PC divers work comms with astronaut

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – Service members with the Panama City Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) were on the verge of completing an 11-day, 350-plus foot deep saturation dive Jan. 28. But, before they exit the sealed chambers, the group is working with French Astronaut Thomas Pesquet on the International Space Station. Their mission was to test lines of communication despite 55,000 gallons of water, and space, separating them. Pesquet is a saturation diver. Since Day 1 of the mission, the divers used a new communication system to test the divers' voices. From under sea to outer space, that's how far the NEDU is willing to test the equipment. The divers are scheduled to have another call with NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston on Jan. 31, two days before the saturation dive is completed. (Source: WMBB 01/28/17)

USS Cole assists Iran-flagged dhow

The Gulf Coast-built guided missile destroyer USS Cole assisted an Iranian-flagged vessel after it ran out of fuel last week in the Gulf of Oman. The Ingalls, Miss., shipyard-built destroyer supplied 17 gallons of diesel fuel on Jan. 27 to the distressed 75-foot dhow, according to the Navy. “We have an important role and responsibility to aid our fellow mariners in distress,” Cmdr. David Wroe, Cole’s commander said. “It was a pleasure to use our training to support the sailors with something even as little as a few cans of fuel.” (Source: Stars and Stripes 01/29/17) Gulf Coast Note: In a bit of Middle-Eastern irony, USS Cole, which is supporting the Navy's 5th Fleet in the region, was bombed in Yemen by al-Qaida in October 2000. Seventeen crew members were killed and 39 were injured, including two of three sailors with Pensacola, Fla.-family ties.

Eglin weapons testing in GoM

EGLIN AFB, Fla. - Eglin Air Force Base’s 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group will be conducting boat operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Choctawhatchee Bay around Destin, Fla., on Feb. 2 and Feb. 6-9. Fighter aircraft will release inert munitions between 8 a.m. and noon about 20 miles south of Destin into the Gulf. The weapons tests will be conducted within a cleared range safety area, and will include boat-operation surveillance. In the afternoons between 1-5 p.m., about 30 boats traveling in formation will transverse between the Mid-Bay Bridge and Highway 331 Bridge, and into the Gulf some 20 miles south of Destin. The boats will be used as visual targets for the military aircraft. No weapons or munitions will be involved with the boat formation. Some of the boats will have fake deck guns and rocket launcher tubes; and will use flares as visual markers. (Source: Eglin AFB 01/30/17)

Trump XO: Boost to DOD contractors?

With that latest policy move and continued talk of correcting a trade imbalance with Mexico, a second, somewhat overlooked, executive order issued by President Trump calls for "a great rebuilding of the armed services," including "new planes, new ships, new resources and new tools for our men and women in uniform," and may wind up boosting job creation in the Gulf Coast region. If it happens, it could be a boost to regional military contractors, like Textron Marine and Land Systems, which builds armored vehicles and military watercraft in New Orleans East and Slidell, and Bollinger Shipyards, a Navy-Coast Guard boat builder with 10 shipyards across South Louisiana. (Source: Times-Picayune 01/28/17) Gulf Coast Note: Additionally, there are military shipyards at Ingalls in Pascagoula, Miss.; Austal-USA in Mobile, Ala.; and Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla., among others.

BP brings Thunder Horse South online

BP announced Jan. 24 it has started up its Thunder Horse South Expansion project in the some 6,000 feet of deep water in the Gulf of Mexico 11 months ahead of schedule and under budget. The project is expected to boost production at the facility by an estimated 50,000 gross barrels of oil equivalent per day, further increasing output at one of the largest oil fields in the GoM. “Thunder Horse South Expansion - along with our recent approval of the $9 billion Mad Dog Phase 2 platform - demonstrates that the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remains a key part of our global portfolio today and for many years to come,” said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. The project also marks the first of several major upstream start-ups expected before the end of 2017, according to Dudley, and a step toward BP’s goal of adding 800,000 barrels of new production by 2020. The Thunder Horse South Expansion project adds a new subsea production system roughly two miles south of the existing Thunder Horse platform. The system is a collection point for wells connected to the TH platform by two 11,000-foot flow-lines installed on the seabed in late 2016. BP operates two other production platforms in the deep waters of the GoM– Atlantis and Na Kika, and holds interests in four non-operated hubs. (Source: Marine Technology News 01/24/17) Gulf Coast Note: Seven years ago this coming April, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster occurred in the GoM from the company-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

