Austal LCS 8 to homeport in SD

SAN DIEGO - The Navy will homeport two future Littoral Combat Ships – including the Gulf Coast-built USS Montgomery (LCS 8) - at Naval Base San Diego next summer. USS Detroit (LCS 7) is a Freedom-class ship and is being built at Marinette (Wis.) Marine. Montgomery is an Independence-class LCS under construction at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Stationing the LCS at a West Coast port supports the Navy’s rebalance of ships for the Asia-Pacific region. By 2020, about 60 percent of ships and aircraft will be based in that region. (Source: Navy News Service 12/23/15)

Pensacola port contractor owes city

The Port of Pensacola, Fla.’s principal tenant, Offshore Inland, owes the city more than $300,000, and is also 60 days late in paying docking fees. OI is an oil and gas industry contractor that brings in large ships to dock at the port for refitting and maintenance work. The issue has to do with promised reimbursements by the state and city to Offshore Inland for improvements to the port’s Warehouse 1t. OI made improvements early this year, but the contract work was not bid, and raised questions at City Hall as to whether the project was still eligible for reimbursement. Pensacola is considering granting OI interim credit for warehouse improvement - worth about the same as the firm owes in docking fees – until the issue is resolved. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 12/23/15)

Contract: Austal, $51.7M

Austal USA LLC., Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $51,684,797 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-11-C-2301) for Core Littoral Combat Ship class services and LCS class services for the LCS program. Austal USA will assess engineering and production challenges and evaluate the cost and schedule risks from affordability efforts to reduce LCS acquisition costs. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Mass. (60 percent) and Mobile (40 percent) and is expected to be complete by December 2016. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/21/15)

Navy PC earns 1% of LCS mod pact

CACI Technologies of Virginia was awarded a $12,895,607 Naval Sea Systems Command modification to a previous contract for professional services in support of the Littoral Combat Ship program office. Ninety-one percent of the work will be in Washington, D.C. One percent of the work will be at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City. Work is expected to be completed by February 2016. (Source: DOD 12/18/15)

Contract: HII, $34.8M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $34,846,586 cost-plus-fixed fee contract for life cycle engineering and support services for the LPD 17 Class Amphibious Transport Dock Ship program. The services include: post-delivery planning and engineering, homeport technical support, class integrated product data environment, data maintenance and equipment management, systems integration and engineering support, LPD 17 class design services, research engineering, obsolescence management, class material readiness, emergent repair provision, training and logistics support, ship alteration development and installation, material management, operating cycle integration, availability planning, and configuration data management. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $242,000,000. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by December 2016. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-16-C-2415). (Source: DoD, 12/16/15)

Contract: Raytheon, $28.4M

Raytheon Co. Integrated Defense Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $28,390,942 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-2414 to exercise Option Year 1 for life cycle engineering and support (LCES&S) services for Landing Platform Dock (LPD) 17 Class integrated shipboard electronic systems. The services to be provided will include: LCE&S Services including post-delivery planning, logistics and engineering; homeport technical support; integrated product data environment; data maintenance, equipment management, systems integration and design engineering; software support, research engineering, obsolescence management (both technical and logistics), material readiness support, emergent repair planning, training and logistics support; planning yard support of integrated electronic systems including Fleet Modernization program planning; ship alteration development and installation; material management; configuration data management; research engineering; logistics documentation; and other logistics and executing activity coordination, management; sustaining engineering and obsolescence management support for unique LPD 17 Class integrated shipboard electronic systems. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (90 percent); Norfolk, Va. (4 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (2 percent); Mayport, Fla. (2 Percent); and Japan (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2016. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/15/15)

DDG 114 launched

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The future destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) was launched from Ingalls Shipbuilding agoula, Miss., Dec. 12 and into drydock. "This is an exciting milestone," said Capt. Mark Vandroff, DDG 51 class program manager, in a Dec. 14 news release. The destroyer will be equipped with Aegis Baseline 9, designed to incorporate and enhance ballistic missile defense capabilities. DDG 114 will be the 64th Arleigh Burke class destroyer and the 30th built in Pascagoula. (Source: Seapower magazine 12/14/15)

LCS 5 breaks down

The Navy’s newest ship broke down only 20 days after being commissioned Nov. 21. USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) broke down Dec. 11 and was towed 40-plus miles to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Va., while on the way to its new home port in San Diego. Initial indications are that fine metal debris collected in the lube oil filter caused the system to shut down. Crew 104 was scheduled to swap with Crew 108 at Mayport, Fla., but will not swap in Virginia while the ship is under repair. U.S. Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Navy Times that the plant issues were “deeply alarming.” (Source: Navy Times 12/12/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding/Maritime Note: Marinette (Wis.) Marine Shipyard builds odd-number LCS hulls. Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., builds the even-number hulls and a different variant of LCS.

BIW votes today on competitiveness

AUGUSTA, Maine – Machinists Union Local S6 is casting votes Sunday (Dec. 13) on a proposed four-year contract at Bath (Maine) Iron Works shipyard that management says is for future competitiveness. BIW has pressed for early negotiations – since the contract does not expire until May 22 - aimed at winning union concessions deemed necessary to be competitive on a crucial bid in early 2016 for Coast Guard cutters. BIW initiated early discussions before the CG bid comes up for 25 offshore patrol cutters. BIW had warned that some 1,200 jobs could be lost if the yard fails to land the contract. A rejection of the proposal does not mean there will be a work stoppage. (Source: The Associated Press 12/12/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding/Maritime Note: Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla., and Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., are also tentatively scheduled to bid on the CG contract. BIW hasn’t built a CG ship since the 1930s. Bollinger won a previous completion in 2008 over BIW on a smaller CG contract.

UPDATE: The BIW union narrowly approved a four-year contract Dec. 13 that contains provisions aimed at making the shipyard more efficient before bids are submitted in May on a CG cutter contract. Later this year, BIW will also be bidding against Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula, Miss., for additional Navy destroyers.

Contract: Multiple, $67.2M

General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Fairfax, Va. (N00189-16-D-0001); Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va. (N00189-16-D-0002); and URS Federal Services Inc., Germantown, Md. (N00189-16-D-0005), are being awarded a $67,247,081 multiple task order, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence; surface ship anti-submarine warfare; surface ship undersea warfare; surface ship mine warfare systems, and combat systems engineering, analytical, logistics, and technical support to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center. Each contract includes a 12-month base period and a one-year option period. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (85 percent); in the continental U.S. (San Diego, Calif.; Mayport, Fla.; Pascagoula, Miss.; Groton, Conn.; Bremerton, Wash.; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) (10 percent); and out of the continental U.S. (Spain, Italy, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Guam) (5 percent). Work is expected to be completed by December 2016; if all options are exercised, work will be completed by December 2017. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Norfolk, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/08/15)

Contract: Ingalls, $200M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $200,000,000 not-to-exceed undefinitized contract action for LPD 28 long-lead-time material, and associated engineering and design activities. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by April 2022. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 6.302-1(a)(ii) - this procurement is deemed to be a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system that is available only from the original source. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-16-C-2431). (Source: DoD, 12/04/15)

LCS 6 to be commissioned

The Navy will commission its newest Independence-class littoral combat ship, USS Jackson (LCS 6), during a 10 CST ceremony Saturday, Dec. 5 in Gulfport, Miss. Jackson honors the city of Jackson, Miss., which was named for Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will deliver the ceremony's principal address. The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant built by Lockheed Martin with odd-numbered hulls, and the Independence variant built by Austal USA with even-numbered hulls. (Source: DoD, 12/04/15)

Vessel charters pre-solicitation

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., intends to solicit offers from qualified contractors for the chartering of vessels in support of compelling and emergent test requirements for Littoral combat and Expeditionary Warfare systems in the Gulf of Mexico. NSWC’s statement of work specifies requirements for the chartering of test support vessels; and anticipates up to three contract awards. The contract is anticipated for a total of two years, with a single 12-month base period, and 12-month option. The federal government will reserve the right to consider a small business set-aside. A pre-solicitation conference regarding the proposed contract will be Dec. 9 at the La Quinta Inn & Suites on Panama City Beach from 8-10 a.m. (Source: Fed Biz Ops 12/01/15)

GoM plan to manage HAB

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (GCOOS-RA) has a plan that is designed to help protect humans and marine life from the negative impacts caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs). The goal of the plan is to establish a sustained observing system to support and enhance HAB management and monitoring, and reducing and mitigating harmful impacts that HABs have on human health, marine organisms and coastal communities. (Source: Newswire 12/03/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: The Gulf of Mexico’s (GoM) better known harmful algae is called Karenia brevis. It causes Red Tides in several Gulf Coast states. It is currently impacting the Panhandle, central and southwest coasts of Florida.

