Navy seeks alternative deckhouse

The U.S. Navy is looking for an alternative deckhouse for DDG-1002, the final proposed Zumwalt-class destroyer. The current Zumwalt deckhouse is uniquely designed and constructed of composite materials at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Gulfport, Miss.. At 900 tons, the deckhouse packs the ship's bridge, radars, antennas and intake/exhaust systems into a structure designed to provide a significantly smaller radar cross-section than any other ship in the fleet. But in a Jan. 3 solicitation the Navy said it has a potential requirement for a steel deckhouse. The solicitation comes as the Navy and Ingalls have begun negotiations on building the ship’s deckhouse. (Source: Aviation Week, 01/25/13)

Ingalls awards STEM grants

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Schools along the Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana coast will get nearly $110,000 in Ingalls Shipbuilding grants for science, technology, engineering and mathematics lessons in their classrooms. Ingalls awarded 26 grants at a Pascagoula shipyard ceremony this morning. In five years the company has awarded nearly $430,000 in grants to area schools. It hopes to see a return on the investment in the future in the form of qualified, dependable employees. The grants will fund items such as robotics kits and competitions, science labs and equipment. (Source: Mississippi Press, 01/25/13)

LPD 17 hull as BMD platform?

Huntington Ingalls, builder of the Navy's San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, is floating the idea of continuing production of the LPD 17 hull in Pascagoula, Miss., as a platform for ballistic missile defense and other missions. Ingalls officials said at the Surface Navy Association's National Symposium Jan. 16 that they are sharing the idea of Flight II variants with Navy officials. The company is investing internal R&D money to design the variant, and is just beginning to pitch the concept to the military, said Irwin Edenzon, president of the Ingalls Shipbuilding. "We're getting some encouragement that it might be a good idea. Nobody is running out, writing us a contract or sending us money, but we are talking to people who say, 'You know this thing sounds like it might make sense to look into,'" he said. If it comes to fruition, it would keep the LPD 17 production line running following deliveries of the 11th and final San Antonio-class ship in 2017. (Sources: IHS Janes, National Defense Magazine, 01/18/13)

Ship crew rescued

The Coast Guard helped saved 12 sailors after their 170-foot research ship capsized about 141 miles south of Pensacola. The Seaprobe reported the ship was flooding and 12 crewmembers had to abandon ship on life rafts. An aircrew from the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., was first to arrive and stayed until helicopter rescue crews arrived. A helicopter crew from ATC Mobile airlifted five of the stranded sailors, and a second helicopter crew from the Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater, Fla., hoisted the remaining seven sailors to safety. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/18/13)

Center for Gulf Studies formed

The need for a comprehensive understanding of the waters and resources of the Gulf of Mexico has prompted the University of Southern Mississippi to take the lead in formation of the new Center for Gulf Studies (CGS). The center is a partnership between Southern Miss, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and Jackson State University. Administered through the Southern Miss Department of Marine Science at Stennis Space Center, CGS seeks to serve Mississippi and the region with a scientifically-based understanding of ecosystem status and trends with special emphasis on improved forecasting abilities to ensure sustainable coastal and ocean ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Monty Graham, chair of the Department of Marine Science at Southern Miss, is the acting director of the center. (Source: University of Southern Mississippi, 01/16/13)

Contract: Austal, $7M

Austal Hull 130 Chartering, LLC, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $6,968,500 modification under a previously awarded firm, fixed-price contract to exercise a six-month option period for the worldwide charter of one U.S.-flagged passenger/cargo ferry. The vessel will support the Marine Corps, Third Marine Expeditionary Force, and will operate out of Okinawa, Japan. Work will be performed at sea worldwide, and is expected to be completed by August 2013. Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 01/14/13)

USM eyes marine algae as fuel

Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi Department of Marine Science are studying turning marine micro-algae into fuel as part of a global push aimed at finding reliable alternative fuel sources. Under the direction of Dr. Donald Redalje, the school’s Marine Sciencce lab at Stennis Space Center, Miss., is studying algae grown from Mississippi coastal waters. While biofuel blends have already found their way to naval war ships and test flights on commercial airliners, Redalje and his team are looking for ways to streamline the process. "All the oil we are pumping out of the ground, what was it? Most people think dinosaurs. No. It was all marine micro algae," said Redalje, who's trying to recreate the process that until now has taken millions of years. "We know this works, the trick is how do we produce enough of it, cheaply enough to be a marketable product?" (Source: PR Web, 01/09/13)

Avondale alternatives discussed

The Avondale shipyard near New Orleans is being considered by Hunting Ingalls Industries as a commercial construction and engineering projects site instead of for closing at the end of the year. That's according to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipbuilding CEO Mike Petters, who said Thursday that HII is in discussions with companies to covert the shipyard facilities to work on energy and infrastructure projects across the Southeast. (Source: Reuters, 01/10/13)

Ingalls looking into overcharges

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbilding is looking into time-charging irregularities by employees, and is using an outside third party to help. The irregularities were discovered by company personnel. Ingalls has not said if the employees are still working at the company. Ingalls builds ships for the Navy and Coast Guard. (Source: WKRG-TV, 01/11/13)

Signet delivers barge

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Signet Maritime Corp. has delivered Signet 141, a 140-foot deck barge that will be available for charter throughout ports in the Gulf of Mexico and assist customers in the growing Port of Pascagoula, officials said today. The Pascagoula facility began construction of the new vessel, which was designed by Farrell and Norton Naval Architects of Newcastle, Maine, in May. Signet 141 was christened Dec. 20. (Source: Mississippi Press, 01/02/13)