Contract: Lockheed, $10M

Lockheed Martin MST-Undersea Systems, Mission & Unmanned Systems, Riviera Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $9,999,830 contract to lease the S301i, a commercially-classed dry submersible vessel with lock-in/lock-out capability and to support risk mitigation research, development, test, and evaluation for long-term Dry Combat Submersibles program objectives in support of United States Special Operations Command, Program Executive Office - Maritime. Work will be performed primarily at government facilities in Panama City, Fla., with an 18 month expected completion date. Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,813,830 are being obligated at time of award. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Fla., is the contracting activity (H92222-14-C-0003). (Source: DoD, 11/29/11)

VT Halter wins contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- VT Halter Marine has secured a $350 million contract with Crowley Maritime Corp. to build two container roll-on/roll-off ships. The vessels, designed by Wartsila Ship Design, will be built in Pascagoula with construction beginning the first half of 2014 and deliveries in mid- and late-2017. VT Halter Marine recently placed a floating drydock into service providing repair for oil field support vessels, barges, coastal ships and more. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/25/13)

Contract: Silver Ships, $11.7M

Silver Ships Inc., Theodore, Ala., and Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC, doing business as Metal Shark Aluminum Boats LLC, Jeanerette, La., are each being awarded separate firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contracts for the construction of high speed maneuverable surface targets (HSMSTs). The U.S. Navy maintains an inventory of HSMSTs to be utilized mainly for weapon system test and evaluation and fleet training exercises at nine seaborne target operating ranges. This effort also includes trailers, shipping cradles and spares for a total estimated ceiling value of $48,000,000 for both awards. Silver Ships is being awarded $11,683,129 and Gravois is being awarded $13,782,379. Work will be performed in Theodore, Ala., and Jeanerette, La., and work is expected to be completed by November 2018. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/21/13)

Port gets new director

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Amy Miller, the Port of Pensacola's chief financial and human resources officer, has been named director by Mayor Ashton Hayward. She's the first female director since the port's inception in the mid-1700s, and the only woman currently serving as port director in Florida. Miller takes over from Clyde Mathis, who joined the port as director in 2006 and resigned. Miller worked at ports in South Louisiana and Gulfport, Miss., and joined the Pensacola port in 2002 as manager of business and trade development. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, WEAR-TV, 11/20/13)

Navy AUV sets record

The Naval Research Laboratory's Acoustics Division, with Bluefin Robotics, set a record 315-mile long-endurance autonomous research mission using Reliant, its heavyweight-class mine countermeasures underwater vehicle (AUV). Reliant, when equipped with a low frequency broadband sonar system, is the prototype for the new U.S. Navy Knifefish mine-hunter. The 20 foot long, 1,350 pound AUV left Boston Harbor and traveled south past Cape Cod, then west through Nantucket Sound between Martha’s Vineyard and the mainland, then south of Long Island to the approaches to New York City. It traveled at a depth of 10 meters and an average speed of 2.5 knots. The vehicle surfaced at 20-kilometer intervals to report position via Iridium satellite and made Upper New York Bay with a 10 percent energy reserve. The system is designed to help the Navy detect and identify undersea volume and bottom mines in high-clutter environments. The Knifefish system is a part of the Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasure mission package. (Source: Business Wire, 11/20/13) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., is home of an NRL detachment, the Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center and the Naval Oceanographic Office, which operates a fleet of unmanned underwater vehicles; A variant of the Littoral Combat Ship is built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.; The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., Division conducts RDT&E in technologies for warfare in littoral regions, including mine warfare systems and mines.

Signal backlog adds two oil rigs

MOBILE, Ala. -- Signal International announced it's been awarded a contract to repair two oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The company is scheduled to repair six offshore oil rigs, a backlog that will boost hiring at the company, officials said. Headquartered in Mobile, the marine construction and offshore drilling firm operates shipyards and ship repair facilities in Pascagoula, Miss. and Orange, Texas. All of the drilling rig repair work will be done in Mississippi. (Source: al.com, 11/19/13)

Errant drone strikes cruiser

Two sailors were treated for minor burns after the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville was struck by an errant BQM-74 target drone. The Northrop Grumman-built drone struck the left or port side of the ship Saturday while it was conducting tests of its radar system off the coast of Port Mugu in Southern California. The Ticonderoga class cruiser returned to its San Diego homeport on its own power Sunday. (Sources: multiple, including AP via CSMonitor, 11/18/13; Los Angeles Times, RT com, 11/17/13) Gulf Coast note: Chancellorsville (CG 62) was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.; Tyndall Air Force Base and Eglin AFB use BQM-74 drones for training over the Gulf of Mexico.

