HII: $281M amphib contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries announced June 30 that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division at Pascagoula received a $218 million cost-plus-fixed-fee advance procurement contract from the Navy to provide long lead-time material and advance construction activities for LPD 29, the 13th amphibious transport dock of the San Antonio (LPD 17) class. Funds will be used to purchase long lead-time material and major equipment, including main engines, diesel generators, deck equipment, shafting, propellers, valves and other long-lead systems. (Source: Huntington Ingalls 06/30/17)

First district FRC to be commissioned

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The Coast Guard Cutter Benjamin Daily will be commissioned at 9 a.m. on July 4 on Singing River Island. Vice Adm. Karl L. Schultz, commander of the Coast Guard’s Atlantic region, will be the presiding officer. A commissioning ceremony is the cutter’s entry into active service and readiness to conduct Coast Guard operations. Benjamin Daily is to be homeported at Pascagoula and is the first Fast Response Cutter (FRC) within Coast Guard District Eight. (Source: CG District Eight media advisory 06/30/17)

PC divers keeping sub races safe

WEST BETHESDA, Md. - Hundreds of students come from around the world to Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock (Md.) Division here to race human-powered submarines they have designed and built for the command’s annual International Human-Powered Submarine Races (ISR). The event will run through June 30 in the area’s David Taylor Model Basin. The ISR has been a premier science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) event for 28 years. Sailors assigned to the Navy’s primary source of diving and hyperbaric operational guidance from Panama City, Fla., are on station in the basin to ensure and maintain safety, The event is “inherently dangerous because of what can happen during the races,” said Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Ralph Schmitz, the special warfare diving leading chief petty officer for Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) from Panama City. Competing students are underwater in their craft during the race. “If their primary air source (scuba) fails when you’re in 20 feet of water, what do you do? For us, dealing with a situation like that is almost second nature. It’s what we do.” NEDU Panama City is the Navy’s leading center for diving research, development, and testing and evaluation, also providing physiological and engineering solutions for undersea operations. (Source: NSWC Carderock 06/29/17)

ATC Mobile change of command

MOBILE, Ala. – Coast Guard Aviation Training Center (ATC) Mobile will host a change of command June 30. Capt. William E. Sasser Jr. is scheduled to relieve Capt. Thomas S. MacDonald. Capt. Sasser is reporting from Alameda, Calif., where he was serving as the executive assistant to the Commander of the CG’s Pacific region. Capt. MacDonald has served as commander of ATC Mobile since the summer of 2014. He will assume the responsibilities as head of the Coast Guard Office’s Aeronautical Engineering arena in Washington, D.C. (Source: ATC Mobile media release 06/29/17) ATC Mobile acts as the CG's aviation, aviation-training, and capabilities development center, as well as an operational air station. Its Operations Department, flying the HC-144A Ocean Sentry, conducts traditional CG air station missions, including Search and Rescue missions across the Gulf of Mexico and coastlines, Homeland Security, and Environmental Protection. The OD operates under the tactical control of the Eighth Coast Guard District and has responsibility that extends from the Louisiana/Texas border to the eastern edge of the Florida panhandle.

GC firms part of $99M build contract

CMS Corp., Bargersville, Ind. (N69450-17-D-0506); EMR Inc., Lawrence, Kan. (N69450-17-D-0507); Leebcor Services LLC, Williamsburg, Va. (N69450-17-D-0508); MOWA Barlovento LLC, JV, Gautier, Miss. (N69450-17-D-0509); and Whitesell-Green Inc., Pensacola, Fla. (N69450-17-D-0510), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award design-build construction contract for construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast area of responsibility (AOR). The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all five contracts combined is $99,000,000. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, new construction, renovation, alteration, demolition, repair work, and any necessary design including: industrial, airfield, aircraft hangar, aircraft traffic control, infrastructure, administrative, training, dormitory, and community support facilities. EMR Inc. is being awarded task order 0001 at $17,957,536 for a design-build project to construct a multi-story Corry Station A-School Unaccompanied Housing at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by June 2019. All work on this contract will be performed primarily within the NAVFAC Southeast AOR which includes the Florida Panhandle (49 percent); Mississippi (35 percent); Tennessee (15 percent); and the remainder of the NAVFAC Southeast AOR (1 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of June 2022. Fiscal 2016 military construction (Navy); and 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $17,961,536 are obligated on this award, of which $4,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy, Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 39 proposals received. These five contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/28/17)