GA-Tupelo mod work on EMALS

General Atomics of San Diego was awarded a $532,614,821 modification to a previously awarded contract option for the manufacture, assembly, inspection, test and checkout of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) delivered onboard the USS Enterprise (CVN 80) aircraft carrier. The work includes installation and checkout spares, repairs, technical data, and drawing changes. Work will be performed in San Diego (26%); Mankato, Minn. (18.4%); and Tupelo, Miss. (18.1%), among other sites. Work is expected to be completed in September 2027. (Source: DOD 01/27/17) Gulf Coast Note: General Atomics has a high cycle test assembly plant at Shannon, Miss., near Tupelo, that conducts long-term reliability testing on the full-scale power train for EMALS.

Ingalls authenticates CG cutter’s keel

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the eighth Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Midgett (WMSL 757) on Jan. 27. Ingalls has delivered six NSC to the Coast Guard, and two more are currently under construction. In addition to Midgett, the seventh NSC, Kimball (WMSL 756), is scheduled to deliver in 2018. In December 2016, Ingalls received a $486 million fixed-price incentive contract from the Coast Guard to build a ninth NSC. Legend-class National Security Cutters are the flagships of the Coast Guard. (Source: HII-Ingalls Shipbuilding 01/27/17)

La. tugs get poor Alaskan review

A vessel design firm hired by a Prince William Sound environmental watchdog group is very skeptical of the capability of tugs being built to escort oil tankers out of Valdez, Alaska. Marine engineer Robert Allan told members of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council that his company - Vancouver-based naval architecture/marine engineering firm Robert Allan Ltd. - found “fairly significant deficiencies” in the designs of two classes of tugs that Edison Chouest Offshore plans to use in the Sound starting in 2018. Last June, Louisiana-based Edison Chouest Offshore won a 10-year contract from Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. for Prince William Sound ship escort and response vessel system (SERVS). The tugs are currently under construction at four shipyards in Louisiana and Mississippi, three of which are owned by Edison Chouest, according to Alyeska SERVS Operations Manager Mike Day. They were designed by Damen Shipyards Group, a Dutch company that is a regular competitor of Damen, according to Day. Edison Chouest is scheduled to take over SERVS operations in July 2018 from an Alaska wing of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Maritime Corp., which has provided tanker docking services in Valdez since the startup of the pipeline in 1977. Alyeska operates the Valdez marine oil terminal as part of its duties overseeing the Trans-Alaska pipeline system. (Source: Alaska Journal of Commerce 01/25/17) Gulf Coast Note: Edison Chouest Offshore is headquartered out of Cut Off, La., which is 65 miles SSW of New Orleans.

Ingalls begins fabrication of DDG 123

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division officially started fabrication of the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) on Jan. 25. The start of fabrication signifies that the first 100 tons of steel have been cut. “Starting fabrication on another destroyer is a great way to start the year,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. The Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee is the fourth of five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers HII was awarded in June 2013. The ship is named in honor of Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee, the first woman to receive the Navy Cross and was among ‘The Sacred Twenty” that originated the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908. She later became the second superintendent of Navy Nurse Corps in 1911. (Source: HII 01/26/17)

Cuban delegation visits NOLA port

A seven-member delegation of Cuban trade ambassadors met with Port of New Orleans officials and Louisiana trade representatives Jan. 25. The delegation’s day began with an overview of the island-nation’s economy, trade activity, and Mariel Container Terminal. A Louisiana business roundtable followed with representatives from manufacturing, shipping and logistics providers and a tour of the Port. The delegation later met with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and had dinner with Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson and officials from the five deep-water ports located on the Lower Mississippi River. (Source: Maritime Logistics Professional 01/25/17)