Top FMC Seabee to retire

WASHINGTON - Naval Base Ventura County (Calif.) Command Master Chief Percy Trent Jr. was selected to become the 17th force master chief of the Seabees at a Dec. 1 ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard. Trent will assume the duties of the highest ranking enlisted Seabee in March 2016 from Seabee Force Master Chief Christopher Levesque, who retires in June. (Source: Navy News Service 12/02/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: Prior to taking the reigns of force master chief in January 2014, Levesque served as command master chief of the Naval Construction Training Center in Gulfport, Miss.

Contract: Lockheed, $49.1M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Mission Systems and Training, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $49,107,093 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-5104 to exercise option year two for ship integration and test of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) for AWS Baselines through Advanced Capability Build (ACB) 12. The contract provides for Aegis shipboard integration engineering, Aegis test team support, Aegis modernization team engineering support, ballistic missile defense test team support, and AWS element assessments. This contract will cover the AWS ship integration and test efforts for five new construction DDG 51 class ships, and the major modernization of five DDG 51 class ships. It will additionally cover the integrated combat system modifications and upgrades for all current ships with all AWS baselines up to and including ACB 12. Work will be performed in Camden, N.J. (24 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (24 percent); Bath, Maine (23 percent); San Diego, Calif. (12 percent); Norfolk, Va. (10 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (4 percent); and various places below one percent (3 percent), and is expected to be complete by November 2018. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/01/15)

LCS commissioning in Gulfport

Gulfport, Miss. will be the site of a Dec. 6 commissioning ceremony for the newest Littoral Combat Ship, USS Jackson. The ceremony will be at the Port of Gulfport on Saturday at 10 a.m. Officials expect more than 2,000 attendees including former Mississippi governor and current Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. Tickets to the event are free but must be picked up at Gulfport City Hall. (Source: WXXV-TV 11/30/15)

Navy football to highlight LCS

The U.S. Naval Academy football team will wear Under Armour-designed “Navy Fleet” uniforms and hand-painted helmets for the Army-Navy game Dec. 12. The uniform is inspired to pay homage to seven ships with the Navy’s fleet. Each ship is detailed on one of seven hand-painted helmets that each player will wear, assigned by position. The Littoral Combat Ship, which Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., builds one variant, will appear on the helmets of Navy running backs. Additionally, the rally cry “Damn the Torpedoes!” is featured on the uniform as a nod to Fleet Adm. David Farragut’s historic Civil War victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864. The game is to be carried live at 2 p.m. on CBS from the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Source: Yellowhammer 12/01/15)

VT Halter launches barge

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- VT Halter Marine Inc., has launched Barge B. No. 272, the second of two Articulated Tug Barge units built for Bouchard Transportation Co. It's 628 feet by 91 feet by 47 feet, with a 250,000-barrel capacity. When completed, the barge will be paired with the tug M/V Donna J. Bouchard, launched Sept. 15. VT Halter Marine is part of Vision Technologies Systems Inc. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/24/15)

DDG-51 Flight III collaboration

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Navy and shipbuilders Huntington Ingalls Industry (HII) and Bath Iron Works are collaborating on detail design of the Flight III upgrade for Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers (DDG-51). The upgrade adds an air and missile defense radar to the ship class starting in FY 2016. HII of Pascagoula, Miss., and BIW of Bath, Maine, have both responded to the Navy’s draft Request For Proposal (RFP) for FY-16 ship construction, according to DDG-51 program manager Capt. Mark Vandroff. The shipyards have taken Navy preliminary designs, broken into 17 statements of work, and are working together to develop a 3D model of the ship – including all equipment and distributed systems. The air and missile defense radar, Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6, is in engineering and manufacturing development. NAVSEA has estimated Flight III follow-on ships, under two-per-year, multi-year buys, would cost $1.75 billion each. The draft RFP is out and the Navy has responded to industry comments, but Vandroff could not discuss details including the date for release for the final RFP. (U.S. Naval Institute News 11/12/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding: In February 2015, HII-Pascagoula, Miss., and BIW were awarded separate $13.5 million modifications to previously awarded contract for the DDG-51 Class Flight III upgrade design services to replace the SPY-1D(V) radar with the Air and Missile Defense Radar.

DDG-1000 completes first ‘fast cruise’

BATH, Maine – The first-in-class guided missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) just completed its first four-day “fast cruise” Oct. 15, according to an internal release from the Bath (Maine) Ironworks shipyard. Round 2 could be as early as mid-November. The fast cruise was the first demonstration of the continuous operation of all systems required in underway operations, Steve Colfer, BIW’s Director of Test & Trials, said in the release. USS Zumwalt’s first sea trials will be a seven-day “shake down” that could begin as early as Dec. 7, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley told Defense News. (Source: Bangor Daily News 11/12/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport, Miss., built and delivered the composite deckhouses and hangars for DDGs 1000 and 1001. The 900-ton deckhouses provide an advanced structure to house the ship’s bridge, radars, antennae and intake/exhaust systems and are designed to provide a smaller radar cross-section than any other ship in the Navy fleet. Since providing those two deckhouses, HII's Gulfport center has been shut down.

Cutter Munro to be christened

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding will christen the sixth U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Munro (WMSL 755), on Saturday at 10 a.m. Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, is the keynote speaker. Munro died in 1942 on Guadalcanal after volunteering to evacuate a detachment of Marines facing annihilation by a large enemy force. He succeeded in safely extricating them and in doing so was mortally wounded. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Coast Guard’s sole recipient of the award. Munro is the sixth Legend-class cutter built by Ingalls. (Source: HII, 11/10/15)

DDG-51 delay considerations

The Navy is considering extending the delivery dates for the first two restart Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers (DDG-51) to Bath (Maine) Iron Works. The two restarts – Peralta and Hudner - were part of the Navy’s restart of the DDG-51 line announced in 2009 following cancellation of the Navy’s proposed next-generation cruiser (CG(X)) and the downsizing of the DDG-1000 line to three ships. Since DDG-51 work resumed in 2011, BIW has had issues related to managing costs for the restarts. According to the contract awards from 2011 to 2013, costs per-hull at BIW increased about $31 million to about $710.8 million. In comparison, rival Huntington Ingalls Industries shrunk its cost per hull about $31 million to about $666.2 million in 2013. (USNI News 11/09/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: In deals between the Navy, BIW and HII’s Ingalls shipyard at Pascagoula, Miss., BIW was given the original task of restarting the DDG-51 production line.

Navy diver to get HoF honor

The Cayman Islands’ Department of Tourism has named five new inductees into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame (ISDHF). Among the inductees is Bob Barth, regarded as the most famous living U.S. Navy diver. Honorees will be inducted at a ceremony in Caymans in September 2016. Barth is a pioneer in saturation diving, which assists in reducing the risk of decompression sickness while exploring oceans’ depths. He also aided in the creation of the U.S. Navy Decompression Tables associated with the Navy’s Genesis and SEALAB projects. Barth trained NASA astronauts on sonar equipment used for detecting objects underwater. (Source: CNS Local Life 11/10/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: In recognition for unique contributions to diving, the U.S. Navy named its Panama City, Fla., dive-training facility the CWO Robert A. Barth Aquatic Training Facility.

MS delegation headed to Israel

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant traveled to Israel Nov. 7 with a delegation of state economic development workers and private business executives, including Airbus Helicopters Inc. of Columbus. Bryant is scheduled to speak Nov. 9 at a defense conference in Tel Aviv and will discuss Mississippi's role in researching and building unmanned aerial vehicles and Mississippi State University’s role as lead for the National Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The Israeli-owned Stark Aerospace company operates a UAV assembly plant in Columbus. (Source: The AP 11/07/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: Representatives of the Mississippi State Port Authority and Huntington Ingalls Industries, which operates a Pascagoula shipyard that is one of Mississippi's largest private employers, were also among the delegation.