Survey ship clears way

PHILIPPINE SEA -- The USNS Bowditch oceanographic survey ship was first on scene off the coast of Tacloban, Republic of the Philippines, ensuring safe sea lanes in order for the George Washington Strike Group to assist the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of Operation Damayan. Bowditch (T-AGS 62) is an oceanographic sampling platform for surface, mid-water and ocean floor data collection. Surveys of this nature are required to confirm bottom features and identify navigational hazards in the wake of a major storm. The ship has been performing acoustical, biological, physical and geophysical surveys in the off-shore waters of the Philippines since Typhoon Haiyan struck. Bowditch is operated by the Military Sealift Command for the Naval Oceanographic Office, a component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command headquartered at the Stennis Space Center, Miss. The ship is one of six Pathfinder-class vessels with an all-civilian crew of professional mariners and scientific support personnel. (Source: Task Force 70 Public Affairs, 11/17/13)

LHA 6 back from builder's trials

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding division's multipurpose amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) returned Saturday from successful builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. Ingalls' test and trials team started with dock trials Monday and then spent five days operating the ship at sea. During builder's trials, America performed all required sea trial evolutions, including the operation of the gas turbine/electric-powered propulsion system. Other tests included anchor handling, flight operations, and combat systems' evaluations. The ship will now prepare for acceptance sea trials in late January to demonstrate the same tests and operational success to the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 11/14/13)

Austal continues to grow

MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA is building some of the most cutting-edge ships in the Navy inventory, and it's become the largest private sector employer in Mobile County. The company, owned by Australia's Austal, has invested $300 million here since it first bought 10 acres on the Mobile waterfront in 1999. Employment is expected to reach 4,000 by year's end. The company is building two types of aluminum vessels for the Navy, the Littoral Combat Ship and the Joint High-Speed Vessel, and it has a backlog that bodes well for the future. A feature story. (Source: al.com, 11/09/13)

Floating dry dock open

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- VT Halter Marine Inc. said its new floating dry dock is now open for business and already has its first customers. The 546-foot long dock is part of an overall expansion plan at the south yard in Pascagoula, where VT Halter Marine is adding a repair facility for semi-submersible drilling rigs and Panamax-size ships. The addition of the floating dry dock will allow the company to grow into the ship repair business and start a new stream of revenue to its existing new-build business. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/06/13)

UNO gets NRL grant

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans computer science department has been awarded a five-year, $663,000 research contract by the Naval Research Laboratory to develop next-generation defense mapping systems. The principal investigators on the project are Mahdi Abdelguerfi, chairman of the computer science department, and John Finigan, IT director of the department. The project builds on UNO's expertise in geospatial mapping. The project is expected to use open-source software and commodity hardware that will let the Navy process more map data faster and more cost effectively than the legacy systems, Abdelguerfi said. (Source: Times-Picayune, 11/06/13)

Ingalls gets exemption gift

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Pascagoula Mayor Jim Blevins read a proclamation celebrating Ingalls Shipbuilding's 75th anniversary, gave company President Irwin F. Edenzon a key to the city, then the City Council gave the company a 10-year exemption on ad valorem taxes. The exemption on about $18.4 million in property does not apply to school taxes. Earlier this year, the Jackson County Board of Supervisors granted a similar tax exemption worth about $100,000 a year or roughly $1.1 million over the life of the exemption. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/05/13) Previous

Training center opens

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Ingalls Shipbuilding officially opened the 70,000 square-foot Haley Reeves Barbour Maritime Training Academy today with a ribbon-cutting. The building, named for the former governor of Mississippi, will provide training for future Ingalls workers. The two-story building has 24 classrooms, three computer labs, a library, a bookstore, 26 offices and conference rooms, and craft labs for the shipyard's various trades. Ingalls' apprentice program involves comprehensive two- to four-year curriculum for students interested in shipbuilding careers. (Source: Ingalls via Globe Newswire, 11/06/13)

DDG 113 keel authenticated

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding held a keel authentication ceremony Monday morning for the destroyer John Finn (DDG 113). The $783.5 million ship will be the 29th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built at Ingalls. DDG 113, which is now about 20 percent complete, is expected to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2016. Ingalls also has a contract to build a 30th destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). Fabrication started in September. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/04/13)

Contract: USMI, $15.8M

United States Marine Inc., Gulfport, Miss., is being awarded a $15,827,132 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for post-production and contractor logistical support services for the combatant craft assault. The work will be performed in Gulfport and is expected to be completed by November 2017. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Fla., is the contracting activity (H92222-14-D-0001). (Source: DoD, 10/31/13)