HII revamping ship designs

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) dominates the Navy and Coast Guard ship-construction sector with eight production contracts. Officials at HII, cognizant of what’s potentially ahead, are aligning themselves with a single customer (Navy) and turning their attentions to that future. However, the Navy’s recent appetite for tailored ships has been suppressed by financial realities and buying challenges. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert wants to defend the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base, but isn’t going to tolerate expensive designs and systems. Instead, CNO is pushing a concept to employ common system architecture designs across ship classes and adaptability to modular warfare packages. In tandem, CNO has initiated an effort to pare down the types of platform components and equipment the Navy buys – nuts and bolts to combat systems. This commonality is designed to simplify support and training, plus reduce costs. Industry’s challenge is to meet the Navy’s future warship requirements with few component types, at a reduced cost and with greater capability. For HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., where they construct Navy amphibious and surface warships, and CG national security cutters, the sea-service’s ‘payloads and platforms’ concept forms the core that executives have wrapped the company’s business strategy around. (Source: IHS Jane’s Navy International 06/14)

RR closing plant foundry

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Rolls-Royce North America is closing the foundry at its Pascagoula plant and expects to lose 24 of the 47 employees it has there. The plant casts and hones ship propellers, and the downsizing will take place over the next 18 months. "The shipbuilding and ship repair business is shrinking and our customers are looking for steep price reductions," said Joel Reuter, vice president of communications for Rolls Royce North America. While the plant won't pour the castings for huge ship propellers, they will be brought to the facility for machining from other foundries. The Pascagoula plant has been in business for decades and in the early 2000s added the high-end machining operations. Rolls-Royce also operates outdoor jetliner engine test stands at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 06/26/14)

Shipyard cranes fall, five hurt

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Five people were injured, one seriously, after the collapse Wednesday of two cranes moving part of a ship under construction at VT Halter Marine. The accident was at the yard on Bayou Casotte Parkway. Jack Prendergast, executive vice president of VT Halter, said a group of cranes in the yard were lifting a bow module at the time. Two of the largest cranes in the yard collapsed and one hit the corner of a warehouse where people were working. The accident is under investigation. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/25/14)

LHA 7 keel authenticated

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The keel laying and authentication ceremony for the amphibious assault ship, the future USS Tripoli (LHA 7) was held at the Huntington Ingalls Industries Pascagoula shipyard Friday. The ceremony traditionally marked the first step in ship construction. With today's advanced modular shipbuilding, the keel laying ceremony now recognizes the joining together of a ship's components and is a major milestone in the ship's construction. Fabrication of Tripoli started in July 2013. The design of the future Tripoli is more aviation-oriented. It features an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity. The ship will be the first LHA replacement ship to deliver fully ready to integrate the entire future air combat element of the Marine Corps, including the F-35B. LHA 7 will be 844 feet long and will be capable of operating at speeds of over 20 knots. (Source: NNS, 06/21/14)

Keel ceremony set

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant will speak Friday at a keel authentication ceremony at Ingalls Shipbuilding for the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7). It will join LHA 6 as the first two ships in the new America class of amphibious assault ships for the Navy. It will accommodate 1,204 crew and 1,871 troops. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/19/14)

LCS 4 completes contract trials

USS Coronado (LCS 4), the second Mobile, Ala.-built Independence class Littoral Combat Ship, successfully completed it final contract trials June 6 off the coast of San Diego. The Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey trial period is part of a series of post-delivery events through which the ship and its major systems are exercised. "It is clear that the changes incorporated into Coronado, based on lessons learned from the construction and operation of USS Independence, have contributed not only to her affordability, but to her operational capability," said Capt. Tom Anderson, LCS program manager. In 2015 the ship will execute an Initial Operation Test and Evaluation with its surface warfare mission package embarked and then go to sea on its first deployment. (Source: NAVSEA 06/09/14)

GAO denies HII challenge

The Government Accountability Office denied protests by Huntington Ingalls Industries and VT Halter Marine, both of Pascagoula, Miss., challenging a decision by Coast Guard to award three contracts for preliminary and contract design of its Offshore Patrol Cutter to Bath (Maine) Iron Works; Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La.; and Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla. Each of the preliminary design contracts is valued at about $22 million. The decision addresses both the initial protests, and supplemental issues raised by the companies. The Coast Guard announced its decision June 4, but was not made public. The GAO decision was issued under a protective order. The CG plans to pick a single yard to move on to detail design and construction. (Source: Navy Times 06/05/14) Bollinger has built a number of CG cutter classes; and is producing Sentinel-class fast response cutters. Eastern is a relatively new shipyard with concentrations in commercial shipbuilding. The OPC award is its first government contract. HII builds large cutters for the CG and is the most prolific builder of Navy ships. VT Halter specializes in small ship construction and builds ships for several government agencies.

Command getting new leader

Capt. Timothy C. Gallaudet, selected for the rank of rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss. Gallaudet is currently serving as executive assistant to Oceanographer/Navigator of the Navy, N2/N6E, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. (Source: DoD, 06/02/14)

SUPSHIP, LCS innovator retires

How does a junior hospital corpsman retire as a senior surface warfare officer known for turning future warships into technologically advanced combatants? That's the career of Capt. Michael Smith, who retired from command of Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, Va. In previous tours, Smith was supervisor of shipbuilding and Aegis test officer in Pascagoula, Miss. He also served at the Pentagon as Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program’s resource officer where he wrote the foundational documents for the entire ship class of LCS. (Source: NSWC Dahlgren, 05/30/14) Gulf Coast note: One of the two LCS variants is built at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Tripoli: Next Ingalls LHA

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced May 30 that the next “big-deck” amphibious ship will be named USS Tripoli (LHA 7). It will be built at Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. Mabus’ wife, Lynne, will be the ship’s sponsor. "I feel especially glad to be the sponsor," said Mrs. Mabus, "because of so many things that are close to my family and my heart." Mrs. Mabus’ grandfather worked for decades at Ingalls; and her grandmother was a “real life ‘Rosie the Riveter’ during World War II." SECNAV Mabus is a former Mississippi governor. (Source: Navy News Service, 06/02/14)