Oceanographers honor ‘Hydro Day’

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), once known as the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, honored its heritage and mission by celebrating World Hydrography Day on June 26 aboard Stennis Space Center, home of the world's largest concentration of hydrographers and oceanographers. NAVOCEANO's Hydrographic Department supports Navy war-fighters by providing strategic, tactical and specialized hydrographic projects in support of surface and subsurface navigation. The department produces safety of navigation charting products in partnership with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Charting products may also be released directly to the fleet for immediate military purposes. World "Hydro" Day 2017 marked the 96th anniversary of the establishment of the International Hydrographic Organization, which sets the standard for hydrographic surveying to support the production of safety of navigation products. (Source: Stennis Space Center 06/28/17)

NMCB 133 Gulfport’s new boss

GULFPORT, Miss. - Navy Commander Luke Greene is the new commanding officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 following a change of command June 23 here aboard the Naval Construction Battalion Center. Greene comes to Gulfport from duty as public works officer at Naval Station Mayport, Fla. NMCB 133 is currently undergoing the final stages of its homeport training cycle in order to hone skills and prepare for deployment in late 2017. The battalion provides an adaptive and scalable Naval Construction Force ready and capable of executing quality construction in combat or in support of civic action, humanitarian assistance, or disaster recovery around the world. Outgoing commander, Cmdr. Miguel Dieguez, who was selected for captain, has orders to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon. (Source: NMCB Gulfport 06/28/16)

Garry named GC rep for Bouchard

MELVILLE, N.Y. - Shawn Garry has been named Bouchard Transportation’s Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Inspections. He is being tasked with ensuring that the company achieves regulatory compliances and requirements. Garry will be the primary contact for the Gulf Coast region's internal and external vetting, SIRE, ABS, USCG and ISM. Prior to joining Bouchard, Garry worked with the Coast Guard as an engineer of the watch afloat, senior marine inspector, and marine casualty investigator. Bouchard Transportation is the nation’s largest independently owned oceangoing petroleum barge company. (Source: Bouchard Transportation 06/27/17) Gulf Coast Note: The company celebrated the naming of the M/V Donna J. Bouchard and Barge No. 272 at a christening ceremony in February 2016 in New Orleans. Barge No. 272 was launched at VT Halter Marine’s Pascagoula, Miss., operations in November 2015. The tug Donna J. Bouchard was launched from VT Halter Marine's facility at Escatawpa, Miss., in September 2015. These are the second of two Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) units constructed by VT Halter Marine, a company of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc.

GC refiners may benefit from change

WASHINGTON - The global sulfur emission cap for marine fuels beginning in 2020 will provide a boost for American refiners, especially those on the Gulf Coast (GC) given their emergence as a key exporter of low sulfur refined products, according to John Auers, VP of the refinery consultant Turner, Mason & Co. The International Maritime Organization's decision to reduce sulfur specifications in bunker fuel to 0.5% (from 3.5%) by 2020 will have an impact on refiners, and US refiners are in a good position for the transition, fueled by the US oil production boom and strong refinery runs, says Auers. The move to lower sulfur specifications will cause a significant bump in diesel margins compared with high sulfur fuel oil margins. As a result, the margin between low sulfur (or light sweet crude oils) and heavy (or high sulfur sour crudes) is likely to widen demand for low sulfur products. It is estimated that up to 2M barrels per day of fuel oil will be displaced by lighter streams, especially middle distillates, Auers says. US refiners are key exporters of refined products like gasoline and diesel. (Source: Platts 06/27/17)