Artists sought for Gulf Marine fest

BILOXI, Miss. – Organizers of the ‘Celebrate the Gulf Marine Education Festival’ have announced its deadline of Jan. 14, 2016, to enter the event’s 2nd annual poster contest. Amateur and professional artists may submit original poster designs to depict the conservation or scenic qualities of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast resources for the event’s poster design. ‘Celebrate the Gulf’ is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and held in conjunction with ‘Art in the Pass’. To be held April 2 at War Memorial Park in Pass Christian. (Source: Department of Marine Resources 11/04/15)

CBO: Shipbuilding plan falls short

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy will have to fund its shipbuilding account by $16.5 billion annually to accomplish its 30-year shipbuilding plan for 2016 – about 30 percent more than Congress has appropriated in recent years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In an October report - “An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2016 Shipbuilding Plan” - CBO said the 2016 plan falls short of some goals. The Navy’s goal for the fleet is 308 ships. There are presently 273 ships. The report says the Navy’s 2016 plan would buy a total of 264 ships through 2045: 218 combatants and 46 combat logistics and support ships. The Navy estimates that buying those new ships under the 2016 plan would cost $494 billion (in 2015 dollars) over 30 years – about $16.5B a year. CBO estimated the cost to be $552 billion over 30 years, or an average of $18.4 billion. The estimates are at odds because the Navy and CBO use different estimating methods. (Source: Sea Power 10/30/15)

MDMR to close 3 fishing seasons

BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced Oct. 28 the closing of two commercial fishing seasons and one recreational fishing season in Mississippi waters at the close of Oct. 31. The commercial fishing seasons for Spotted Sea Trout and Red Drum; and recreational season for Red Snapper will close at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday. The commercial seasons reopen Jan. 1. The recreational season reopens Feb. 1. (Source: MDMR 10/28/15)

Navy mulls missiles for next LCS

The Navy is “exploring options” that may add over-the-horizon surface-to-surface missiles for the next pair of deployable Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in order to boost their weapons system, Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Megan Shutka said Oct. 26 without elaborating. No decision has been made, she indicated, because it was still "in the analysis phase." Defense News cited a Sept. 17 directive from the Director of Surface Warfare, Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, that the Navy plan was to install a missile "aboard all in-service (LCS) deploying to forward operating stations starting in fiscal year 2016" and on ships under construction. The report also indicated the plan was to try both Boeing’s Harpoon missile and Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen ASA's Naval Strike Missile. Kongsberg had fired a missile from an LCS last year. (Source: Reuters 10/26/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., builds one of the two LCS variants.

Contract: Swiftships, $11M

Swiftships Shipbuilders LLC, Morgan City, La., is being awarded a $10,976,701 firm-fixed-price delivery order under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-15-G-4209 for one year of services to operate and upgrade the Iraqi navy ship repair facility. This effort encompasses one year of labor and the associated travel, basic life support services, and force protection services to operate and support the facility. Work will be performed at Umm Qasr Naval Base, Iraq, and is expected to be completed October 2016. Foreign military sales funding in the amount of $10,976,701 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/22/15)

CG warrant's NOLA court-martial

NEW ORLEANS - The Eighth Coast Guard District was scheduled to convene a general court-martial of a Port Arthur, Texas-based service in New Orleans at the Hale Boggs Federal Building on Oct. 18. Chief Warrant Officer Richard M. Clark is accused of multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice including aggravated assault with a firearm among others. The district commander for the eighth district referred Clark’s case to a general court-martial on June 4 following an Article 32 hearing completed April 24. CWO Clark is currently administratively assigned to Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston. Charges are accusations against the individual and the accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. (Source: CG District Eight 10/18/19)

NOLA to host nat’l naval group

New Orleans will host the National Congress of the Naval Order of the United States on Oct. 21-23. The organization is the oldest military society of its kind in the nation. Retired Navy Adm. Jim Stavridis will receive the Distinguished Sea Service Award. The Florida native was the longest-serving combat commander in recent U.S. history. Navy Reserve Capt. Robert Lansden, who was reared in nearby Ponchatoula, La., was among the heroes of Hurricane Katrina, will be on the list of speakers. (Source: Times-Picayune 10/19/15)

Boaters rescued near Empire, La.

Five recreational boaters were rescued Oct. 17 by ‘Good Samaritans’ and the Coast Guard after their 20-foot boat started taking on water about 18 miles offshore of Empire, La. – about 45 miles south of Belle Chasse, according to Coast Guard District 8 headquarters. The CG sent out an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from CG Station New Orleans and a 45-foot response boat from Grand Isle. The five people were initially picked up by an offshore support vessel OSV Joseph Bisso that was nearby and heard the distress call. The CG towed the boat back to Grand Isle. (Source: Times-Picayune 10/18/15)

Littoral RMS to get Navy review

U.S. Sen. John McCain is welcoming the Navy's decision to order an independent review of the Littoral Combat Ship’s oft-delayed Remote Minehunting System (RMS) after an August memo about "inflated" estimates of reliability for Lockheed Martin’s remote mine-hunting vehicle (MHV). The August memo from Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation, asserted the Navy inflated operating time estimates and concluded RMS was breaking down after 18.8-to-25 hours of use, far short of the required 75 hours. The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman welcomed the Navy's decision Oct. 14 to order an independent review of the 17-year, $700 million RMS program. There is another $868 million earmarked for 54 future vehicles. Lawmakers want the Navy to look at alternatives before buying more. LM spokesman Keith Little says the system's mean time between failures is 117.3 hours, far above the Navy’s requirement. RMS consists of a semi-submersible remote multi-missions vehicle (RMMV) operating with the AN/AQS-20A variable depth mine-hunting sonar. It is designed to detect, classify, identify and locate bottom and moored mines in shallow and deep water as part of LCS’ mine-countermeasures mission package. (Reuters 10/14/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: The Navy ordered a review of RMS, and its core Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV), after unacceptable performances in a technical evaluation period that began in September. Gilmore detailed 41 RMS and RMMV failures aboard LCS Independence (LCS-2) while operating primarily in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City and Pensacola. The tests were conducted using four RMMVs. Failures occurred on all four and in numerous areas, including equipment and software. LCS-2 was built by Austal USA’s shipyard at Mobile, Ala.

Coastal grant program deadline

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Coastal Management Program will be accepting applications for a Coastal Partnership Initiative (CPI) grant program until Oct. 30. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) makes these federal funds available on a competitive basis to eligible governments to support community projects such as habitat restoration, park planning and improvements, waterfront revitalization and improving communities’ resiliency to coastal hazards. (Florida DEP 10/09/15)

HII/Petters honored by CG

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Mike Petters, president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries was honored Oct 8 by the Coast Guard Foundation at the 35th annual salute to the U.S. Coast Guard in New York City. Petters and HII were recognized for their support of the CG foundation and its mission for the past 30 years. Serving as president/CEO since March 2011, Petters is responsible for leading the design, construction and overhaul of Navy warships and Coast Guard National Security cutters. In remarks, Petters said he was “touched and honored” on behalf of HII. (Source: HII 10/12/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: HII is America’s largest military shipbuilding company. For more than a century, HII's Newport News and Pascagoula, Miss., (Ingalls) shipbuilding divisions have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding constructs Legend-class National Security cutters, flagships of the Coast Guard.

El Faro had Gulf Coast connection

The container ship El Faro, which likely sank in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Joaquin, had undergone a mid-body conversion at Atlantic Marine in Mobile, Ala. The ship, at the time called Northern Lights, was rechristened at Atlantic Shipyard in Mobile on Jan. 17, 2006. The mid-body conversion lengthened the ship by cutting it into two pieces - bow section removed - and floating the mid-body nto place and re-connecting it to the bow. The 790-foot ship had two 43-person lifeboats, five life rafts and 46 water survival suits, according to the Coast Guard and the ship's owner. It's not known if the crew could deploy those items before becoming disabled and losing power near the Bahamas. (FOX 10 TV 10/06/15)

CG airlifts cruise passenger

NEW ORLEANS - Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans medical evacuated a 68-year-old passenger from a cruise liner some 180 miles off Southwest Pass, La., on Sept. 27. Coast Guard District 8 headquarters received a request to “medevac” the man who was reportedly suffering a seizure. CGASNO launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew; and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. The NOLA helicopter airlifted the passenger ashore, where he was transported to West Jefferson Medical Center in stable condition. (Source: CG District Eight 09/28/15)

Contract: Austal, $13.4M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $13,398,209 cost-plus-award-fee order under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-15-G-2304 to provide all supplies, services, labor and material in support of the pre-shock trials emergent availability for PCU Jackson (LCS 6). This order is for execution of LCS 6’s emergent availability to be conducted prior to full ship shock trials. Efforts will include program management, test plan and integrated master schedule development, and work package execution and testing. Work will be performed in Mayport, Fla., and is expected to be completed by June 2016. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,131,542; and fiscal 2010 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,611,449, will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Miss., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/29/15)

Report outlines GoM gains

A new report, called “The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System: 10 Years of Protecting and Preserving the Gulf,” was published by the non-profit Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (GCOOS-RA). The report outlines the group’s work to improve access to ocean observing data that helps protect and preserve the GoM and coastal residents. The improvements include developing early warning systems for harmful algal blooms; integrating data that supports improved weather and hurricane forecasts; safer navigation in the Gulf’s ports; and educating residents on the important role the Gulf plays in their daily lives. GCOOS-RA is responsible for bringing representatives of the maritime industry, governmental and non-governmental groups, marine scientists and resource managers to combine ocean data in order to get timely information about the Gulf of Mexico. Source: Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association 09/29/15)