Doyle rejects foreign Ro/Ro pact

Federal Maritime Commissioner William P. Doyle voted to reject joint contracting authority for Roll-on/Roll-off foreign carriers to negotiate collectively for U.S.-flagged tug services. Doyle's statement notes new rules go beyond the scope of the Shipping Act and shipping practices harmful to U.S. domestic maritime trades. The maritime business community operating in and around American waterways raised objections to the joint contracting and procurement language, he said. “Tens-of-thousands of family wage jobs are supported by these service providers and the U.S. coastal and inland waterways fleet.” (Source: Maritime Logistics Professional 01/25/17

EPF milestones at Austal

MOBILE, Ala. - The Navy recognized two milestones Jan. 18 in the construction of Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships: The keel authentication of the ninth EPF, USNS City of Bismarck, and fabrication start for the 11th, USNS Puerto Rico. The keel for EPF 9 was said to be “truly and fairly laid” as it was authenticated by Robert O. Wefald, former Attorney General of North Dakota, by welding his initials into the keel plate. The ceremony at Austal USA shipyard represented a major milestone in the ship’s construction as the keel is the symbolic backbone of a ship. The start of construction on USNS Puerto Rico signifies the procurement of materials and components, and the shipyard’s ability to begin fabrication on the hull. In September, Austal USA was awarded a contract to definitize long lead-time materials and for the detail design and construction of EPFs 11 and 12. (Source: Naval Sea Systems Command 01/19/17)

Trump nominates new SECNAV

President Donald Trump nominated financier and former Army Reserve officer Philip Bilden Jan. 25 to be the next Secretary of the Navy, saying his business experience would aid him in rebuilding the naval fleet from "its lowest point … in decades." Bilden has been widely rumored in recent days as Trump's pick for the job, a surprise to many who expected former congressman J. Randy Forbes to receive the nomination. (Source: Military.com 01/25/17)

McCain: BRAC ‘cowardice’

U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is considering starting discussion on a sixth round of base closures, which is likely to be a major talking point in the FY 2018 defense budget debate this coming spring. McCain claims the Congress’ rejection of previous calls for BRAC as “cowardice” and a threat to military readiness. Possible discussions about BRAC would be a shift on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have been adamantly opposed to closing bases in their districts. DOD has estimated that the five previous base closings since 1990 have saved taxpayers at least $12 billion annually. Lawmakers have prohibited DOD from even planning for future base closing plans largely in response to BRAC 2005, which saw minimal fiscal return. McCain hinted that future BRACs may not depend on an independent commission as it has been done in the past. (Source: Military Times 01/24/17) Gulf Coast Note: Past BRACs have shuttered Pensacola, Fla.’s Naval Aviation Depot, naval stations Mobile, Ala., and Pascagoula, Miss.; and moved the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory from Pensacola to Ohio.

Ingalls awards $100K in STEM grants

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division awarded more than $100,000 in grants on Jan. 24 to 28 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects and initiatives from schools and educational organizations in Mississippi and Alabama. It is the ninth year for Ingalls’ STEM program, which has awarded more than $810,000 for STEM-related projects during those years. (Source: HII 01/24/17)

America’s Amazon in South Alabama

Fifteen minutes from Mobile, Ala., is the Greater Mobile-Tensaw River area that features such biodiversity it has been called “America’s Amazon.” A recent report - called the “State of Knowledge” - aims to shine a light on the natural and cultural landmark in hopes of protecting it and its surrounding areas from development. The report surveys the region’s key resources, including likely the greatest turtle diversity in the world, unique geology and hydrology, and evidence of human settlements from thousands of years ago. One of its leading proponents is Dr. Edward O. Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard University scientist and native Alabamian. “Remarkably little has changed in the Red Hills and Mobile-Tensaw Delta since my boyhood in the 1940s,” Dr. Wilson said in the forward. “Industries and housing are pressing in on the habitable edges, and the pollution of the river waters is rising inexorably. The populations of Mobile and the Bay coasts are growing and spreading rapidly. Yet for a while longer this small wilderness will persist, a priceless window on deep history, and a national treasure at multiple levels. The value of the greater Mobile-Tensaw River area is great, unique, and if lost cannot be recreated.” (Source: National Parks Traveler 01/05/17)

