LCS 4 delivered to Navy

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Coronado (LCS 4) during a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard Friday. Coronado is the fourth littoral combat ship to deliver to the Navy, and the second of the Independence variant, noted for its trimaran hull. Capt. Randy Garner, Commodore LCS Squadron One (LCSRON), was on hand to mark the occasion. The ship will be commissioned in April 2014 and homeported in San Diego, Calif., with sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3). (Source: NNS, 09/27/13)

Contract: Horizon, $11.2M

Horizon Shipbuilding, Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., was awarded an $11,154,508 non- multi-year, firm-fixed-price contract with options for the Shorty Baird Replacement which is one inland river, all welded steel towboat for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District. The performance location is Bayou La Batre, Ala. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912BU-13-C-0062). (Source: DoD, 09/27/13)

Union ratifies Avondale contract

AVONDALE, La. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries said members of the New Orleans Metal Trades Council and the Metal Trades Department approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the company's Avondale subsidiary. The new contract runs from Jan. 6, 2014, to Jan. 6, 2019. Ingalls said in 2010 that it is closing the Avondale yard, but efforts are under way to find another use for the facility. Ingalls also has a shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and a composites facility in Gulfport, Miss. The Gulfport operation also is scheduled to close. (Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries, 09/26/13)

Northrop gets NSC work

Northrop Grumman won a $6.9 million subcontract from Huntington Ingalls Industries to supply the ship integrated control system (SICS) for the Coast Guard's sixth National Security Cutter (NSC). Northrop Grumman will provide engineering services, installation, integration, testing and commissioning of the SICS systems at the Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Miss. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Va., and Ocean Springs, Miss., and in Pascagoula. Work will begin in late 2014. Northrop Grumman has supplied SICS for five of eight planned NSCs. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 09/24/13)

DDG 1001 hangar delivered

The Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Huntington Ingalls Industries has delivered the composite hangar that will be used on the U.S. Navy's second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer, Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001). The 220-ton structure will be transferred to a shipping barge and sent to Maine in early October. Ingalls is building the hangar, peripheral vertical launch system and composite deckhouse for the ship. The PVLS was delivered in July, and all that remains is the deckhouse delivery expected in first quarter of 2014. (Source: Ingalls via Globe Newswire, 09/25/13) Previous

Trinity delivers superyacht

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Trinity Yachts has finished a superyacht big enough for a king-size berth complete with his and her baths yet with a shallow draft. The owner named it the "Finish Line" and chose Trinity because he wanted the design and performance of the yacht to serve as inspiration to other American yachtsmen to build in the United States. The yacht will be on display at the Trinity Yachts stand during the 2013 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Oct. 31 through Nov. 4. The yacht has a speed of 23 knots and a range of more than 3,600 nautical miles. (Source: Sun Herald, 09/24/13)

Northrop to build more LCS modules

BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- Northrop Grumman has received a $25.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy for additional Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules. The company will deliver three mission module packages - two for surface warfare missions and one for mine countermeasures. The LCS has three primary missions: mine warfare, antisubmarine warfare and surface warfare. Each mission package involves the integration of manned and unmanned systems operating across the air, surface and subsurface domains. To date, Northrop Grumman has delivered two surface warfare mission modules and one mine countermeasures mission module for LCS. The second and third Northrop Grumman-produced mine countermeasures mission module and the third surface warfare mission modules are currently in production. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 09/16/13) Gulf Coast note: The LCS Independence-class ships are built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal USA.

Work begins on new destroyer

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Work has begun on the Navy's next Aegis guided missile destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). It's the 30th Arleigh Burke Class destroyer built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. The start-of-fabrication milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut for DDG 114. Ingalls uses state-of-the-art robotic cutting machines to ensure the steel is cut and fabricated to exact Navy specifications. Ralph Johnson is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2017. (Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries, 09/13/13)

Ingalls, insurer reach settlement

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries has agreed to release an insurance claim in exchange for a cash payment of $180 million. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, the company said it previously disclosed it has been pursuing legal action against an insurer, FM Global. The filing said the claims were related to losses as a result of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the company's shipyards in Pascagoula and Avondale, La., in 2005. On Sept. 6, Huntington Ingalls entered into a confidential settlement agreement, according to the filing. (Source: Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 09/10/13)

Ingalls composite center closing

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Wednesday the closure of its Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport, Miss. HII President and CEO Mike Petters said it was a difficult but necessary decision due to the Navy's decision to use steel rather than composite structures for the reduced number of Zumwalt-class ships. Earlier versions of the class of ships used composite deckhouses and other large composite structures. The facility will close by May 2014, after current work is finished. The facility has 427 workers, of which some will be transferred to other Huntington Ingalls operations. The company has a shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The company’s shipyard in Avondale, La., is also on the chopping block. (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 09/04/13) Previous

Ship design lab getting upgrade

NEW ORLEANS -- The University of New Orleans received $58,000 in donations from the shipbuilding and maritime industry to upgrade its ship-design computer laboratory. Hornbeck Offshore Services of Covington gave $50,000; Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla., gave $5,000; Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, $2,500; and Elliott Bay Design Group of Seattle and New Orleans, $500. The ship-design lab, part of UNO's School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, helps prepare students for careers in the maritime industry. The school was established in 1980. (Source: Times Picayune, 09/02/13)

LCS buys may be smaller

The Office of Secretary of Defense reportedly wants to limit the number of Littoral Combat Ship purchases to 24, way below the Navy's goal of 52 ships. That's what sources told the Defense News. That would end procurement with the fiscal 2015 budget. The Navy is countering with a no-lower-than 32 ship purchase number. (Source: Defense News, 09/02/13) Gulf Coast note: Purchases are divided between Independence class ships built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., and Freedom class ships built in Wisconsin.