Hornbeck awarded $26M MSC pact

Hornbeck Offshore Operators LLC of Covington, La., was awarded a $26,615,520 modification under a previously awarded Military Sealift Command contract to exercise a one-year option for the operation and maintenance of four blocking vessels. The contract includes a 215-day base period, nine one-year option periods and one 150-day option period. The cumulative value of this contract when option one is exercised will be $44,159,520. Work will be performed at sea worldwide, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2016. Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 09/28/15)

Weeks Marine earns $6M dredge pact

Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La., was awarded a $6,521,000 Army contract for maintenance dredging of the Brazos Island Harbor jetty channel and an option for the Brazos Island Harbor entrance channel at San Padre Island, Texas. Estimated completion date is Feb. 12, 2016. Army Corps of Engineers is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 09/28/15)

Hooks earns Army dredging contract

Mike Hooks Inc. of Westlake, La., was awarded a $9,848,000 modification to a previously-awarded contract for maintenance dredging of the Calcasieu River and Pass, in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, in Louisiana. Estimated completion date is June 15, 2016. FY 2014 Army operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,848,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD, 08/25/15)

Textron Marine earns $56M pact

Textron Marine & Land Systems of New Orleans was awarded a $56,176,864 Foreign Military Sales contract to Afghanistan for 55 Mobile Strike Force vehicles and related fielding hardware and field service representative services. Work will be performed in Slidell, La., with an estimated completion date of April 28, 2016. Army Contracting Command at Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD, 08/25/15)

More shrimping waters to open

BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources will open additional waters for shrimping starting at 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28. (Source: Miss. Dept. of Marine Resources 09/25/15)

Miss. sub plays cat-and-mouse

One of the Navy’s most advanced nuclear submarines, USS Mississippi, was 400 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean in August near Hawaii when a sonar operator detected the thumping sound of the seven-blade propeller on a Chinese attack sub that the Pentagon calls a “Shang”. Within seconds, SSN-782 had banked right and hit its nuclear-powered propulsion system for one of the Navy's most difficult moves: Sneaking up on and shadowing an enemy sub without being detected. In the end, Mississippi was actually chasing a phantom – not a real Chinese sub – during a deep-sea training exercise. These cat-and-mouse training events are the unseen effects of the White House’s decision to send more of the Navy’s fleet into the Asia-Pacific Region in the past four years as part of its strategic rebalance that is intended to reassure partner-nation allies’ nerves about China's military aggression. (Source: LA Times 09/25/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: USS Mississippi was commissioned at the Port of Pascagoula, Miss., in June 2012.

Navy hospital ship to end deployment

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort’s six-month deployment will end Sept. 25 – delayed one day due to East Coast weather conditions - for about 100 military and civilian personnel when it moors overnight at Naval Station Mayport, Fla. Another 900 will continue on to the ship’s home port in Norfolk, Va. During the deployment, ship personnel provided medical care to about 122,000 patients across an 11-nation Caribbean tour, according to the Navy. (Source: Florida Times Union 09/24/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: Among the sailors disembarking from Comfort at Mayport are 19 from Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla.

Pensacola mulls RESTORE marina

The City of Pensacola is seeking $2.1 million in RESTORE funds – monies owed Gulf Coast states following litigation against BP for the Deep Water Horizon oil spill - for a 48-slip, day-use marina at Community Maritime Park downtown. The draft application is expected to be submitted by Sept. 29. If awarded, the money the funds could be available by 2017. It should take less than a year to build and remove underwater debris posing potential navigation hazards. “It is going to add a terrific venue for tourism development,” said Rebecca Ferguson, economic policy coordinator for the city. The marina’s focus is designed to support maritime and marine sports leisure projects, Ferguson told the Community Maritime Parks Associates board of trustees Sept. 22. The marina will possibly offer kayaking and paddle boarding as well as for hosting fishing and sailing tournaments. The $1.7 million breakwater designed to protect the future marina has already been completed; and both were both of the original design for Maritime Park. (Pensacola News Journal 09/23/15)

LCS ops test rescheduled to fall

The Littoral Combat Ship program could begin final mine countermeasures mission (MCM) package testing in November, according to Navy officials. Reliability concerns have delayed the Gulf of Mexico testing for several months. The MCM package was originally supposed to finish its initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) in September in order to reach initial operational capability by Sept. 30. Several reliability issues popped up during the summer’s technical evaluation aboard USS Independence (LCS-2), LCS mission modules program manager Capt. Casey Moton said in July. Problems ranged from issues from LCS’ ship frame to mission package components failing or not properly integrating with other components. The Navy has taken the time off to focus on fixing procedures and improving equipment reliability, says Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Chris Johnson. IOT&E is tentatively scheduled to begin in November “pending a decision to proceed,” said Johnson. The Navy’s Commander of the Operational Test and Evaluation Force makes the decision to proceed, but he wouldn’t say when that would happen. (US Naval Institute News 09/15/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding and Maritime Note: Independence Class LCS are built at Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. USS Independence was home-porting at NAS Pensacola, Fla., during Gulf of Mexico tests.

CSS Hunley’s crusty image

For more than a century, Confederate States of America’s submarine CSS Hunley had rested on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean outside of the Charleston, S.C., harbor, and covered by encrustations. When it was raised 15 years ago, it looked more like a barnacled sea monster than the world’s first combat submarine to sink an enemy warship. CSS Hunley, which was built at Mobile, Ala., sunk during a winter 1864 battle. On Sept. 17, researchers announced experts had now removed more than half a ton of encrustations; and are working to remove them from the interior. Now, CSS Hunley looks more like the ancestor of the U-boat and today’s submarines. (Source: Washington Post 09/17/15)

Navy fires SeaRam from LCS-4

During a live-fire exercise off the West Coast, the Navy fired for the first time, a missile from a Raytheon SeaRAM launcher from an Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship. SeaRAM combines two Raytheon products: The radar and electro-optical system from the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System with the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), a self-guided supersonic missile that can take down cruise missiles and close-flying aircraft. After the Navy used the SeaRAM to detect and track an inbound threat, sailors in USS Coronado (LCS-4) fired a RAM block 1A from the system, which intercepted the target. This test marked a major milestone toward full operation and dployment of the SeaRAM system aboard Navy ships, Raytheon VP Rick Nelson said in a news release. SeaRAM launchers have also been installed on USS Independence (LCS-2). The Navy is considering whether to equip its new frigate versions of the LCS ship with SeaRAM, according to Defense Daily. (Source: Defense Daily 09/17/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: All Independence-class LCS are built by Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

Ingalls launches NSC Munro

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the U.S. Coast Guard's newest National Security Cutter, Munro (WMSL 755) on Saturday. Munro is the company's sixth NSC and is expected to deliver by the end of next year. Designed to replace the 378-foot Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service in the 1960s, the NSC cutters are 418 feet long with a 54-foot beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110. (Source: HII, 09/14/15)

Weeks Marine earns dredge pact

Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La., was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for a cutterhead pipeline dredge to dredge Pascagoula Harbor, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 9, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Funding will be determined with each order. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity. (DOD 09/14/15)

Cuban envoy visits USN hospital ship

Cuba's ambassador to Haiti, Ricardo Garcia Napoles and five Cuban doctors, made a courtesy call on the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort anchored off Port-au-Prince, Haiti. USNS Comfort, on its fourth humanitarian mission to Haiti, and on its final legs of a six-month deployment across the Caribbean and Central and South America, will be seeing Haitian patients and performing surgeries through Sept. 18. It was an “historic visit in the context of the renewal of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States" after about 50 years, he said. Currently, there are 700 Cuban doctors working in Haiti. Some 800 Haitian doctors have completed medical training in Cuba. (Agence France Presse 09/12/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: There are 19 Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla., personnel currently serving aboard Comfort. In 2010, Comfort provided two months of vital assistance to Haiti following a deadly earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people and crippled the country's infrastructure. That visit including some 35 personnel assigned from Naval Hospital Pensacola.

OII-PC secures GoM umbilicals pact

HOUSTON - Oceaneering International, Inc. of Houston announced Sept 8 it had secured a contract from Shell Offshore to supply umbilicals for the deepwater Appomattox development within the Mississippi Canyon of the Gulf of Mexico. The order is for electro-hydraulic steel tube control umbilicals, totaling about 37 miles. Product manufacturing is planned to be performed at Oceaneering's umbilical facility in Panama City, Fla., and is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2015; and be completed in the third period of 2017. (Source: PR Newswire 09/08/15)

MSU grad heads Yellow Creek Port

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Development Authority has announced that Robert Dexter of Tupelo has been named executive director of Yellow Creek Port, a state-owned facility near the confluence of the Tennessee River and Tombigbee Waterway in Iuka. Dexter was to be sworn in Sept. 10. He is the former operations start-up manager for GRAMMER Inc., a German-based manufacturer of seating components to the automotive industry, which set up shop in Tupelo in 2013. Source: Mississippi Development Authority 09/09/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding and Maritime Note: Dexter has a master’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University and holds bachelor’s degrees in accountancy and organizational management from the University of Mississippi and Concordia University.