Ancient GoM forest predates pyramids

Predating the arrival of humans in North America and the pyramids of Egypt by more than 50,000 years, and 60 feet underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, is a unique relic of Earth's past. An ancient cypress forest is some 60,000 years old, according to a team of scientists who have studied it. It is the only known site where a coastal ice age forest been preserved in place, with thousands of trees still rooted in the dirt of a millennia ago. It is a treasure trove of information, providing new insights into everything from climate in the region to annual rainfall, insect populations, and types of plants that inhabited the Gulf Coast before humans showed up on the scene. The scientific analysis is ongoing. The team’s work is detailed in a new documentary, “The Underwater Forest” co-produced by ‘This is Alabama’. Sea levels at that time were hundreds of feet lower, and the Earth was cooler than today, with much of the water on the planet locked up in glaciers. One of the key findings may hint at a world where seas rose more quickly than worst-case predictions for the near future. Scientists believe the forest was buried beneath GoM sediments for eons, until Hurricane Ivan-produced waves uncovered it in 2004. (Source: AL.com 06/27/17)

Contract: HII, amount withheld

Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a fixed-price-incentive-firm target modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-13-C-2307) for incorporation of the Flight III baseline on DDG 125. Flight III will incorporate the SPY-6 (Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and upgrade the electrical power and cooling capacity plus additional associated changes. As this award represents the first DDG 51 Flight III baseline contract award, and the Navy expects to release a competitive solicitation for additional DDG 51 class ships in the Flight III configuration in future years. The contract award amount is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, (60%); Cincinnati, Ohio (7%); Walpole, Mass. (5%); York, Pa. (2%); Camden, N.J. (1%); Erie, Pa. (1%); Charlottesville, Va. (1%); and other locations below 1 percent (collectively 23%), and is scheduled to complete in FY 2024. FY 2017 Navy shipbuilding and conversion will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD, 06/27/17) Here's a link to an HII media release on the modification contract at http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/photo-release-huntington-ingalls-industries-awarded-contract-to-build-destroyer-jack-h-lucas-ddg-125

GoM ‘dead zone’ may be size of NJ

This summer’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” - an area of low-or-no oxygen that can kill marine life – has been estimated to be about 8,185 square miles or nearly the size of New Jersey, according to federal scientists’ predictions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believe it would be the third largest dead zone recorded since monitoring began in 1985. The average GoM dead zone has been 5,309 square miles. The low-or-no oxygen zones are caused by excess nutrient pollution, primarily from agriculture and wastewater treatment. The low-or-no oxygen levels are insufficient to support most marine life. May’s heavy stream flows were estimated to have dumped 165,000 metric tons of nitrate and 22,600 metric tons of phosphorus down the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers into the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Geological Survey operates more than 3,000 stream gauges, 60 nitrate sensors, and tracks trends in nutrient loads and concentrations throughout the Mississippi-Atchafalaya watershed, which drains from 31 states. Plans to confirm the size of the dead zone will be made in August, following monitoring surveys. (Source: Marine Link 06/26/17)

BP’s GoM Thunder Horse strategy

BP’s Thunder Horse platform can extract some 265,000 barrels of oil a day. It’s one of four Gulf of Mexico platforms on which BP has staked its future in U.S. oil production. It’s been seven years since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, but BP is betting billions on the prospect that it can slash the costs of offshore drilling by half. BP's platforms are key to a global strategy calling for up to $17B in annual investments through 2021 to increase production by some 5 percent annually, according to CEO Bob Dudley. BP's deep-water double-down is striking for the contrast to its chief competitors, who have cooled on offshore investments in return for quicker returns of onshore shale. Some 300 BP workers commute 150 miles by helicopter from the Louisiana coast to the GoM platform that can produce more oil in a day than a West Texas rig can pump annually. (Source: Marine Link 06/27/17)

Austal 1 LCS, LM/Navy negotiating

Navy awards 1 LCS to Austal The Navy awarded Austal USA shipyard of Mobile, Ala., up to $584.2 million for one Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) on June 23, while it negotiates with Lockheed Martin (Marinette, Wis., Marine) for a second, and weighing its options for a third. It’s been a confusing year for the LCS program. The contract covers LCS-28, and the Lockheed Martin ship would be LCS-27, putting the two shipbuilders even in terms of workload. The third ship in 2017 presents some options for the Navy in terms of how the service will decide who gets the award. (Source: USNI News 06/26/17)

