Contract: Lockheed, $60.9M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $60,930,793 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-5104 to exercise option year three 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. (27 percent); Norfolk, Va. (22 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (16 percent); San Diego, Calif. (13 percent); Bath, Maine (10 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (6 percent); and various places below one percent (6 percent), and is expected to be completed by November 2017. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/31/16)

Contract: HII, $9.6M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $9,635,835 cost-plus-award-fee order against previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-16-G-2303 to provide program management, advanced planning, engineering, design, material procurement/kitting, liaison, scheduling, and participation in planning conferences and design reviews in support of the post shakedown availability (PSA) for USS John Finn (DDG 113). This PSA support shall commence prior to the date the shipyard is required to provide final drawings and related data for construction of the individual ship to the Navy. Work will be performed in Pascagoula (75 percent); and San Diego, Calif. (25 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2018. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/31/16)

F-35Bs start Phase III on LHA 6

PACIFIC OCEAN - Five Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighters landed onboard the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on Oct. 28. America will embark seven F-35Bs -- two for the third shipboard phase of developmental test (DT-III) and five to conduct operational testing. Phase III is to evaluate Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) operations in a high-sea state, shipboard landings, and night operations. America, the first ship of its class, is an aviation-centric “amphib” that incorporates key designs to accommodate the fifth-generation fighter. (Source: USS America 10/31/16) Gulf Coast Note: USS America was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

La. shipbuilder delivers 20th cutter

Bollinger Shipyards, a Louisiana-based shipbuilder that operates 10 shipyards throughout south Louisiana, has delivered its 20th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the U.S. Coast Guard - USCGC Lawrence Lawson. The 154-foot Sentinel-class patrol craft has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel's 26-foot cutter boat. The CG took delivery Oct. 20 in Key West, Fla. and is scheduled to be commissioned at Cape May, N.J., in early 2017. (Source: Maritime Global News 10/20/16)

Seafloor inks distro deal

Seafloor Systems has signed an International Distributorship Agreement with Teledyne RESON and Teledyne BlueVew - business affiliates of Teledyne Instruments. BlueView manufactures a variety of underwater surveying systems, including 3D imaging sonars and multi-beam inspection sonars. RESON manufactures the SeaBat Multibeam Sonar systems, including the new SeaBat T-series. Seafloor has been a distributor for Teledyne Odom/RESON for many years, and is known in the industry for providing turnkey single beam and multibeam hydrographic survey equipment and vehicles including the EchoBoat-ASV. (Source: Marine Technology 10/20/16) Seafloor provides and supports customized integrated turn-key sonar solutions; and has supplied multiple SeaBat T-series sonars to three different U.S. Geological Survey offices, and to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in New Orleans.

Contract: IMIA, $21.5M

International Marine and Industrial Applicators LLC, Spanish Fort, Ala., is being awarded a $21,463,020 firm-fixed-price contract for the accomplishment of preservation and non-submarine safety structural repairs and maintenance on USS Maine (SSBN 741). This contract will provide preservation; hull and structural repair; anode removal, repair and replacement; lead bin repair and fabrication; de-ballasting and re-ballasting; and safety track repair requirements. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Wash., and expected to be completed by December 2017. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, is the contracting activity (N4523A-17-C-0001). (Source: DoD, 10/21/16)

Mine-hunting over GoM

The Norfolk, Va.-based Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 conducted its annual airborne mine countermeasures (AMC) training at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., and over the Gulf of Mexico, for nearly two weeks this month. HM-15’s annual Helicopter Advanced Readiness Program training is conducted at Panama City in order for the squadron to receive technical support for equipment and MH-53E aircraft used in mine-hunting. HM-15 was also at NSWC Panama City to focus on a combination of scenarios involving the mine counter-measures triad of AMCM, surface and underwater mine- countermeasures. The training was developed to simulate a real-world scenario that included two explosive ordnance units, and the San Diego-based mine sweeper, USS Champion (MCM 4). (Source: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City 10/18/16)

Retired USS Drum sailors reunite

Sailors once assigned to the former Sturgeon-class fast attack submarine USS Drum (SSN 677) gathered in San Diego in mid-October for a first major reunion since the ship’s decommissioning in 1995. As part of the festivities, the group toured the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS San Francisco (SSN 711), home-ported at Naval Base Point Loma. Drum was commissioned April 15, 1972, and earned two Navy Unit Commendations, seven Meritorious Unit Commendations, and the Battle Efficiency Award in 1991. (Source: Submarine Squadron 11 10/18/16) Gulf Note: Currently, the USS Drum sits on Mobile (Ala.) Bay as part of Battleship Park, alongside the WWII battleship USS Alabama (BB-60).