Contract: HII, $12.5M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $12,511,359 cost-plus-award-fee contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-12-C-4323 to provide long lead-time material procurement and planning yard services for CG-47-class cruisers and DD 963-class destroyers. Huntington Ingalls provides necessary engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data, and logistics efforts for CG 47 and DD 963 lifetime support for both maintenance and modernization. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by September 2016. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/09/15)

Contract: Lockheed, $26.5M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Mission Systems and Training, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $26,523,481 cost-plus-incentive-fee with award-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee with performance-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-only contract for ship integration and test of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) for AWS baselines through Advanced Capability Build 16. The Aegis for ship integration and test effort includes management of the physical design, installation, test and maintenance, from concept development throughout a ship's lifecycle. This requires development of design modifications, ship space arrangements, installation/test procedures, and development of an Aegis Combat System including ballistic missile defense cable plant design applicable to Aegis ship design and system technical requirements. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $427,607,895. Work will be performed in Moorestown (44 percent); San Diego, Calif. (19 percent); Norfolk, Va. (18 percent); Bath, Maine (9.5 percent); and Pascagoula, Miss. (9.5 percent); and is expected to be completed by August 2016. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-15-C-5151). (Source: DoD, 09/04/15)

CG rescues 35 from Lake Pontchartrain

NEW ORLEANS – Crews from Coast Guard Station New Orleans and Good Samaritan boaters rescued 35 people Sept. 5 from a sinking houseboat tied to pilings of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway after an afternoon storm. The CG dispatched 45-foot medium response boat crews from CGSNO. One crew evacuated the houseboat with the help of local boaters while the second pumped water from the boat and towed it to a local marina. There were no reported injuries. (Coast Guard District 8 09/06/15)

La. firm earns part of $28M pact

Truston Technologies Inc. of Lafayette, La., was among five east-west coast firms to be awarded a $28 million contract modification Option 1 for worldwide ocean engineering services. The total contract amount after exercising Option 1 will be $56 million. Work is for ocean engineering services in support of projects involving ocean cable systems and ocean work systems, such as shipboard load handling systems and undersea work systems. Work is for various Navy and Marine Corps facilities worldwide. This option period is expected to be completed by September 2016. (DOD 09/02/15)

NW Fla. firm earns sub facility award

Whitesell-Green Inc. of Pensacola, Fla., was awarded $9,932,000 Navy task order under a previous multiple construction contract for construction of a submarine maintenance facility at the Norfolk (Va.) Naval Shipyard. The small-business contract work is to provide for installation of new pilings and construction of the facility with light industrial-type activity and office spaces. Work is expected to be completed by March 2017. (Source: DOD 09/02/15)

HII readying for CG icebreaker bids

WASHINGTON, DC - Huntington Ingalls Industries officials announced Sept. 1 that it had responded to a Request for Information (RfI) from the Coast Guard regarding a new icebreaker ship design and construction after President Obama urged speeding up work on the program. HII spokesman Bill Glenn said the firm – which “has the capability to build both heavy and medium icebreakers” - responded to the RfI back in January when the CG began developing a formal acquisition plan for the program. (Source: Reuters 09/01/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: HII’s Pascagoula, Miss., facility built the last U.S. icebreaker, USCG Healy, which was delivered in November 1999.

Contract: Whitesell-Green, $9.9M

Whitesell-Green, Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded $9,932,000 for firm-fixed-price task order 0007 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N40085-13-D-7776) for construction of a submarine maintenance facility at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for installation of new pilings and construction of a maintenance facility with light industrial-type activity on the first floor and office space on the second floor, ancillary support spaces, site work around the proposed building and incidental related work as required to provide a functional maintenance facility. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va., and is expected to be completed by March 2017. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/03/15)

New Freedom LCS named Billings

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus was in Montana on Sept. 2 to unveil the name of the Navy’s newest Littoral Combat Ship after the state’s capitol, Billings. Mabus unveiled renderings of the USS Billings (LCS 15), a Freedom class ship to be built in Wisconsin. Because of competition and cost-containment improvements, SECNAV said the price of LCS ships has been reduced by more than $20 million dollars apiece - from $548 million to about $337 million. (Source: Billings Gazette 09/02/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: The Independence-class LCS – even-numbered hulls – are built at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

Fla. coastal grant program

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Coastal Management Program is accepting applications for the Coastal Partnership Initiative (CPI) grant program. The CPI program promotes protection and management of Florida's coastal resources. The grants support innovative local coastal management projects in four program areas: Resilient Communities, Public Access, Working Waterfronts and Coastal Stewardship. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration makes the funds available on a competitive basis to local governments. (Source: Department of Environmental Protection 09/01/15)

Groundbreaking held for center

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. – The University of Southern Mississippi held a ground breaking for the Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. The facility replaces the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The 28,000-square-foot center will function as the education and outreach arm of the Gulf Coast Research Lab. It has waterfront access and boat dock, and includes six structures that will house exhibits, classrooms, labs and more. (Source: University of Southern Mississippi, 08/31/15)

Attorney: CG petty officer cleared

UPDATE
A Louisiana-based Coast Guard petty officer accused of sexually assaulting two women, and other criminal offenses, has been cleared in a New Orleans court-martial, according to defense attorney John Wells. But, a military judge in the New Orleans case did find Petty Officer 2^nd Class Gregory Cooper guilty of "violating a lawful order," according to the CG. He was demoted one pay grade. Cooper's attorney, a retired Navy commander from Slidell, said Sept. 3 that his client was convicted of violating a policy barring fraternization, because of a "consensual relationship." (Times-Picayune 09/03/15)

PREVIOUSLY: Louisiana-based Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Gregory E. Cooper was to face court-martial proceedings Sept. 1 related to allegations of sexual assault, adultery and other violations of military law, the CG announced Aug. 31. The incidents occurred while he was assigned to the Grand Isle, La.-based cutter Sturgeon and the Aids to Navigation Team Puget Sound in Seattle, Wash., according to the CG. The CG did not release details of the allegations, but the disclosure follows a several-year trend within the agency of publicly acknowledging legal action against service members accused of sex crimes. Cooper is temporarily assigned to the 8th Coast Guard District staff in New Orleans, which is located at Hale Boggs Federal Building – site of the court-martial. (Source: Times-Picayune 08/31/15)

Boats, CG rescue 6 of 7 off DI

MOBILE, Ala. – Two civilian vessels rescued seven people from an overturned catamaran south of Dauphin Island, Ala., on Aug. 29. The ‘Sixth Frau’ notified Coast Guard Sector Mobile of an overturned catamaran about 17 miles south of Dauphin Island. All seven had been wearing life jackets. CGSM launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from New Orleans and a 45-foot Response Boat crew from CG Station Dauphin Island. The crew of the Sixth Frau and a 30-foot Contender were able to recover the individuals and transfer them to the CG boat crew. The boat crew transferred the seven to emergency medical services at the CG station. One of the seven was later pronounced dead at Providence Hospital in Mobile, Ala. There were no other injuries reported. (Coast Guard District Eight 08/29/15)

MSU: Tenn-Tom’s great potential

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, a 234-mile system running through four southeast states, is an engine for economic development with great potential, according to Domenico Parisi, director of Mississippi State University’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC) research facility. Speaking to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Opportunities Conference in Point Clear, Ala., on Aug. 27, Parisi touted NSPARC’s recent economic analysis of the waterway. The Tenn-Tom is uniquely positioned as the prime route for transporting chemical and plastic goods from Ohio River-based facilities to the Gulf of Mexico. There’s room for expansion and investment, Parisi claimed, and could be the “centerpiece of multi-state regional opportunities and become a gateway to the global economy,” For more about NSPARC, visit www.nsparc.msstate.edu. (Source: Mississippi State University 08/28/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: Tenn-Tom impacts 17 southeastern metropolitan regions and 111 counties with a population of about 6 million people.