Mapping maritime heritage trail

MILTON, Fla. - University of West Florida graduate student Andrew Van Slyke, along with Bagdad Waterfronts’ Florida Partnership President Doug Lasater and members of Blackwater Pyrates civic organization, have begun gathering data for the first Blackwater River survey for the Blackwater Maritime Heritage Trail. In March, the Florida Coastal Management Program awarded a $10,000 grant for the project. The maritime heritage trail will be a comprehensive visual guide of the ecology, recreational, historical, maritime, and cultural points of interest in the waterways through Milton and Bagdad. Van Slyke and others recently worked on the mapping of known historical points on the river. The volunteers sailed to those points and filled out worksheets, which included the location names, colloquial names, GPS coordinates, accessibility by kayak or other size boats, and descriptions of the sites. ((Source: Santa Rosa Press Gazette 06/27/17)

TS Cindy can't rain on meteorologists

KEESLER AFB, Miss. - Despite rain bands from Tropical Storm Cindy continuing its to impact on Keesler Air Force Base, the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) graduated eight meteorology and oceanography journeyman forecasters during a June 22 ceremony. CNATTU Keesler Commanding Officer Cmdr. Timothy Knapp, who oversees the Navy's sole schoolhouse for initial accession sailors in the aerographer's mates (AG) rating, said TS Cindy served as a fitting backdrop to what the Navy's new forecasters will do on duty around the globe. The course prepares students for forecasting and briefing duties for meteorological and oceanographic support of deployable ships and aircraft. CNATTU Keesler trains service members in the electronic calibration of afloat and aviation equipment, meteorological and oceanographic observing and forecasting and the maintenance and repair of meteorological equipment. It is a training unit of CNATT at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. (Source: CNATTU Keesler AFB 06/26/17)

Super cranes arrive at Mobile port

MOBILE, Ala. - The Alabama Port of Mobile received two new super Post-Panamax container cranes on June 24. They arrived at the downtown Pinto Steel Terminal. The new cranes will be instrumental in unloading containers of merchandise for the new area Wal-Mart and Amazon distribution centers. It took two months for the cranes to arrive from Shanghai. Port Authority officials say the cranes can handle containers 23-feet wide and can stack up to 10 containers. The two existing cranes at the port can only handle containers 19-feet wide and seven high. The cranes can handle any type of container jobs, according to port officials, and they are hoping that the cranes will attract additional industry to the area. (Source: WKRG-TV 06/24/17)

CG rescues jet-skier near Fort Walton

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard rescued a jet-skier in the waters of Choctawhatchee Bay near Fort Walton Beach in the early morning hours of June 25. CG Sector Mobile, Ala., received a report of an overdue 24-year-old male jet-skier at 10:49 p.m. Saturday. The man was reported to have fallen in the water around 8 p.m. CG Station Destin, Fla., launched a response boat and crew, which located the man and transferred him to emergency medical services. The man had spent about seven hours floating in Choctawhatchee Bay. (Source: Coast Guard 06/25/17)

Cutters to Pensacola hailed

Northwest Florida leaders are hailing the Coast Guard’s decision to relocate two medium-endurance cutters, Decisive and Dauntless, from other ports on the Gulf Coast to the CG station aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The two vessels will join the cutter Cypress, already stationed at NASP. Doug Underhill, chairman of the Escambia County Commission, said the move is a good sign for ongoing efforts to revitalize the base's deep-water port (initially designed for a Navy aircraft carrier aviation trainer). "If you look at the work of the Coast Guard, they need to cover the entire coastline and we are a secure, deep-water port right in the middle of that coastline. It makes sense," Underhill said. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 06/25/17)

2nd La. oil discharge

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard and local agencies are responding to another oil discharge in Louisiana on June 24. This one is on the Grand Bay Tank Battery 2 Facility near Breton Sound. The CG received a report from the National Response Center at 9:30 a.m. that a storage tank barge, owned by Lobo Operating Inc., overflowed causing a discharge of some 1,350 gallons of crude oil into the Sound. Lobo has contracted ES&H to conduct clean-up operations. About 1,000 feet of hard and sorbent boom have been deployed, along with two drum skimmers and three 28-foot response boats. About 1,130 gallons have been recovered. The source of the discharge has been secured. The cause of the incident is under investigation. (Source: Coast Guard 06/24/17)

Expanded canal's anniversary

June 26 marks the first anniversary of the inauguration of the Expanded Panama Canal. In its first year of operation, more than 1,500 Neo-Panamax vessels transited through the locks. Container ships represent some 47 percent of traffic followed by LPG carriers, which represent about 34 percent. Last July saw the first LNG vessel transit the new locks - the Shell-chartered Maran Gas Apollonia. The vessel arrived from the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal on the Gulf Coast. The expanded canal can accommodate 90 percent of the world’s LNG tankers. (Source: The Maritime Executive 06/25/17)

Uncontrolled oil discharge in La.