Hydrogen supply for La. refinery

DANBURY, Conn. - Praxair Inc. has signed a long-term contract to supply hydrogen to Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s refinery in Garyville, La. MPC will use the hydrogen to support an ultra-low-sulfur diesel project planned for 2018. Marathon Petroleum is the third-largest transportation fuels refiner in America and operates an integrated refining, marketing and transportation system in the Midwest, East, Southeast and Gulf Coast. The hydrogen will be supplied through Praxair’s extensive Southeast Louisiana pipeline network. (Source: Business Wire 01/23/17)

International ferry conference in NYC

The Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s third conference on International Ferry Safety and Technology will be held May 11-12 in New York City. There has been a large expansion of ferries built for India, Philippines, Thailand, West Africa, and the high profile expansion of the Citywide ferry service in New York. The conference will be of interest to ferry companies, naval architects, ship designers, and regulators on solutions for training, navigation and weather routing, and vessel propulsion. In conjunction with the conference, attendees will learn about the major expansions of ferry service in New York. (Source: Maritime Logistics Professional 01/18/17) Gulf Coast Note: Metal Shark Aluminum Boats of Jeanerette, La., and Horizon Shipbuilding of Bayou La Batre, Ala., secured contracts to build 19 catamaran ferries to operate in New York City’s new Citywide Ferry. Fourteen were to be delivered by the first quarter of 2017, and the remaining five by 2018.

Contract: G Lakes Dredging, $88.5M

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company LLC, Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded an $88,526,495 firm-fixed-price contract for Mississippi comprehensive barrier island restoration, Ship Island Phase One. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Work will be performed in Harrison County, Miss., with an estimated completion date of April 26, 2018. Fiscal 2014 other funds in the amount of $88,526,495 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-17-C-0008). (Source: DoD, 01/18/17)

Contract: ManTech Sys., $11.2M

ManTech Systems Engineering Corp., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded an $11,238,775 cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort and cost-only modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-14-C-4110) to exercise an option for specific systems operation, sustainment, and support services for the Navy Ship Maintenance and Logistics Information Systems (SMLIS) program. This option exercise provides uninterrupted enterprise support to the SMLIS program, including engineering support in the areas of information technology life cycle planning, operations and sustainment, documentation, program management, application technical refresh, testing, training, and deployment. These efforts are required to ensure the successful development, deployment, implementation, and operation of the SMLIS program. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (75 percent); Rocket Center, W.V. (11percent); San Diego, Calif. (4 percent); Mechanicsburg, Pa. (3 percent); Washington, D.C. (2 percent); Kittery, Maine (2 percent); less than one percent each in Fairfield, Calif.; Hoover, Ala.; New Orleans, La.; Richmond, Va.; and is expected to be completed by April 2017. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-14-C-4110). (Source: DoD, 01/18/17)

Seabee reservist turned rock star

CENTRAL AFRICA - When Navy reservist Alejandro Villanueva-Mascote found out he was mobilizing for active duty, and deploying to Central Africa, he wondered if his construction skills would be ready for the task since in civilian life he was as a medical assistant and pharmacy technician. Seabee Construction Electrician 2nd Class Villanueva-Mascote turned out to be the right Gulfport, Miss., Seabee for the job. He spent last spring training with Gulfport’s Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11. In August, he and a small Seabee detail provided timely construction support to U.S. advisors and partner forces. He found his electrical skills were in high demand, especially his newly acquired solar power installer certification. But his civilian skills were also called into play during the mission. For an entire week, after finishing construction work, Villanueva-Mascote volunteered in assisting Army medics in a local village allowing four medics and a doctor to spend more time on critical cases. "He's a rock-star," said one of the medics when asked about the sailor’s contributions. (Source: NMBC 11 Gulfport 01/17/17)