Ingalls celebrates graduation

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries held a ceremony Saturday for graduates of Ingalls Shipbuilding's Apprentice School. The ceremony celebrated the accomplishments of 45 students representing various crafts at Ingalls. Since 1952, the Apprentice School has produced more than 4,000 graduates in support of Ingalls' operational needs. The program offers a comprehensive two- to four-year curriculum for students interested in shipbuilding careers. More than 60 faculty and staff deliver 13 programs and over 120 course offerings to apprentices. Today more than 1,500 apprentice alumnae fill about 50 different types of jobs at Ingalls, from pipe welders to senior executives. (Source: HII, 08/25/15)

Pacific deployment for MH-60, LCS-4

The Navy plans to use an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter with the first Independence class Littoral Combat Ship scheduled to deploy to the Western Pacific in 2016. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 based in California, will deploy with an MH-60S along with an MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle with USS Coronado (LCS-4), said CAPT Ben Reynolds, deputy commander of Helicopter Sea Combat Wing for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. So far, all LCS deployments to Singapore have used MH-60R and an MQ-8B with the Freedom class USS Fort Worth (LCS-3). MH-60S is the module of the LCS surface warfare and mine countermeasures (MCM) mission packages. (Source: Sea Power 08/24/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: USS Coronado and all even-numbered LCS hulls are built on the Gulf Coast at Austal USA's shipyards in Mobile, Ala. MCM warfare packages are developed and tested at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla.

DDG skipper, CMDCM fired

The commander and senior enlisted leader of the destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52) were removed from their posts for poor job performance, according to the Navy’s Destroyer Squadron 26. Commanding Officer Cmdr. Patrick Foster and Command Master Chief Torrence Kelly were relieved of duty Aug. 21 mere months before the Norfolk-based DDG was to change homeports to Yokosuka, Japan. Capt. Brian Fort, commander of DESRON-26, fired the duo following findings of an investigation a series of decisions that reflected “poor judgment … and poor program management,” according to a Navy release. CMDCM Kelly, on the job five months, was relieved due to a substandard performance. Cmdr. Zoah Scheneman, deputy commander of DESRON 26, has taken temporary charge. (Navy Times 08/21/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: USS Barry was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and commissioned December 1992 at the former Naval Station Pascagoula. Cmdr. Gary Roughead – who later became CNO – was the ship’s first commanding officer.

PC to study ship-channel dredging

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - Combat ships may soon be mooring at Naval Support Activity Panama City following the successful completion of a $185,000 grant for a Bay County feasibility study paid for by the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity. The grant is to determine feasibility of a dredging project to the base that would create a ship-turning basin to allow transit for larger Navy ships into and out of NSA PC. The study – that will include environmental impact - will likely take a year to complete. At issue is the depth and width of the Alligator Bayou channel. Among one of the base’s research areas is the Littoral Combat Ship’s Mine-Countermeasures warfare module. USS Independence (LCS-2) has been conducting Gulf of Mexico MCM testing this summer and using Naval Air Station Pensacola as a temporary homeport despite joint testing activities with NSA PC. The dredging project could also be a feather in NSA PC’s cap to keep it from future Base Realignment And Closure commissions. (Source: Panama City News Herald 08/22/2015) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding and Maritime Note: Bay County has received some $5.5 million is Defense Infrastructure grants since 2000. Also, LCS-2 Independence is the first in class and was built along the Gulf Coast at Austal USA Shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

Frigate to be decommissioned

When USS Simpson (FFG 56) decommissions Sept. 29 at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., the Navy will be left with only one active frigate on the books – the 218-year-old USS Constitution. Simpson, the last active Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate – or “Fig 7” - is being prepared for decommissioning prior to being sold through the Foreign Military Sales program. Previously, the U.S. has sold frigates - including the Pensacola, Fla.-decommissioned USS Jesse L. Brown - to Bahrain, Egypt, Poland, Turkey and Pakistan. The Coast Guard has been harvesting weapons system components - at a current cost savings of $24M - from decommissioned frigates for its Famous-class cutters. Some of those components include MK 75, 76 mm/62 caliber gun mounts, launchers, and junction boxes. (Source: NNS, 08/19/15) Gulf Coast note: Lt. Cmdr. Casey Roskelly became the new commanding officer of FFG 56 during a change of command ceremony July 17. Roskelly earned his commission from Officer Candidate School in March 2000 at Pensacola, Fla. Frigates are being replaced by redesigned Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) that will be called new frigates. Currently, the Independence class LCS is built at Austal USA's shipyards in Mobile, Ala.

LCS 24 will be named Oakland

The next Independence variant Littoral Combat Ship will be named USS Oakland (LCS 24), according to an announcement by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. The ship will be named to honor the long-standing history its namesake city has had with the Navy. The LCS can perform a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare. LCS 24 will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. It will be 419 feet long and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots. (Source: NNS, 08/20/15)

2 Austal LCS to be based in SD

Two of the newer Gulf Coast-built Littoral Combat Ships - Gabrielle Giffords and Omaha – are to be home-ported in San Diego along with the future destroyer Zumwalt, according to the Navy. There are four LCS at Naval Station San Diego. The announcement also indicates there will be at least 10 based there in the future. Giffords and Omaha were built at Austal USA shipyards in Mobile, Ala. (Source: San Diego Union-Tribune 08/13/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: Austal USA christened USS Giffords (LCS 10) in June. The keel-laying for the future USS Omaha (LCS 12) was in February. The Zumwalt (DDG-1000) was christened in 2014 in Bath, Maine. It will be the Navy's largest destroyer.

New Orleans completes INSURV

SAN DIEGO - The amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) completed a material inspection by the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) at Naval Base San Diego. The three-day assessment of the entire ship was evaluated by dozens of subject-matter experts. "All of the hard work and long hours paid off," said Capt. Douglas Verissimo, New Orleans' commanding officer. "We are now able to operate as a more capable warship, with our Marine counterparts, as we enter our integrated phase." INSURV was established to ensure ships’ readiness. INSURV inspection tests in New Orleans included testing of the aqueous film forming foam sprinkler systems, anchoring equipment, engine inspections, berthing inspections, and a detect-to-engage evolution. "INSURV challenged us all, but in the end,” said Lt. Christine Tomko, the INSURV coordinator aboard New Orleans, “the ship is in the best shape it has been in years." (Source: USS New Orleans 08/10/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: USS New Orleans, the second vessel in the San Antonio class of amphibious transport dock (LPD) warships, was built at the then-Northrop Grumman Shipyard in New Orleans. The ship was commissioned on March 10, 2007, in New Orleans.

CG calls off search near DI

MOBILE, Ala. – Coast Guard Sector Mobile suspended its 22-hour search Thursday at 9:35 p.m. for a missing swimmer near Dauphin Island. CG crews covered more than 480 square miles during the search after receiving a report that 30-year-old Daniel Sewell had gone missing from Fort Gaines on the island where he had planned to go swimming. Participating in the search were small boat crews from CG Station Dauphin Island, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from CG Air Station New Orleans, Alabama Marine Police and Dauphin Island Police. (Source: Coast Guard District 8 08/07/15)

Defending the Panama Canal

MAYPORT, Fla . – Rear Adm. George Ballance, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and the Navy's 4th Fleet presided over closing ceremonies here Aug. 5 for PANAMAX 2015, a multi-national training exercise focused on ensuring the defense of the Panama Canal and crucial to the unrestricted flow of global maritime commerce. More than 50 partner-nations participants – from 16 countries - came to Naval Station Mayport to assist with operations and crisis action planning. Forces conducted a series of simulated exercises at Southern Command’s Mayport HQ and within its areas of responsibility. Exercises helped prepare the U.S. and partners with protecting the passage of traffic through the canal, ensure its neutrality, and respect national sovereignty. The exercise was designed to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions. Participants: U.S. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and United Kingdom. (Navy News Service 08/06/16) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: For American seaports on the East and Gulf coasts, the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in 2016 holds the promise of significant gains in business, some of it long dominated by California. Gulfport, Houston and New Orleans will likely be the major players among Gulf of Mexico ports.

Spearhead on maritime deployment

BIG CREEK, Belize - USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) arrived in Belize on Aug. 3 to offload adaptive force packages (AFPs) for the Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel 2015 (SPS-JHSV 15) subject matter expert exchange maritime deployment. It’s the second time Spearhead has dropped off AFPs and military equipment in Belize. SPS-JHSV 15 is a Navy 4th Fleet deployment with partner nations in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The SPS-JHSV 15’s mission is structured providing building partner capabilities, humanitarian aid and disaster relief and training, said Capt. Robert Cepek, mission commander, and to help prevent counter-illicit trafficking and to share interests and values throughout the region. (Source: Navy News Service 08/03/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: Spearhead, built at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., was formally delivered to the Navy on Dec. 5, 2012.