SOST announces four appointments

Four new appointees to the University of Southern Mississippi’s new School of Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) were recently made within the school’s administrative structure. Housed within the College of Science and Technology, SOST has brought together marine-related research and education programs under one administration and harnesses elements from key areas of USM, including the Division of Marine Science based at John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock county; the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) and Division of Coastal Sciences in Ocean Springs; and the University’s fleet of five research vessels. Dr. William “Monty” Graham was appointed in June as director. He is a former marine scientist at the University of South Alabama’s Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Lab. Dr. Robert Grifitt has assumed duty of chair for the Division of Coastal Sciences and associate director of SOST. Dr. Jerry Wiggers is currently interim chair for the Division of Marine Science and associate director of SOST. Dr. Read Hendon was named associate director of GCRL and director of the Center for Fisheries Research and Development. USM is in an opportune position with SOST to fortify its reputation as a national leader in marine science research along the Gulf of Mexico. SOST holds the distinction of being the only school in North America to offer an undergraduate degree in marine science with an emphasis in hydrographic science. (Source: Southern Miss Now 10/18/16)

GSSC’s fall meeting Oct. 18

The Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium (GSSC) announced that its fall meeting will be Oct. 18-19 in Mobile, Ala. Highlights of the meeting include a presentation by Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.). Byrne will deliver an update from Washington at the official kick-off at the GulfQuest Maritime Museum. Byrne is a member of the House Rules, Armed Services, and Education and the Workforce committees; and a member of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus. In keeping with GSSC’s mission related to maritime workforce development, the speaker lineup for the two-day event represents a broad range of topics including worker safety, apprenticeship programs, and building the talent pipeline. (Source: Marine Link 01/17/16)

CG’s Mobile Bay test burns

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard Research and Development Center, in conjunction with the Naval Research Laboratory, Joint Maritime Test Facility, Bureau of Safety of Environmental Enforcement and other federal, state, and local stakeholders, will be conducting a series of controlled test burns of crude oil at Little Sand Island in Mobile Bay, Ala., during the week of October 17. The pre-planned burns will allow researchers from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to gather critical data to help oil spill responders determine best practices for operational use at site-specific burns, development of new equipment and procedures, and to train response personnel. There will be several controlled test burns during the week. Each will burn about five gallons of oil for about 10 minutes, producing a small plume of black smoke. (Source: Coast Guard 10/14/16)

O&G pipe firm opens Hernando ops

The Tunica, Miss.-based Schulz Xtruded Products, a German-based manufacturer of pipes used in the oil, gas and aerospace industries, will be opening space for a new product line - corrosion-resistant Oil Country Tubular Goods pipes - at a new Hernando, Miss. operation. The company is investing more than $50 million in the operation that has added 50 jobs. "The product they're making here is something that only three or four (firms) in the world are doing,” said Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson. The manufacturer has been in Tunica for six years. The Hernando facility will finish pipes transported by truck from Tunica to meet an increasing demand for corrosion-resistant OCTG pipes. The Hernando operation includes establishing one of the biggest pilger mills in the world. Pipe shells extruded in Tunica are sent to Hernando for cold forming. In addition to pipes for the oil and gas industries, Schulz uses proprietary processes to extrude titanium pipes for the aerospace industry. (Source: Clarion-Ledger 10/11/16)

GoM tuna’s habitat damaged by spill

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has impacted the Atlantic bluefin tuna’s spawning habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a joint report from Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Four million barrels of crude oil was spilled into the Gulf could have near- and long-term impacts on the population. The spill occurred during peak spawning season when eggs and larval fish are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. The study was published in Nature: Scientific Reports. Although the spill encompassed only a small proportion of those spawning grounds, researchers report the potential for a significant impact on eggs and larval bluefin tuna in the GoM. Researchers concluded that the oil-spill impacts, combined with multiple stressors of ocean warming and fishing pressure, could make it more difficult for this unique population to rebuild. (Undercurrent News 10/12/16)

La. LNG plant construction

NuBlu Energy has begun construction of a natural gas liquefaction plant in Port Allen, La., along the Mississippi River. The plant is to support the region’s rail, marine, long haul transportation, power generation, gas interruption, asphalt and other energy markets. It is scheduled to be operational and producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the second quarter of 2017. The planned capacity of the facility is 90,000 gallons per day with an initial start-up capacity of 30,000 GPDs. (Source: Marine Link 10/07/16)

CG rescues trio in La.

