Contract: Ingalls, $2.4B

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $2,381,448,356 modification to previously awarded fixed-price incentive contract for detail design and construction of the Navy's next large-deck amphibious assault ship LHA 7, including crew familiarization, technical manuals, and engineering and post-delivery industrial services. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (92.5 percent); Charlottesville, Va. (2.4 percent); Beloit, Wis. (1.5 percent); Ocean Springs, Miss. (1.4 percent); Santa Fe Springs, Calif. (1.2 percent); and Brunswick, Ga. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2018. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/31/12)

Brown to lead command

Capt. Brian B. Brown, who has been selected for the rank of rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss. Brown is currently serving as executive assistant to the director, Oceanography, Space, and Maritime Domain Awareness, N2/N6E, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. (Source: DoD, 05/29/12) Before he was assigned to Washington D.C., post in 2011, Brown headed the Naval Oceanographic Office at SSC.

Study finds sea life increase

MOBILE, Ala. -- Nearly four times as many fish, shrimp and crabs were found in Alabama waters in the fall of 2011 as there were before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. That's according to data collected by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Scientists believe the months-long fishing closure caused by the spill helps explain the dramatic increase. John Valentine, director of Sea Lab, said the data indicates the waters in Alabama, nearshore at least, are in relatively good shape. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/26/12)

USS Mississippi arrives

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The USS Mississippi arrived in Pascagoula Friday to cheering crowds. The 377-foot attack submarine will be commissioned June 2, an event expected to draw thousands. The Virginia-class sub was built by General Dynamics' Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., and will be assigned to Submarine Group Two. (Sources: multiple, including AP via Times-Picayune, Mississippi Press, WKRG-TV, 05/25/12)

LPD 23 completes builder's trial

Anchorage during trial. Ingalls photo

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Amphibious transport dock Anchorage successfully completed its builder's trials last week, Ingalls Shipbuilding said Monday. LPD 23, under construction at the company's Avondale, La., shipyard, is the seventh in the LPD 17-class to be built by Ingalls. The 684-foot-long vessel's primary mission is to transport up to 800 Marines, their fighting vehicles and aircraft. Builder's trials are meant to measure performance and identify any possible construction discrepancies. (Source: Mississippi Press, Globe Newswire, 05/21/12)

Boat yard shutting down

MOBILE, Ala. -- Harrison Brothers Dry Dock and Repair Yard is closing after 117 years. The inventory is being sold in one chunk, and owner Bill Harrison III wants to clear and lease the land. The yard has operated on the east bank of the Mobile River since 1895, but a combination of factors, including a slack economy, led to the decision to close. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/17/12)

San Diego to be commissioned

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Navy on Saturday will commission the newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, San Diego. The ship is named for the principal homeport of the Pacific fleet. Adm. Mark Ferguson, vice chief of naval operations, will deliver the principal address. Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., the ship is 684 feet long and capable of embarking a landing force of about 800 Marines. Four turbo-charged diesel engines power the ship to sustained speeds in excess of 22 knots. (Source: DoD, 05/17/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $133.8M

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $133,751,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee not-to-exceed modification to previously awarded contract for advance procurement of long-lead-time materials and pre-construction activities in support of Landing Platform Dock 27. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to complete by June 2017. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/15/12)

Austal confident

Australia-based Austal is confident its contract with the U.S. Navy will not be affected by a move to investigate purchase of the ships. A committee wants the Government Accountability Office to look into how the U.S. Navy has dealt with problems associated with its 55-vessel Littoral Combat Ship program, including rust issues. Austal USA is building the Independence class version of the LCS in Mobile, Ala. Company CEO Andrew Bellamy told PerthNow he has never felt more confident about the LCS program. (Source: PerthNow, 05/10/12)

Contract: Enterprise Ventures, $12.5M

Enterprise Ventures Corp., Johnstown, Pa., is being awarded a $12,529,511 firm-fixed-price contract for the production of 12 carriage, stream, tow, and recovery system kits in support of the Naval Air Systems Command, MH-60S Airborne Mine Countermeasures Program. The objectives of the program are to design, fabricate, test, and integrate a system for the carriage, stream, tow and recovery of all five airborne mine countermeasures sensors to support the mission of the MH-60S helicopter. The contract includes an option that would bring the cumulative value to $31,969,022. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pa., and is expected to complete by November 2014. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/11/12)