Low shrimp prices make tough year

BILOXI - Mississippi fishermen remain intent on harvesting this year’s shrimp crop in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico despite low prices and a season that was paused and restarted. Dave Burrage, Mississippi State University Extension professor of marine resources at the Coastal Research and Extension Center, said the season first opened June 3 and then closed June 19 when shrimp were too small; and re-opened July 13. The season has been “an anomaly so far,” he said. Shrimpers landed 630,000 pounds of shrimp in Biloxi area during the first two weeks of this season compared to 760,000 pounds a year ago. The size of shrimp has been similar, but prices (for an average 41-50 count per pound) have plummeted from around $3 per pound to 95 cents per pound this year, Burrage said. Fisheries imports have had a significant impact on price. (Source: Mississippi Business Journal 08/03/15)

VT Halter breaks ground

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Gov. Phil Bryant was in South Mississippi to break ground Monday on a $7.5 million blast and paint facility that will bring another 40 jobs to the VT Halter Marine's Pascagoula shipyard. Bryant kicked in $2 million in Hurricane Katrina funds through a Community Development Block Grant. VT Halter will invest about $5.5 million for the enclosed blast and paint facility that will be built at the north end of the shipyard at Bayou Casotte. (Sources: Sun Herald, WLOX-TV, 08/03/15)

CG celebrating 225th anniversary

The U.S. Coast Guard will celebrate its 225th anniversary of service to America on Aug. 4. The CG traces its history back to the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who proposed building sea-going revenue cutters to collect revenue for the new Republic and serve as “useful sentinels of the law.” President George Washington signed the bill passed by the first Congress on Aug. 4, 1790 authorizing construction of 10 cutters. The Coast Guard is fundamentally a domestic armed force, but also deploys units and personnel overseas; supports both CG and national security mission-interests. (Source: Coast Guard 8th District 08/03/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: Coast Guard District 8 HQ is in New Orleans. It is responsible for CG activities in 26 states with a majority of activity along Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Florida panhandle.

Pre-teen earns GoM ‘Guardian’ award

A St. Petersburg, Fla., elementary school student, working to raise money to buy acoustic tags for marine animals, was named a "Gulf Guardian" at an EPA awards ceremony July 30. Nine-year-old Cory Diaz learned about a new effort to place an array of acoustic receivers in the Gulf of Mexico from her mom, Dr. Chris Simoniello, Director of Outreach and Education for the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association. She decided to raise money for animal tags for her school community service project. She created the uTAG for iTAG campaign through CrowdRise, an online fundraising site. Tracking animals is the science of using tags to learn about species movement and behavior and gather habitat information. Research scientists and resource managers have been tagging animal species throughout the GoM for years. Now, six groups are coming together to try to expand the number of underwater receivers in the GoM and develop arrays in key areas to provide a better regional view, share tracking data and work on habitat and species restoration, especially following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Cory and Renee Hale, her teacher at Bay Point Elementary school, were recognized as first place winners in the youth environmental education category. (Source: Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System 08/03/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: The partnership includes, among others, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association and the University of South Alabama.

Wicker's ocean monitoring bill

JACKSON, Miss. - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) recently introduced legislation in Congress to reauthorize and provide support to the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System. IOOS provides scientists and researchers with vital information about the nation’s coasts and oceans. Wicker’s proposal, titled “Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act,” is co-sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). The program helps improve weather forecasting, energy production, and marine navigation safety. “Mississippi’s Gulf Coast particularly benefits from the network’s important collection of coastal hazards and fisheries data,” he said. Wicker’s bill would also ensure state university research teams are equipped to continue conducting critical scientific studies. More than 50 percent of the marine data now assembled and disseminated by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Data Buoy Center – located in Bay Saint Louis, Miss. - is from non-federal sources. Ocean modeling teams based at Stennis Space Center – Navy, Gulf Coast OOS, Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State, and NOAA - coordinate to develop the best physical and ecosystem models on the Gulf Coast. National Weather Service uses the Navy model results for their public safety hurricane forecasts. (Mississippi News Now 07/30/15)

Contract: HII, $16.6M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $16,614,562 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-12-C-4323 to provide long lead-time material procurement, management services, and incremental level of effort for CG-47-class cruisers. The contract is for planning yard services for CG-47-class cruisers and DD 963-class destroyers. Huntington Ingalls provides necessary engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data, and logistics efforts for CG 47 and DD 963 lifetime support for both maintenance and modernization. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by September 2016. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/31/15)

LCS warfare package eval delayed

The Littoral Combat Ship's mine-countermeasures (MCM) mission package won’t reach its operational status by Sept. 30 after reliability issues forced the program to stretch the timeline for initial testing in the Gulf of Mexico. The Mobile, Ala.-built USS Independence (LCS-2) has been off the coast of Northwest Florida conducting a technical evaluation since April, and it was to have wrapped up in early June to allow the start of its operational test and evaluation in July and final operational declaration before the start of FY 2016. But Capt. Casey Moton, LCS missions' modules program manager, said there were reliability problems in the technical evaluation that happened on two separate mine clearance runs that led the program office to extend the evaluation period. There wasn't a single point of failure in the testing, with some even involved the ship itself. Moton is certain the mission package will reach operational status at the end of the latest evolution. (Source: US Naval Institute News 07/31/15) The MCM package was developed at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., has provided a home port for the ship during the test period.

ASW overweight for LCS

The Littoral Combat Ship's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission package is overweight and can't deploy aboard ship until it drops pounds. Capt. Casey Moton, LCS Mission Module program manager, told the Mine Warfare Association that each of his three warfare modules is given 231,485 pounds for each LCS, but ASW alone surpassed the weight limit. The Navy has hired Advanced Acoustic Concepts, L-3 Communications and Raytheon to find weight-reduction measures. Each team will submit a package to bring the mission module to a manageable weight. Navy will pick the best ideas and use them to engineer development models (EDM). (Source: US Naval Institute News, 07/30/15) Gulf Coast note: Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence class LCS variant, and Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., is developing the LCS mine-counter measures warfare package.

Contract: HII, $93M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $93,034,622 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-12-C-4323) to provide incremental level of effort, long lead-time material procurement, and management services for CG-47-class cruisers. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by September 2016. Fiscal 2015 operation and maintenance Navy funding in the amount of $11,399,088 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/30/15)

HII shows off shipyard

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Huntington Ingalls Industries gave its first tour of its Shipyard of the Future to editors Wednesday. The initiative means a new dry dock, better-trained employees, easier access to work space and more covered areas to keep workers out of the elements. The yard already has 40 percent more covered area than it did 25 years ago. The program is funded in part with $20 million from Mississippi bonds and $40 million from HII. The company, long known for its heavy manufacturing, has also branched out. This year it bought a company that's building and testing undersea drones out of Panama City, Fla., and HII also now owns an undersea-pipeline design company in Houston working in the oil and gas industry. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/29/15)

Propellers for Zumwalt delivered

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Rolls-Royce has delivered twin fixed-pitch propellers to Bath Iron Works in Maine for installation on the future USS Zumwalt, first ship of the DDG 1000 destroyer class. The delivery marks the completion of the power and propulsion system delivery from Rolls-Royce, following the MT30 main turbine generator sets and the RR4500 auxiliary turbine generator sets, which already have been installed and tested. The five-bladed nickel aluminium bronze propellers measure more than 18 feet in diameter and weigh nearly 60,000 pounds apiece. The propellers were cast and machined at the Rolls-Royce facility in Pascagoula. The production of the unique pattern, designed by Naval Sea Systems Command, began more than six years ago, with the first set of finished propellers being delivered by Rolls-Royce from Pascagoula to Bath Iron Works in May. (Source: Seapower Magazine, 07/28/15)

LHA 7 30 percent complete

Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., has completed about 30 percent of its construction on the future USS Tripoli, the second America-class amphibious assault ship. Tripoli (LHA 7) is tentatively scheduled for launch in July 2017, Navy officials said. The ship is slated for delivery in December 2018. (Source: DOD Buzz, 07/25/15)

Oyster project for NW Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection signed an agreement to award $4.4 million to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to implement the Oyster Cultch Placement project. The project is designed to restore oyster beds in Apalachicola, Pensacola and St. Andrew bays in Northwest Florida. The award is part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Phase III early restoration funding as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Source: Florida Department of Environmental Protection 07/25/15)

Layoffs for HII in Virginia

Huntington Ingalls Industries, the Navy’s largest shipbuilder, may have to cut at least 1,500 personnel from its payroll over the next year-and-a-half to counter an anticipated two-year slowdown in work at its Newport News, Va., shipyard - even while it is preparing to bid billions of dollars for work on new aircraft carriers, submarines and other ships. In a notice to personnel at HII, the company said it planned at least 500 jobs to be cut in the fall at the Virginia yard. More than 1,000 more layoffs will likely follow in 2016. There are 38,000 personnel working at Newport News. HII anticipates a rebound in 2017. (Source: Wall Street Journal 07/25/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding: None of the announced layoffs were related to HII’s Gulf Coast shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.