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard rescued three people from a sinking vessel near Dulac on Oct. 8. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at 9:42 p.m. of a vessel taking on water near Terrebonne Bay. The vessel’s pump was reportedly not keeping up with the flooding; and water was about three-feet deep. The CG launched a 29-foot small Response Boat from CG Station Grand Isle, and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from CG Air Station New Orleans. Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also launched a marine unit. The CG helicopter arrived at 10:48 p.m., hoisted the three people aboard and transported them to CGAS New Orleans without any medical concerns. (Source: Coast Guard 10/09/16)

BIW won’t protest CG award

Bath Iron Works officials in Portland, Maine, have decided not to formally protest the Coast Guard’s decision to award a multi-billion dollar cutter contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City. Under federal rules, BIW had 10 days to file a protest. The contract was for building the first nine of a new class of offshore patrol cutters. The entire 25-ship contract had an estimated value of about $10.5 billion. Representatives from General Dynamics-owned BIW met with CG officials to discuss the contract decision about a week after the announcement. BIW competed for the contract against Eastern Shipbuilding and Bollinger (La.) Shipyards, both of which are non-unionized yards. (Source: Portland Press 10/06/16)

HII-built cutter completes trials

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced Oct. 7 that the company’s sixth Coast Guard National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) has successfully completed acceptance trials. Munro spent two days in the Gulf of Mexico proving the ship’s systems. The Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey was on board with Ingalls’ test and trials team, which led the sea trials and conducted extensive testing of the propulsion, electrical, damage control, anchor-handling, small boat operations and combat systems. HII-Ingalls has delivered five of eight NSC to the Coast Guard. Three are under construction, including Munro (WMSL 755), set to be delivered by year’s end; Kimball (WMSL 756) in 2018; and Midgett (WMSL 757) in 2019. (Source: HII 10/07/16)

LCS 8 damaged by tug

The Gulf Coast-built Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery’s (LCS 8) hull was damaged by a tug Oct. 4 while going from Naval Station Mayport, Fla., to sea ahead of Hurricane Matthew. The damage was a foot-long crack amidships, along a weld seam, about three feet above the waterline, according to a report obtained by Navy Times. The intrusion was allowing about a gallon of seawater into the ship every three minutes until sailors plugged the crack and installed dewatering systems. Additionally, five of the horizontal beams in the hull were bent. An investigation into possible causes is underway, and the ship will receive more permanent repairs upon her return to port.” USS Montgomery, alongside the cruiser Anzio and amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, were sortied from Mayport ahead of the hurricane. (Source: Navy Times 10/06/16) Gulf Coast Note: Previously, Montgomery suffered a pair of engineering failures within 24 hours of departing Mobile, Ala., on Sept. 16. Austal USA of Mobile builds the Independence class of LCS.

Pre-LCS test of Longbow

The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships program office completed a restrained firing test of the Longbow Hellfire missile for the ships’ Surface-to-Surface Missile Module, the Navy announced Oct. 6. The Longbow has been undergoing developmental testing for incorporation into the module, part of the LCS surface warfare package. The demonstration launch showed the module's ability to withstand heat and fire in the event of an unplanned rocket motor ignition. The test was conducted at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Va. Prior to integrating and testing the Longbow aboard an LCS, a series of tests must be accomplished to prove the safety of the system. The Navy plans to deploy the Longbow missile aboard an LCS by December 2017. Structural test firing from an LCS is scheduled for March 2017. (Source: Navy News Service 10/05/16) Gulf Coast Note: Austal USA shipyards of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence class variant of LCS.