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard is responding to an uncontrolled oil discharge from an Orphan well in Grand Bayou in the area of Magnolia, La., early June 24. CG Sector New Orleans Incident Management Division (IMD) personnel discovered the discharge from a State of Louisiana Orphan well around 10:45 a.m. on June 22. The discharge created a one mile by 100 foot sheen into Grand Bayou. The previous owner of the well deployed a 200-foot boom around the source. IMD personnel have contracted ES&H and Wild Well Control to conduct clean up and repair operations. The source of the discharge has not been contained. The cause is under investigation. (Source: Coast Guard 06/24/17)

Austal: LCS pact for $584M

Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., was awarded a not-to-exceed congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 fixed-price-incentive firm target contract for the construction of a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to include associated cost-plus-fixed-fee LCS class services and related material, and firm-fixed-price integrated data environment support. The contract also includes options for the construction of additional LCS, class services, and post-delivery availability support. The Navy expects to release a competitive solicitation(s) for additional LCS class ships in future years, and therefore the specific contract award amount for these ships is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Work will be performed in Mobile (54%); Pittsfield, Mass. (9%); California, Md. (4%); Cincinnati, Ohio (4%); Leesburg, Va. (3%); Williston, Vt. (3%); Linthicum, Md. (3%); East Syracuse, N.Y. (2%); Franklin, Mass. (2%); and various other locations of less than 2% each (totaling 16%). The contract is expected to be completed by December 2022. FY 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding not-to-exceed the congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 for construction of one FY-17 LCS; and 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $6,568,800 for LCS class services and integrated data environment support will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was awarded via a limited competition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 - full and open competition need not be provided for when it is necessary to award the supplies or services needed by the agency which are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy the needs of the agency. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/22/17)

COBRA mod pact for LCS mission

Arete Associates of Tucson, Ariz., was awarded an $8.5M modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N61331-11-C-0007) for engineering, manufacturing, production and delivery of AN/DVS-1 Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Block 1 subassemblies to support the Littoral Combat Ship program’s mine counter-measures mission for Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. The modification exercises options for the COBRA subassemblies integration and post-delivery technical support. The primary mission of AN/DVS-1 COBRA program is to conduct unmanned aerial tactical reconnaissance in close-to-shore battle spaces for detection and localization of mine fields and obstacles prior to an amphibious assault. Work will be performed in Tucson and is expected to be completed by December 2019. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/22/17)

FSU academics to aid Navy maritime

Sally McRorie, provost and senior VP for academic affairs at Florida State University, told the Florida Board of Governor’s strategic planning committee that FSU plans to expand its academic programs to 100 majors by 2018. FSU is also seeking approval for new academic offerings in January, including a master’s degree in systems engineering that hass largely driven by requests from Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. The program is expected to start at FSU-Panama City with 40 students. The program is expected to stimulate economic development in the Florida Panhandle, and support the advanced work at NSWC, especially in the areas of cyber security and maritime systems. (Source: Tallahassee Democrat 06/21/17)

Metal Shark $16M FMS contract

Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC, doing business as Metal Shark of Jeanerette, La., was awarded a $16,190,780 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the construction of near coastal patrol vessels (NCPV) in support of U.S. Southern Command partner-nations and the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The contract supports procurement of NCPVs for response to emergent FMS and counter-narcotics requirements. It includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $54,581,780. The contract provides for up to 13 NCPVs, up to 13 electro-optical infrared sensors, up to 13 diagnostic equipment, up to 13 in-country reactivation and crew familiarization, and up to 13 NCPV test and trials. The contract involves FMS to the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Honduras. Work will be performed in Jeanerette, La,, and is expected to complete by June 2019. Naval Sea Systems Command at the Washington Navy Yard in the District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/21/17)

Reviving maritime highway from La.