Gulf-built NY returns from deployment

The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) returned to Mayport, Fla., on July 19 marking the end of a second deployment since being commissioned in 2009. USS New York deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in December. The ready group was also comprised of embarked Marines, USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and USS Fort McHenry. New York sailed more than 15,000 nautical miles, supported 2,646 flights, completed a Chief of Naval Operations special project, and conducted a rescue at sea. New York made port calls in Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, and France. (Source: Jacksonville.com 07/22/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: Capt. Kenneth Coleman, a native New Yorker, became the ship’s commanding officer at sea on May 1. He had previously commanded USS Independence (LCS 2), the first Independence class Littoral Combat Ship built at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala. USS New York was built at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans.

Gulf-area waters restoration grants

ATLANTA – The Southern Company in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and other public/private partners has awarded $2.3 million in grants to 64 organizations nationwide – including Mississippi and Northwest Florida - as part of the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program. The 2015 program funding directly supports 12 habitat-restoration projects and helping restore more than 83 acres and 750 feet of stream-banks across four southern states. (Source: PR Newswire 07/22/15) Gulf Coast Maritime Note: In Mississippi: The Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain for scientific and educational activities on Weeks Bayou in Jackson County; Jackson County Board of Supervisors for development of practical tidal wetland mitigation methods and practices.; and the Crosby Arboretum Foundation and partners will construct a unique 900-square-foot quaking bog wetland exhibit at The Crosby Arboretum Interpretive Center in Picayune. In Northwest Florida, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance will engage with students in Okaloosa and Walton counties through a hands-on science education programs and the replanting of 1.2 acres of salt marsh habitat and restoration of 1.3 acres of dune habitat.

Ingalls begins destroyer fabrication

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding has marked the start of fabrication for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119). The start of fabrication signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut. The ship is named in honor of Delbert D. Black, who served as a gunner's mate and was aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Black served in three wars and was the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. Delbert D. Black is the 32nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be built at Ingalls. From this point on, shipbuilders will assemble the ship using modular construction, where pre-fabricated units are constructed separately and later lifted in place and integrated with other units. To date, Ingalls has delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy. (Source: HII, 07/21/15)

Marine center plans unveiled

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory unveiled plans for a new $17 million marine education center. The center will be built on Cedar Point land the university bought in Ocean Springs several years ago. It replaces the old center that Hurricane Katrina destroyed on Point Cadet in Biloxi ten years ago. Land is being cleared, and construction should take about 18 months. Most of the costs are being paid by FEMA. (Source: WLOX-TV, 07/21/15)

Impeccable rescue

Crewmembers aboard the surveillance ship USNS Impeccable rescued 11 Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea on July 19, Navy officials said. Impeccable was en route to Subic Bay, Philippines, for a scheduled port visit when it spotted and rescued the fishermen on a partially submerged vessel 115 miles from Subic. (Source: Stars and Stripes 07/20/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding note: The hull of the USNS Impeccable was completed in 1995 by Halter Marine Inc. of Gulfport, Miss.

LCS 20 named

The next Independence variant littoral combat ship will be named USS Cincinnati (LCS 20). It will be the fifth ship in naval history to be named Cincinnati. The ship will be built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors in support of mine, undersea, and surface warfare missions. Cincinnati will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. It will be 419 feet long and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots. (Source: DoD, 07/19/15)

Contract: HII, $15.4M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $15,363,387 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00024-12-C-4323) to provide long lead-time material procurement, management services, and incremental level of effort for Ticonderoga-class cruisers. Huntington Ingalls will provide necessary engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data and logistics efforts for both maintenance and modernization. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by September 2016. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/17/15)

NSC James leaves shipyard

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The National Security Cutter James (WMSL 754) sailed away from Ingalls Shipbuilding on Sunday, one month after being delivered to the United States Coast Guard. It will be commissioned on Aug. 8 in Boston. The ship will then be stationed in Charleston, S.C., alongside Ingalls' fourth NSC, Hamilton (WMSL 753). National Security Cutters are 418 feet long and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 120. (Source: HII, 07/14/15)

HII gets RFP for LHA-8

The Navy issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) June 25 directly to Huntington Ingalls Industries and General Dynamics’s San Diego-based NASSCO shipyard for the third America-class amphibious warship and six next-generation oilers (TAO(X)). The firms were deemed by the Navy as the only ones capable of building the oiler and LHA-8. The RFP was issued without public notification on the U.S. FedBizOpps website. The Navy expects responses by the fall; yet they won’t be publically releasable. LHA-8 will follow the first two America-class amphibs – America (LHA-6) and Tripoli (LHA-7) – that were built without a well-deck to launch landing craft. LHA-8 – and the rest of the class – will include a well-deck. The Navy will likely look at those two firms to compete for the next generation LX(R) amphibious warship, slated to start construction in 2020. (U.S. Naval Institute News 07/10/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., builds the current LHAs for the Navy.

NAVSCIATTS gets new CO

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Navy Cmdr. Clay M. Pendergrass became the new commanding officer of the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS) in a change of command ceremony July 9. Pendergrass, a Louisiana native, is prior enlisted. He served on both East and West coast SEAL teams and completed numerous deployments. Outgoing commander, Cmdr. John C. Cowan will attend National Defense University in Washington. (Source: Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School 07/10/15) NAVSCIATTS is schoolhouse operating under the U.S. Special Operations Command. It trains and educates partner-nation security forces in topics including small craft strategy to operational instructor development.

Ala. firm earns $141M sub contract

International Marine and Industrial Applicators of Spanish Fort, Ala., was awarded $141,458,723 for a Navy contract to furnish management, material support, labor, supplies and equipment to perform depot/intermediate level preservation on Los Angeles, Virginia and Ohio-class submarines. Work is in Norfolk, Va., and expected to be completed in July 2020. Spanish Fort is located in Baldwin County, across the bay from Mobile. (DOD 07/08/15)

Safety zones for Blues’ air shows

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. - The Coast Guard is scheduled to set up two temporary safety zones – from July 8-12 and between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. - in portions of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and Santa Rosa Sound around Pensacola Beach during the annual Blue Angels’ air show over the Gulf of Mexico. The GoM safety zone includes all waters 1.75 nautical miles east and 1.5 nautical miles west of Pensacola Beach’s Gulf Pier and extending 1,000 yards south of Pensacola Beach. This safety zone is for the protection of persons and vessels on navigable waters during the air show. A portion of the Santa Rosa Sound safety zone includes waters from Deer Point to Sharp Point and within Little Sabine Bay. The CG has added a new safety measure: A 200-yard no-wake-zone all around the Bob Sikes Bridge that will be enforced during rehearsals and air show. Vessels seeking to enter Little Sabine Bay for two hours following the air shows must contact the on-scene Captain of the Port via VHF channel 16 for authorization. Vessel traffic may contact the CG on VHF-FM Channel 16, the Patrol Commander at CG Station Pensacola at (850) 453-8282 or Coast Guard Sector Mobile's Captain of the Port at (251) 441-5976. (Source: GC District 8 07/07/15)

Web-based map IDs Fla. beaches

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Department of Environment Protection’s Florida Coastal Management Program has introduced a “Florida Beach Access Guide” interactive web-based map and app for mobile devices. This guide enables the public to locate all 2,000 beach access points throughout Florida. The access guide is divided into three regions – Panhandle, Atlantic Coast and Southwest Florida. For mobile access, visit iTunes or Android Market to download the Explorer for ArcGIS app and then search for "Florida Beach Access Guide." (Source: Florida EPA 07/96/2015)

USA grad takes CG command

PADUCAH, Ky. - Cmdr. Mark Sawyer, a former Mobile, Ala.-based coast guardsman and University of South Alabama graduate, relieved Capt. Rob McLellan as commanding officer of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Paducah in an official change-of-command ceremony June 30. Marine Safety Unit Paducah oversees CG commercial vessel safety, port safety and security, and marine environmental protection across parts of the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers. (Source: CG 8th District 07/01/15)

LCS-6 completes trials

The Littoral Combat Ship Jackson (LCS-6) has completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of its planned delivery this summer, Naval Sea Systems Command announced June 30. The Independence-class LCS, built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., completed its five-day trial to prove “the performance of the propulsion plant, ship handling and auxiliary systems.” Jackson is the third of four aluminum trimarans built by Austal. Following commissioning later this summer, Jackson will be home-ported in San Diego. (Source: USNI News 06/30/15)