La. unmanned surface vehicle I&T

On-water testing is underway for the fourth-generation Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) in support of the Navy's Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program, according to Textron Systems Unmanned Systems. Textron Systems completed the design, build and component test phases of UISS in November. Following component testing, Textron began systems level integration and test (I&T) phase, culminating in dockside and on-water testing in Lake Pontchartrain near its Marine & Land Systems facility in Louisiana. Textron Systems is tp move into builders' trials upon completion of I&T and then formal testing to validate functionality with the Navy later in 2017. (Source: Maritime Global 01/12/17)

Bilden front-runner for SECNAV

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Philip Bilden, a private equity investment executive, to be Secretary of the Navy, according to Navy and congressional anonymous sources cited by both USNI News and Washington Post. Bilden lived and worked in Asia for some 20 years before returning to America. In 2013, he was named one of Asia’s 25 Most Influential People in Private Equity by Asian Investor magazine. The Newport, R.I., native attended Georgetown University on an ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1986, and then served four years as an Army intelligence officer. Afterwards, he then joined the HarbourVest private equity firm in Boston; and later founded the firm’s Asia branch in Hong Kong before returning to Rhode Island. (Source: Maritime Executive 01/14/17) Bilden has a son who graduated from the Naval Academy and another son who is a midshipman. Former NATO Supreme Commander, retired flag officer, James G. Stavridis called Biden “a man of extraordinary expertise on maritime and nautical affairs.” Bilden also serves on the board of the Naval War College.

CMR to meet Jan. 17 in Biloxi

BILOXI, Miss. – Mississippi’s Commission on Marine Resources will meet Jan. 17 at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Bolton Building at 1141 Bayview Ave. in Biloxi. On the agenda (link provides details) will be presenters from the Office of Coastal Resources Management to discuss wetlands permitting. The City of Biloxi is requesting a modification to a previously permitted pier, and inclusion of additional piers and a kayak launch. Also, Biloxi is proposing maintenance dredging of seven areas within Back Bay and the Point Cadet Marina. (Source: Mississippi Department of Marine Resources 01/13/17) MDMR is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the Mississippi by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes.

Wayward manatee alludes rescuers

A rescue team from Sea World could not rein in a wayward manatee swimming through the South Mississippi waterways on Jan. 13. Angela Levins, spokeswoman for the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, said the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network got a call Jan. 10 about a manatee in the Biloxi River. The Stranding Network alerted Sea World Rescue, which has specialized equipment to help capture the manatee. Once captured, it would have been taken back to Sea World and eventually released in Crystal River, Fla. The rescue team arrived and has been following the manatee, trying to capture it from the Tchoutacabouffa River region. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and South Mississippi’s Institute for Marine Mammal Studies also are involved in the efforts. However, the manatee alluded the rescue team several times, said Noel Wingers, coordinator for AMMSN. “We will regroup and try again,” she said. The manatee is believed to be among a group migrating back to the warmer waters for winter. There are an estimated 200 manatees in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The last count of Florida’s manatee population was about 6,000. (Source: Sun Herald 01/13/17)

MS coast economics lag behind

LONG BEACH, Miss. - The Mississippi Gulf Coast’s economy lags behind other regions of the state underscoring the need for lawmakers to keep BP settlement money on the coast, according to Gulf Coast Business Council President Ashley Edwards. The Gulf Coast “has not realized the same economic momentum” as the overall state since 2010, Edwards told attendees of Jan. 12’s University of Southern Mississippi’s annual Economic Outlook Forum at the Gulf Park campus. The coast’s recovery has been stymied by Hurricane Katrina, the Great Recession of 2008 and the 2010 BP oil spill. “The perception has often been that the coast region, with its maritime economy, does better than the rest of the state,” he said. “That’s not necessarily true.” (Source: Sun Herald 01/13/17)

2017 LCS warfare packages' testing

The first Littoral Combat Ship is set to deploy with mine countermeasures packages, including airborne systems and unmanned technology, by the end of this decade. One of the three mission packages for LCS is mine countermeasures. They will do the job using a range of many unmanned technologies. The Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) system, a mine-hunting payload designed to operate aboard the MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle is set to achieve operational capability by Sept. 30, according to Marine Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens, director of the Navy’s Expeditionary Warfare Division. Two more airborne systems, (Airborne Laser Mine Detection System and Airborne Mine Neutralization System) achieved operational capability in November. The systems are headed for shipboard testing later in 2017 along with the AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar designed to be pulled by the Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle, a new surface drone boat now in testing. Despite some setbacks in development, officials expect the full new mine-hunting package to be complete by the close of FY 2019. (Source: DOD Buzz 01/12/17) Gulf Coast Note: Among Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., missions is to conduct research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) and in-service support of the LCS mine warfare systems mission.

