First Zumwalt class launched

Zumwalt launched at Bath Iron Works shipyard.
Navy photo courtesy General Dynamics

BATH, Maine -- General Dynamics Bath Iron Works successfully launched the Navy's first Zumwalt-class destroyer Monday at the Bath, Maine shipyard. The future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) will be the lead ship of the Navy's newest destroyer class, designed for littoral operations and land attack. Construction on the ship began in February 2009, and it's now more than 87 percent complete. It will be delivered late next year. (Source: NNS, 10/29/13) Gulf Coast note: The ship's composite deck and hangar were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Gulfport, Miss. Previous

Station Pascagoula work set

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Haskell Co. of Jacksonville, Fla., has been awarded a $4.6 million U.S. Coast Guard design-build contract for infrastructure work needed to support Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) at Coast Guard Station Pascagoula. The work will ensure that Station Pascagoula is ready to support the arrival of the soon-to-be-commissioned FRCs for the end of 2014. Work will include renovations to three support buildings, shore-tie services, pier utilities, fenders and cleats, along with the resurfacing of an existing parking lot. Haskell recently completed similar work at USCG Station Key West in support of FRC arrivals there. (Source: Seapower Magazine, 10/28/13)

NSC to be christened

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – The U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter Hamilton (WMSL 753), will be christened at Ingalls Shipbuilding Saturday. Hamilton is the fourth of eight planned ships in the Legend-class of technologically advanced multi-mission cutters. The ship is about 65 percent complete and will be finished in about a year and delivered to the Coast Guard in the fall of 2014. It's named after Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and founder of the U.S. Revenue Marine, precursor of the Coast Guard. The ship is 418 feet long, will have a crew of 120 and be homeported in Charleston, S.C. Ingalls is building two more cutters for the Coast Guard and has received a contract for another. (Sources: Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 10/25/13)

LCS 1 has flooding incident

Littoral Combat Ship USS Freedom (LCS 1), first in class of two LCS variants, suffered about three feet of flooding in its bilge from discharge piping from the No. 1 gas turbine motor lube oil cooler on Oct. 20. The Wisconsin-built steel monohull ship is currently pierside in Singapore. The flooding is likely to only cause minimal operational impact. LCS 1 is expected to return to its San Diego homeport by late December. (Source: Defense News, 10/21/13) Gulf Coast note: The Independence-class LCS variants are built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Construction of tug underway

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Construction of Signet Maritime's seventh ASD tug in less than four years, M/V Signet VIGILANT, is underway at Signet Shipbuilding and Repair in Pascagoula. The 30 metric ton vessel will be the first Castleman Maritime design for Signet with delivery slated for July 2014. The $10 million tug will operate from Signet's International Operations Center in Ingleside, Texas where it will perform rig escort, ship, and barge assist work. (Source: Mississippi Press, 10/21/13)

Ingalls celebrates 75 years

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding held a Family Day on Saturday to commemorate 75 years of building ships on the banks of the Pascagoula River. Mississippi's largest private employer builds Aegis-guided missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships and amphibious transport ships for the U.S. Navy and National Security Cutters for the U.S. Coast Guard. It has more than 11,000 people working in South Mississippi. In addition to a weekly payroll of about $15 million, the company from 2010 to 2012 paid $57 million in taxes. In addition to the direct impact, there’s the indirect. Each manufacturing job at Ingalls creates three to five additional jobs in small business and retail. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/19/13)

Contract: Lockheed, $21.3M

Lockheed Martin, Mission Systems and Training, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $21,350,270 modification to previously awarded contract for DDG 51 Combat System Ship Integration Technical Data Packages and Design Budget Engineering Team Packages associated with incorporating the AEGIS Weapon System and associated combat system elements into DDG 51 class ships. Twenty-six percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss., with 41 percent done in Moorestown, N.J., 26 percent in Bath, Maine, 5 percent in Washington, D.C., 1 percent in Port Hueneme, Calif., and Syracuse, N.Y. Work is expected to be completed by September 2014. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/18/13)