New cutter springs leaks

The Associated Press is reporting that a Coast Guard cutter built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., will have to be put in dry dock for repairs. Temporary repairs were made to the four leaks found in April on the USCG Stratton. The 418-foot long ship, the third ship of its class, is homeported in California and was delivered to the Coast Guard in September 2011. No similar problems have been found in the other two ships of the class. (Source: Associated Press via the Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 05/08/12) The $551 million Stratton (WMSL 752) can reach a top speed of 28 knots and carries a crew of 110. The first two ships of the Legend class are the Bertholf (WMSL 750) and Waesche (WMSL 751).

Hangar shipped to Maine

GULFPORT, Miss. -- A composite helicopter hangar built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Gulfport is heading for Bath Iron Works in Maine. The 60 foot wide structure took nearly two years to construct for the Zumwalt class destroyer. Another, even larger composite structure, the deckhouse, is still being built and is expected to be shipped to Maine this summer. (Source: WLOX-TV 05/07/12, Sun Herald 05/08/12)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $7.7M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $7,708,000 modification to previously awarded contract for DDG 51-class and CG 47-class Aegis combat system installation, integration, testing, and fleet life-cycle engineering support of the Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems. The required engineering for DDG 51-class and CG 47-class ships includes 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. Work will be done in Moorestown, N.J. (55 percent); Norfolk, Va. (18 percent); Baltimore, Md. (15 percent); San Diego, Calif. (5 percent); Bath, Maine (2 percent); Washington, D.C. (2 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (1 percent); Port Hueneme, Calif. (1 percent); and Syracuse, N.Y. (1 percent). Work is expected to completed by September 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/07/12)

LHA 7 to be named Tripoli

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Friday the selection of USS Tripoli as the name for the Navy's next large-deck amphibious assault ship, LHA 7. It will be the third ship to be named Tripoli, a name that commemorates the capture of Derna in 1805 by a small force of U.S. Marines and about 370 soldiers from 11 other nations during the First Barbary War. LHA 7 has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck and more that will support helicopters, tilt rotors and Joint Strike Fighters F-35B aircraft. (Source: DoD, 05/04/12) Gulf Coast note: LHA 7 is being built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

JHSV keel-laying held

MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA hosted its own version of the traditional keel-laying ceremony Thursday for the third Joint High Speed Vessel. About 100 people gathered for the ceremony. JHSVs are designed to transport troops, equipment and supplies quickly throughout theaters. They are equipped with helicopter landing pads and can quickly maneuver and operate in shallow waters. The full program consists of 10 vessels and is potentially worth over $1.6 billion. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/03/12)

Sub delivered ahead of schedule

GROTON, Conn. -- General Dynamics Electric Boat today delivered the nuclear-powered attack submarine Mississippi, SSN-782, to the U.S. Navy 363 days ahead of contract schedule and more than $60 million below target cost. John Holmander, vice president and Virginia program manager for General Dynamics Electric Boat, noted that the ship is at the most combat-ready state of any Virginia-class submarine at delivery. Mississippi, the ninth ship of the class, will join the fleet in a commissioning ceremony June 2 in Pascagoula, Miss. (Source: General Dynamics, 05/02/12)

USS Independence arrives in S.D.

USS Independence in San Diego. Navy photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The littoral combat ship USS Independence, LCS 2, arrived at Naval Base San Diego today, completing the ship's maiden voyage to its homeport. Independence, commissioned in 2010, is the first Independence-class ship to transit the Panama Canal, conduct a foreign port visit and arrive in San Diego. After two years of training off the coast of Florida, the ship's transit from Mayport to San Diego marks the successful completion of testing the ability of the ship's Mine Countermeasures mission package to detect, localize, and destroy mines in a tactical environment. (Source: NNS, 05/02/12) Gulf Coast note: The ship was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Contract: Ingalls, $11.5M

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $11,497,083 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for fiscal 2012 class services in support of class product fabrication, delivery, engineering, engineering support and integrated logistics support of the Zumwalt Class (DDG 1000) destroyer. Work will be performed in Pascagoula (95 percent) and Gulfport, Miss. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/30/12)