Exploring lethality on LPD-17s

As the Navy pushed for more distributed weaponry throughout the fleet, defense contractor Lockheed Martin is exploring ways to put elements of its Aegis missile defense system software on San Antonio-class (LPD-17) amphibious transport docks ships. The amphib was designed with space and weight for the Mark 41 vertical launching system, according to LM executive Jim Sheridan. “So you think of taking a Mark 41 vertical launching system, along with some of the capabilities that are inherent in the (Aegis) common-source library and transitioning that to that class, that’s where you can really exploit” distributed lethality. MK 41 VLS is an eight-cell module designed to accommodate a wide variety of missiles. It’s currently in use by the Navy’s fleet of cruisers and destroyers, which are equipped with the Aegis system. San Antonio-class amphibs are primarily used as platforms to transport Marines, sailors and equipment. (Source: DOD Buzz 01/10/17) Gulf Coast Note: Huntington Ingalls’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., is the sole provider of the San Antonio (LPD 17) class of amphibious transport dock ships for the Navy.

SOUTHCOM: Send in the LCS

ARLINGTON, Va. – The regional combatant commander responsible for military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean is looking forward to deploying the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships across the region to interdict illegal drug trafficking. “Send me the LCS,” said Adm. Kurt Tidd, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, in remarks Jan. 12 at the Surface Navy Association National Symposium. “It’s the perfect platform (for the mission) ... It’s going to give us great capability.” The Navy has strained to provide adequate ships to patrol the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific given its priorities in the Western Pacific, Persian Gulf and Europe. The shortage has been exacerbated with the retirement of the last Perry-class frigates, once the backbone of the Navy’s drug interdiction operations. “We run out of forces before we run out of missions we’re engaged in,” Tidd said. In late 2016, the Navy home-ported two LCS at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and those will be joined by others in the near future. (Source: Sea Power 01/12/17)

Biz trade trip to UAE, Jordan

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi companies interested in initiating or expanding trade with business prospects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Jordan in the Middle East are invited to join a Mississippi delegation on a business development mission March 26-30. “The business development trip to Dubai and Jordan is a gateway for Mississippi businesses in a number of industries to gain access to these two Middle Eastern markets,” said Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Glenn McCullough, Jr. The trip is open to all Mississippi-based companies. Sectors in the two markets include aerospace, aviation, communications, construction, defense, environmental, medical, oil and gas, safety and security and specialty foods and water. The deadline to register is Feb. 3. For more information call (601) 359-2952; email to asikora@mississippi.org or visit MDA’s website (Mississippi.org). (Source: Mississippi Development Authority 01/10/17)

Navy Week kicks off on Gulf Coast

Navy Week 2017 will kick off in Mobile, Ala., during February’s Mardi Gras season, and in late March in Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss., and then sail into 13 other cities across the country. Navy Weeks, coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO), are designed to give Americans the opportunity to learn about the Navy, personnel, and importance to national security. Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy's flagship outreach effort in 71 cities across America. Navy Weeks are scheduled for the following cities in 2017: Mobile, Ala., Feb. 22-28; Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss., March 31-April 8. Additional Navy Week will be added during the year at a location and time to be determined. Last year's Navy Week program, through the execution of more than 900 individual outreach events, showcased the Navy to a combined audience of about 70 million Americans. (Source: Navy Office of Community Outreach 01/12/17)

