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)