CG medevacs cruise passenger

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard medevaced a 64-year-old male with heart attack-like symptoms from the cruise ship Carnival Triumph, about 100 miles south of Southwest Pass, on Oct. 5. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to the scene. The man was hoisted aboard and transported to the air station where emergency medical services then delivered the patient to West Jefferson Medical Center. (Source: Coast Guard 10/05/16)

LCS 4 arrives for WestPac

The Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) arrived in the U.S. Seventh Fleet on Oct. 3, destined for the first-ever deployment of an Independence class LCS to the Western Pacific, after having to undergo an engineering repairs in Hawaii. Coronado had been deployed since June 22. It departed Pearl Harbor on Aug. 26, but days later suffered an engineering casualty and returned to Pearl Harbor. Coronado, built by Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., has been armed with RGM-84D Harpoon Block 1C cruise missiles. It also has a larger flight deck than Freedom-class LCS; carries two MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with the ZPY-4 search radar. Its helicopter detachment also operates an MH-60S Seahawk, the first time that type has deployed aboard an LCS to the Western Pacific. (Source: Sea Power 10/04/16)

Contract: HII, $120M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $120,000,000 fixed-price-incentive modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-2427 for additional long lead time material in support of Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) Replacement (LHA(R)) Flight 1 Amphibious Assault Ship (LHA 8). Work procurement includes machinery control system components and software, cargo and aircraft elevators, gas turbines and refrigeration units. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio (17 percent); and in other locations throughout the U.S. that are to be determined (83 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2020. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/03/16)

Pensacola port needs changes

Changes to the shipping industry throughout the latter half of the 20th century has locked Pensacola, Fla., out of becoming a major commercial port hub. The port’s importance has dwindled. Pensacola’s hopes for becoming a home in the offshore oil and gas industry have fallen flat. City leaders are thinking about new uses for the port’s 50 waterfront acres. The Pensacola City Council has allocated $100,000 to study the best use of the property, and how do we successfully transition it into the 21st century. Something has to change. Leadership has acknowledged that the port is on track to need a subsidy from the city if no new revenue streams aret found. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 10/04/16)

Gulf Coast work on EMB-5

General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding of San Diego was awarded a $106,175,548 modification to a previously contract for the procurement of additional long lead time material, engineering, and non-production support for the Expeditionary Mobile Base 5 (formerly Mobile Landing Platform Afloat Forward Staging Base). This action allows the procurement of whole ship sets of interior out-fittings; steel plates; hull and piping, ventilation and machinery insulation; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; emergency switchboards; piping; valves; steel shapes; ballast water treatment system; Aqueous Film Forming Foam system; and knuckle-boom crane. The majority of work will be performed in Crozet, Va. (32.28%). Gulf Coast locations are to include Belle Chasse, La. (7.52%); Mobile, Ala. (2.94%); and Youngsville, La. (1.47%). The Naval Sea Systems Command in the District of Columbia is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 10/03/16)

BP: Deepwater Horizon film inaccurate

BP has criticized the new "Deepwater Horizon" motion picture as being an inaccurate Hollywood dramatization of the deadly oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. "The 'Deepwater Horizon' movie is Hollywood's take on a tragic and complex accident. It is not an accurate portrayal of the events that led to the accident, our people, or the character of our company," the British oil and gas company said in a statement. 'Deepwater Horizon', released in the U.S. on Sept. 30, focuses on the hours before and after the explosion from a well blowout on the BP rig, leading to the worst offshore oil disaster in American history. Eleven workers were killed; and millions of barrels of oil spewed onto Gulf Coast shorelines for nearly three months. (Source: Marine Link 09/30/16)

Airlifting ‘Gitmo’s civilians to P'cola

The U.S. Navy is preparing to airlift some 700 military spouses and children from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., ahead of one of the more powerful storms in the Atlantic Ocean since Hurricane Felix in 2007. Hurricane Matthew was moving slowly northward near Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba. It was a Category 4 storm early Oct. 3 with about 130 mph winds. By early Oct. 4, Matthew’s eye is due over eastern Cuba, where the U.S. Navy operates a naval base and detention facility. The remaining “Gitmo” military and civilian personnel will shelter in place to provide support and recovery efforts, the Navy said in a statement. (Source: Marine Link 10/02/16) Navy Region Southeast is coordinating with U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Transportation Command for the airlift to NASP. Family members would remain in Pensacola until it is safe to return to 'Gitmo'. NASP has quarters to house the families, and Fleet and Family Service Center counselors will be available to provide assistance. Pensacola Naval Hospital will also be assisting the evacuees by providing medical care and prescriptions. Heather Mattson, the wife of an army sergeant major stationed at NAVSTA Guantanamo Bay, arrived to PNAS on Sunday with her son, two dogs and cat. "I am so appreciative of everyone that is helping," Mattson said via PNH's Facebook page. "This has been so well organized."