Surface Navy’s focus on future

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Surface Navy Association hosted shipbuilding and ship maintenance panels here on the final day of its 29th annual symposium Jan. 12. Vice Adm. Thomas J. Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, moderated both panels that focused on current and future force structure with developments in technology, ship design, cost effectiveness and the implementation of the Navy's newest classes of ships. “If we want to provide capability against our competition, whether an LCS (Littoral Combat Ship), DDG 1000, Columbia-class, Coast Guard icebreakers - you have to leap forward,” he said. Moore’s panel discussed the Navy's intentions moving forward, the importance of testing new and developing systems prior to implementation, affordability and the ability for the Navy to reach its goal of 355 ships citing lessons learned from the LCS, development of a newly designed frigate, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000). (Source: Navy News Service 01/12/17)

Weeks Marine gets NJ beach-fill pact

Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington Park, La., was awarded a $91,992,023 Army contract for beach fill, initial construction for Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet in Ocean County, N.J. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Work will be performed in Brick, N.J., with an estimated completion date of May 30, 2018. Army Corps of Engineers of Philadelphia is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 01/10/17)

Miss. firm awarded Army pact

Mississippi Limestone Corp. of Friars, Miss., was awarded a $7,604,941 Army contract for Mississippi River and tributaries articulated concrete mattress casting.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. Work will be performed in Delta, La., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2017. Army Corps of Engineers of Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 01/09/17)

Papp to lead Gulf shipyard’s DC ops

Eastern Shipbuilding Group has appointed retired Coast Guard admiral Robert J. Papp Jr. to the post of president of the firm’s Washington operations. The Washington operations appointment is the first time the 41-year-old Gulf Coast shipbuilding firm has established a permanent presence in the nation’s capital. On Oct. 10, 2016, the CG awarded the largest vessel procurement contract in its history to ESG for design and construct of the first series of nine Offshore Patrol Cutters. The contract has options for two additional cutters. (Source: Maritime Professional 01/09/17) Gulf Coast Note: Eastern Shipbuilding Group operates two shipyards in Panama City, Fla., specializing in commercial steel and aluminum vessel construction and repair.

Cuba, U.S. sign GoM oil-spill deal

Cuba and the U.S. rushed to an agreement Jan 9, ahead of the Trump presidency, to jointly prevent, contain and clean up oil and other toxic spills in the Gulf of Mexico. The deal was one of several designed to protect a shared marine environment of the two countries. American firms and the Obama Administration have announced as many as a dozen deals in recent weeks aimed at making it harder for Trump to ditch the détente established by the president and Cuba in 2014. The oil spill pact calls for both parties to prepare joint disaster plans, testing them, and training personnel. Cuba and foreign partners drilled four dry offshore wells in the GoM in 2012, but Cuba plans to drill again. The pacts range from postal services, law enforcement, fighting drug trafficking and to protecting marine life. (Source: Source: Marine Link 01/09/17)

CG rescues 6 from Atchafalya

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard rescued six people from grounded vessels in Atchafalaya Bay, La., on Jan. 8. CG watchstanders received a report of a 17-foot johnboat with three people aboard that was taking on water in Atchafalaya Bay. Watchstanders directed an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans to assist. Two Good Samaritan vessels attempted to assist the johnboat and also became grounded. The MH-65 arrived and hoisted six people from the grounded vessels in multiple round trips; and delivered them to Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport in Patterson, La., to be assessed by emergency medical services. (Source: Coast Guard 01/08/17)

CG: Boat taking on water in GoM

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard is responding to a vessel taking on water about 50 miles south of Grand Isle, La., early Jan. 9. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at 1:58 a.m. of an 85-foot fishing boat with three people aboard taking on water in the Gulf of Mexico. A 45-foot Response Boat crew from CG Station Grand Isle, MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from CG Air Station New Orleans, and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., have been dispatched. The helo crew arrived at 3:36 a.m. and lowered a de-watering pump and rescue swimmer. The response boat transferred CG personnel and pumps to the vessel. The CG, and offshore supply vessel Joanne Morrison, are on scene. (Source: Coast Guard 01/09/17)