Plans have begun for a 4,200-acre intermodal container terminal in the Port of Plaquemines (La.) Harbor and Terminal District. The partner-project agreement is between the port and American Patriot Holdings. It calls for development of a logistics system for vessel operations, deep-water docking at the Pointe Celeste Container Terminal, and multiple upriver terminals (on Mississippi River). Those upriver terminals could be at Memphis and St. Louis. The facility would be the southern-most full service port complex on the Mississippi River. The project presents a fundamental change for inland waterways shipping, according to Sandy Sanders, executive director of the port. (Source: Marine Link 06/21/17)

Crowley vessels earn CSA awards

Eighty-seven manned merchant vessels owned or managed by Crowley Maritime Corp. were recently given the Chamber of Shipping of America’s annual Jones F. Devlin awards in recognition of 2016 safety records. The CSA annually grants Devlin Award certificates to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a Lost Time Injury, highlighting the skills and dedication of the crewmembers responsible for safe vessel operations. (Source: Marine Link 06/21/17) Gulf Coast Note: Crowley Maritime Corp. has facilities in Gulfport, Miss.; and Lake Charles and New Orleans, La.

Deflin FLNG agreement signed

Golar LNG and Delfin Midstream have signed an agreement to jointly develop the Delfin LNG Project in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles from the coast of Louisiana. The joint development agreement will facilitate financing, marketing, construction, development and operation of Delfin LNG, the first and only permitted floating LNG (FLNG) export project in the U.S. Delfin LNG is a brownfield deepwater port requiring minimal additional infrastructure investment to support up to four FLNG vessels producing up to 13 million tons of LNG per year, according to a Golar statement. The project is expected to significantly reduce coastal LNG carrier traffic while minimizing near-shore environmental impacts. (Source: Maritime Executive 06/21/17)

Wicker bill aims for 355-ship Navy

WASHINGTON - Two Republican senators are scheduled to unveil legislation June 22 to make it policy to maintain a 355-ship Navy, according to a draft of the legislation. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who chairs the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, and House counterpart, Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia are to roll out a one-page bill aiming for a 355-ship Navy “as soon as practicable,” according to the draft legislation. The Navy currently has 276 ships. In a hearing June 21, Sen. Wicker pressed the Navy’s top acquisition buyer Allison Stiller and the Navy’s top integration of capabilities and resources officer, Vice Adm. William Lescher, as to how the Navy planned to speed up the timeline of getting nearly 80 new ships. (Source: Defense News 06/21/17)

$27.4M Leidos contract

Leidos Innovations Corp. of Gaithersburg, Md., was awarded a $27.4M modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-5202) to exercise options for the material travel, other direct cost and direct cost for integrated logistic support, core waterfront support and the installation of the Navy’s AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 surface ship undersea warfare systems. The AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 is a surface ship undersea warfare combat system with the capabilities to search, detect, classify, localize and track undersea contacts, and to engage and evade submarines, mine-like small objects and torpedo threats. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (43%); San Diego (28%); Yokosuka, Japan (9%); Bath, Maine (7%); Pascagoula, Miss. (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (3%); Everett, Wash. (3%); Mayport, Fla. (2%); and Rota, Spain (1%), and is expected to be completed by August 2018. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD, 06/20/17)

Future of autonomous workboats

Sea Machines Robotics of Boston, Mass., is a new technology company focused on bringing autonomous self-driving systems to marine industries. (Source: Maritime Global News 06/19/17)

Mobile firm earns $25K Corps pact

C&C Marine LLC of Mobile, Ala., was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rental of construction equipment with operators for disposal area maintenance activities for the Mobile Harbor. Work will be performed in Mobile with an estimated completion date of June 19, 2022. FY 2017 and other funds will be determined with each order. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Mobile, Ala. is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/20/17)