Somerset delivered to Navy

AVONDALE, La. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding has delivered the amphibious transport dock Somerset (LPD 25) to the U.S. Navy. The DD 250 document officially signifying custody transfer of the ship was signed by officials on the ship at the company's Avondale facility. Somerset is the ninth ship in the San Antonio (LPD 17) class of ships Ingalls has delivered to the Navy. The ship successfully completed builder's trials in August and U.S. Navy acceptance trials in September. Ingalls has two more under construction at its Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard. John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is slated for completion in 2016, and Portland (LPD 27) will complete in 2017. (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 10/18/13) Previous

Zumwalt christening postponed

WASHINGTON -- The Navy said today that the christening of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), originally scheduled for Oct. 19, has been postponed indefinately. "It is incredibly unfortunate that we are being forced to cancel the christening ceremony for this great warship," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, "but the ongoing government shutdown prevents us from being able to honor Admiral Zumwalt's memory with a ceremony befitting his and his family's legacy of service to our nation and our Navy." The ship is the first of a new class of next generation destroyers designed for sustained operations in the littorals. (Source: NNS, 10/11/13) The ship was built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Large composite structures on the ship, including the deckhouse, were fabricated in Gulfport, Miss., by Ingalls Shipbuilding.

Ship completes acceptance trials

AVONDALE, La. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries announced today that the amphibious transport dock Somerset (LPD 25) returned from successful U.S. Navy acceptance sea trials on Sept. 20. The company's ninth ship in the San Antonio (LPD 17) class returned to the company's Avondale facility following three days of at-sea demonstrations and testing. The 684-foot-long vessel's primary mission is to transport up to 800 Marines, their fighting vehicles and aircraft. Two other LPDs are also under construction at the Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard. John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is slated for completion in 2016, and Portland (LPD 27) will complete in 2017. (Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries, 10/10/13) Previous

Ingalls starts 6th NSC

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division has started fabrication on the U.S. Coast Guard's sixth National Security Cutter, Munro (WMSL 755). Ingalls is currently building three NSCs and has delivered three that are serving as the flagships of the Coast Guard's cutter fleet. NSCs are 418 feet long with a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110. (Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries, 10/08/13)

Signal hiring on the rise

MOBILE, Ala. -- Mobile-based Signal International said that new contract awards over the past month have prompted the company to hire 500 workers at its Pascagoula, Miss., yard this year. Over the past month, Signal has been awarded multiple contracts to refurbish and upgrade four offshore drilling rigs. All work is slated to be performed at the Pascagoula yard, and the rigs are already arriving. Signal plans to increase its Mississippi workforce over the next two months by 500 employees, said President and CEO Dick Marler. (Source: Mississippi Press, 10/04/13)

Mobile shipyard chosen for build

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems' Mobile shipyard was chosen to build a subsea support vessel for Oceaneering International Inc., a gas and oil field engineering company. The Houston-based company will use the ship for its offshore drilling operations. Marin Teknikk, a Norway-based company, designed the vessel. The MT6022 design will have a 250-ton crane powered by energy efficient power and propulsion system. BAE Systems shipyards in Mobile and Jacksonville, Fla., employ about 1,300. (Source: al.com, 10/03/13)

Signet gets new crane

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Signet Shipbuilding and Repair in Pascagoula has purchased a new heavy lift crane for new construction and repair. The 150-ton crawler crane will be used for hauling small vessels and barges from the water, and loading/offloading marine equipment while vessels are dockside. The crane also will enable the shipyard to fabricate several large modules simultaneously, making assembly of the units more efficient and cost-effective. The company is a division of Signet Maritime Corp. (Source: Mississippi Press, 09/30/13)

Contract: Lockheed, $23.2M

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $23,171,609 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-13-D-5250) for Undersea Warfare (USW) Product Support across USW Systems. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $49,791,479. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (97.4 percent) and the government of Japan (2.6 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (56 percent); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (22 percent); San Diego, Calif. (8 percent); Mayport, Fla. (8 percent); Bath, Maine (3 percent); and Pascagoula, Miss. (3 percent); and is expected to be completed by November 2013. Fiscal 2013 other procurement, Navy; Fiscal 2010, 2011 and 2013 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy; Fiscal 2013 operations and maintenance, Navy and Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $7,315,173 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/30/13)