Seabees renovate Cameroon clinic

Sailors assigned to a detachment of the Gulfport, Miss.-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 worked to renovate a medical clinic over the holidays at the Genie Militaire Engineering base in Douala, Cameroon. Five crew members from Detail Cameroon began work on the project to transform and refurbished the clinic. The project will provide services to both the Cameroonian military and civilians. The work consisted of replacing 12 doors, 25 windows, light fixtures, and 4,320 square feet of corrugated roofing panels. Repairs were also made to rafters and soffit damaged by termites. "Providing one of the basic human needs sends a powerful message and is a humbling experience," said Constructionman Hakeem Pierce. (Source: NMCB 11 Det 01/05/17)

Aucoin new GM at Schottel

Gary Aucoin has joined Schottel Inc. as its new General Manager. Aucoin is a dedicated sales expert taking over leadership of the growing U.S. subsidiary. Most recently, he held the role of account manager at Wärtsilä with responsibility for both new business development and after sales service in the offshore market. These are already strong areas with further growth potential for Schottel in North America. Schottel is a maritime firm based in Houma, La. It sells and services high quality azimuth propulsion and steering systems for vessels with inland waterway or offshore applications. (Source: Maritime Professional 01/03/17)

Port of NOLA’s new CEO

The Port of New Orleans’ board of commissioners has named Brandy D. Christian as the port’s president and chief executive officer following a two-year tenure as Chief Operating Officer. Christian, who began serving on Jan. 1, is the first woman president/CEO in Port NOLA’s 120-year history; and one of the few women port directors in the U.S. She succeeds Gary LaGrange, who served as president/CEO for the last 15 years. (Source: Maritime Professional 01/04/17)

SSC gets NOAA response team

One of six National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) navigation response teams will make its permanent home Stennis Space Center (SSC), Miss., the agency said. The teams, part of Coast Survey, survey the seafloor in ports and harbors that have undergone infrastructure updates, shoreline alterations, or seafloor changes. They measure depths and look for underwater hazards that could endanger vessels and update nautical charts for commercial and recreational mariners. The teams are also on call to respond to navigational emergencies. The SSC response team will include five people and a suite of mobile survey equipment, including unmanned systems. SSC is also home to NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center and other federal and state groups involved in seafloor mapping and unmanned hydrographic survey systems. (Source: WorkBoat, 01/05/17)

BP production unit for GoM

Samsung Heavy Industries, South Korea's major shipyard, is planning to build a floating production unit for the UK’s multinational oil company BP that will be used in offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Marine Link 01/05/17)

La.’s Metal Shark delivering

The Jeanerette, La.-based boat builder Metal Shark announced new contracts with Latin American and Caribbean operators further expanding the firm’s presence in the region. In a recent ceremony in San Juan, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) officially commissioned its first three Metal Shark 36-foot Fearless-class center console patrol boats. More vessels are currently in production at Metal Shark’s production facility. The company also announced delivery of its first new 33-foot Relentless-class patrol boat to the Colombian National Police. Additionally, Metal Shark announced it had been awarded a contract to produce a dozen 38-foot Defiant-class pilothouse patrol boats for the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. Production will begin in early 2017, with deliveries commencing later in the year. (Source: Metal Shark 01/03/17)

GoM platform fire extinguished

An oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico, about 80 miles south of Grand Isle, La., was extinguished Jan. 5. No injuries were reported, and four people aboard the Renaissance Offshore LLC platform were rescued. Investigators on scene determined there no pollution occurred, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Travis Magee. The fire was first reported at about 2:30 a.m. The four people on the platform "evacuated into the water" and were recovered by offshore supply vessel Mary Wyatt Milano, the Coast Guard said. (Source: Times-Picayune 01/05/17)

Diesel spill cleaned up

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard reported that clean-up operations of a 500-gallon diesel-fuel spill on the Mississippi River near Reserve, La., were completed Jan. 3. A Custom Fuel Services’ tank barge reportedly discharged 500 gallons of fuel into the river during a diesel transfer near the 137 mile marker on Jan. 2. Environmental Safety and Health assisted in clean-up operations and all of discharged fuel was recovered or had dissipated. The cause of the incident is under investigation. (Coast Guard 01/03/17)