change was announced at Tuesday's Port of Pascagoula Board meeting. Colle Towing provides ship docking, marine transportation, vessel construction and repair. (Source: Mississippi Press, 07/14/10)

Test of well cap under way

A test is under way on a new, tighter cap over the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. The government gave the go-ahead for the test after a daylong delay prompted by concerns that the cap might make the leak worse. The oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. (Sources: Multiple, 07/14/10)

Well cap test delayed

A test to see if the Gulf of Mexico oil spill can be stopped with a cap placed over the well has been delayed to allow experts more time to review its safety and effectiveness. The test was expected Tuesday but the delay of at least 24 hours will allow for further analysis. Federal officials are concerned that closing the cap valves now letting oil and gas escape through the top might cause leaks elsewhere along the line. (Source: Multiple, including Wall Street Journal, BBC, New York Times, 07/14/10)

Atlantic Marine buy finalized

BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Atlantic Marine Holding Co. after receiving necessary U.S. regulatory approvals. The company announced in May its definitive agreement to acquire Atlantic Marine from JFL-AMH Partners, LLC, a portfolio company of the private-equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co., for a cash consideration of $352 million. The acquired Atlantic Marine operations at Mayport and Jacksonville, Fla., Moss Point, Miss., and Mobile, Ala., employ about 1,000 people and will become known as BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards. This new business provides vessel maintenance, repair, overhaul, and conversion; marine fabrication; and ship construction services. (Source: BusinessWire, 07/13/10)

NOAA ends VT Halter contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - NOAA terminated its latest contract with VT Halter Marine for a 110-foot ocean and coastal mapping vessel, the SWATH Ferdinand R. Hassler. The vessel is 98 percent complete and has undergone sea trials in the Gulf. But a dispute with NOAA over how much weight the vessel could carry has led to an impasse and NOAA executed an option to terminate the contract. Halter CEO Bill Skinner said they are still trying to work through the issue, but there's a possibility someone else will finish the job. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/13/10)

NG closing Avondale, may shed shipbuilding

Northrop Grumman is closing its shipyards in Avondale and Tallulah, La., and consolidating its work in Pascagoula, Miss., while it considers shedding all its shipbuilding operations. According to the company, it's exploring "strategic alternatives" for its shipbuilding unit, which also includes Newport News in Virginia. That includes the possible sale or spin off to shareholders. CEO Wes Bush said the company sees little synergy between shipbuilding and its other business. (Sources: Sun-Herald, Mobile Press-Register, Virginia Pilot, Wall Street Journal, 07/13/10)

NG gets tax break

BILOXI, Miss. - Northrop Grumman received a five-year tax exemption Monday for a $16 million improvement project at the company's Gulfport operation. Harrison County supervisors voted 2-1 to grant the property tax break on equipment purchased for the facility. In a statement, Northrop Grumman officials said they purchased a new bridge crane and mold table used in the fabrication of composite structures. The Gulfport facility employs about 550, including 146 whose jobs were created by the purchases. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/12/10)