Contract: Ingalls, $1.5B

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $1,514,080,000 fixed-price-incentive modification to previously awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of Landing Platform Dock ship (LPD 27), it will incorporate the previously purchased long lead time material efforts and the necessary labor and remaining material to efficiently construct the ship. Work will be done in Pascagoula (82 percent), Crozet, Va. (4 percent), Beloit, Wis. (2 percent), and New Orleans, La. (1 percent), with other efforts performed at various sites throughout the United States (11 percent). Work is expected to be completed by June 2017. This contract was awarded on a sole-source basis and was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/27/12)

NOAA ship continues to serve

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- A research vessel that was expected to have a service lifespan of 20 to 25 years when it was launched in 1967 is going on its 300th research cruise and has now chalked up 45 years of service. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Oregon II, built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, will be doing its annual assessment of red snapper and shark populations in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. (Source: Mississippi Press, 07/26/12)

TY Offshore looking to hire

GULFPORT, Miss. -- The first of 10 barges was christened and launched Tuesday at TY Offshore in Gulfport, and company officials said they need more workers to keep pace. John Dane III, TY Offshore president, said the company wants to hire at least 50 welders and shipfitters. The next barge for Florida Marine Transporters is under construction and will be ready in six weeks, then barges will be built on a four-week schedule. Florida Marine has an option to buy 18 more barges, which are 297 feet long and 54 feet wide and carry 30,000 barrels of crude oil. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/24/12)

Somerset to be commissioned

NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Navy will christen the newest amphibious transport dock ship, Somerset, July 28 during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Avondale, La. The ship is named in honor of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93. Their actions prevented terrorist hijackers from reaching their destination. The plane crashed near Shanksville in Somerset County, Pa., Sept. 11, 2001. Somerset is the final of three ships named to honor heroes of the September 11 attacks, joining the USS New York and USS Arlington. Designated LPD 25, Somerset is the ninth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. (Source: DoD, 07/25/12)

PC Warfare Center gets awards

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Two teams of engineers from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division were among 19 commands and installations to receive the 2012 Department of the Navy Safety Excellence Award July 11 at the U.S. Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center in Washington D.C. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, a field activity for the Naval Sea Systems Command, was recognized for two distinct award categories: Safety Integration in Acquisition; and for the Emerging Center of Excellence. (Source: NNS, 07/24/12)

ONR issues call to innovators

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Office of Naval Research opened online registration for its biennial Naval Science and Technology Partnership Conference Oct. 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington. Some 1,500 members of ONR's science and technology provider network, as well as Navy and Marine Corps customers, are expected. The conference is to raise awareness of the naval S&T strategy and program initiatives and to broaden ONR's partnership base to explore new ideas. ONR will reintroduce "Pitch a Principal," which allows members of industry and academia to request one-on-one meetings with ONR decision makers to pitch proposals. Those interested in participating can submit a request through the conference website. To register for the event, click here. (Source: NNS, 07/24/12) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast is a major shipbuilding region; the Office of Naval Research's Naval Research Laboratory has an operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

LCS can't quickly swap missions

The Navy concluded that its littoral combat ships would take weeks to change missions, not days as originally hoped. The ships were seen as substitutes for frigates, minesweepers and patrol boats, but a study shows that although they can serve as anti-piracy vessels and other deterrents, they aren't able to fulfill most of the Navy's fleet missions. (Source: Defense News, 07/14/12) Gulf Coast note: One version of the LCS is built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Contract inked for underwater device

NORTH FALMOUTH, Mass. -- Teledyne Benthos recently signed a five-year contract with the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office for deep-sea equipment to collect underwater data. The value is $6 million. The company had a similar contract with the Navy that expired last year. The products covered by the contract include technology that allows devices anchored to the ocean floor to be released remotely via acoustics for retrieval. The devices, often used to monitor data such as ocean currents, can often be deep under water for a year at a time. This remote system eliminates the need to use a vessel or submersible to retrieve the device. (Source: Cape Cod Times, 06/14/12)

Contract: Textron, $212.7M

Textron Inc., New Orleans, La., is being awarded a $212,722,820 fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of a ship to shore connector test and training craft and technical manuals. The program, the replacement for the existing fleet of landing craft, air cushion vehicles, which are nearing the end of their service life, is an air-cushioned vehicle designed for a 30-year service life. The ship to shore connector mission is to land surface assault elements in support of operational maneuver from the sea, at over-the-horizon distances, while operating from amphibious ships and mobile landing platforms. This contract includes options that would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $570,451,044. Work will be done in New Orleans, La. (59 percent); Camden, N.J. (26 percent); Great Britain (6 percent); St Louis, Mo. (3 percent); Indianapolis, Ind. (3 percent); and Eatontown, N.J., (3 percent). Work is expected to be completed by February 2017. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/06/12)

Shrimp harvest may beat average

BILOXI, Miss. -- NOAA scientists predict an above-average season for the commercial harvest of brown shrimp in the western Gulf. The marine scientists make an annual prediction of brown shrimp catches based on monitoring juvenile populations, growth estimates and environmental indicators. They estimate the harvest in the western Gulf will be 59.2 million pounds, above the historical 50-year average of 56.5 million pounds, NOAA's officials said Thursday. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/05/12)

BAE gets dump scow contract

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems has picked up a contract from Illinois-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., to build two dump scows, a project expected to add about 125 workers to the company's Mobile shipyard. The 295-foot-long dump scows will be built concurrently, with completion slated for 2013. The contract also includes the option for the shipyard to build two additional dump scows, vessels used to transport and dump sediments acquired while dredging waterways. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/28/12)