TS Cindy effecting O&G shipping

The Gulf Coast oil and gas industry began preparing June 20 for the arrival of Tropical Storm Cindy, which was forecast to arrive onshore late Wednesday at the La.-Texas border. Offshore O&G production has not yet been impacted by TS Cindy, shipping activity has been. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) suspended vessel offloading operations at its deep water marine terminal on the morning of June 20. The terminal will “remain idle until the conditions are favorable to safely resume operations," LOOP said June 20. LOOP was the No. 3 U.S. import terminal for waterborne crude in 2016. All pilot boarding was suspended June 20 at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Lightering activity at Southwest Pass, La., was suspended Tuesday, and expected to restart at 6 a.m. on June 23. Pascagoula, Miss., offshore lightering stopped at noon Tuesday. Restart is expected at 6 p.m. June 22. Destin Pipeline is delaying its scheduled shutdown and maintenance of the Okeanos Gas Gathering Pipeline, located off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The decision will keep production from the Nakika, Thunder Horse, and Thunder Hawk receipt points online until further notice. (Source: Platts 06/21/17)

Kelly new Cobia CO

NEW ORLEANS - Lt. j.g. Patrick T. Kelly was named commander of the Coast Guard Cutter Cobia during a change-of-command ceremony June 19 in Mobile, Ala., at the Gulf Quest Maritime Museum. Kelly reported from the CG Cutter Aquidneck, which was deployed in the Arabian Gulf, where he served as the executive officer supporting the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet objectives. (Source: Coast Guard 06/19/16)

New boss for CG Sector Mobile

NEW ORLEANS - Capt. Malcolm R. McLellan is the new commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Mobile, Ala., following a June 16 change of command. McLellan reported to Mobile from duty as deputy commander of CG Sector Houston-Galveston, Texas. Sector Mobile is made up of 18 sub-units, including cutters, stations, aids to navigation teams, and a marine safety detachment, spread across the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi with more than 420 miles of coastline and 1,900 miles of inland waterways. (Source: Coast Guard 06/16/17)

$3B HII mod pact for LHA 8

Huntington Ingalls Inc. of Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $3,013,903,706 fixed-price-incentive modification to a previously awarded competitive contract (N00024-16-C-2427) to exercise options for the procurement of the detail, design, and construction of Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) Replacement (LHA(R)) Flight 1 Amphibious Assault Ship Bougainville (LHA 8). Work will be performed in Pascagoula (70%); Beloit, Wis. (1%); Milwaukee, Wis. (1%); Baltimore, Md. (1%); Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (1%); King of Prussia, Pa. (1%); York, Pa. (1%); Cincinnati, Ohio (1%); and Brunswick, Ga. (1%), with other efforts performed at various sites throughout the U.S. (22%), and is expected to be completed by January 2024. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD, 06/16/17) Gulf Coast Note: USS Tripoli (LHA-7), the second America-class amphibious assault ship, is under construction at HII. It was launched May 1. It will be christened September 16. HII is the sole builder of large-deck amphibious ships for the Navy.

Threaded Fasteners goes national

Mobile, Ala.-based Threaded Fasteners, which opened in 1979 supplying fasteners and steel bolts to firms around town, now operates offices in seven cities handling nationwide customers, and with a workforce of more than 130, all of whom own a portion of the company under new ownership several years ago. Billy Duren, the current owner of TF, started with the company on Day 1 sweeping floors and separating nuts and bolts. Four decades later, he is the company president, and has overseen a relocation and consolidation of the Mobile offices to the Crichton area. A large part of the business comes from exclusive contracts with certain power companies for all their materials for transmission, from anchor bolts to the tips of the towers, according to Duren. The company makes its own parts, and now sells fabricators for use in general and black steel, plant maintenance, and marine construction. Orders now flow through sales offices in Pensacola and Panama City, Fla.; Gulfport, Miss.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. There’s even an office and warehouse in Canada. (Source: AL.com 06/12/17)

2 more CG cutters assigned to NASP

The Coast Guard will relocate two medium endurance cutters to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., no later than Aug. 31, 2018, according to U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). The two ships are CG Cutter Decisive, based in Pascagoula, Miss., and CG Cutter Dauntless, based at Galveston, Texas. Each cutter has a crew of 76 who conduct a variety of CG missions. The two cutters will be assigned to the CG station at NAS Pensacola, along with CG Cutter Cypress. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 06/16/17)

Bollinger salutes USCG relationship

Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards is well aware of the importance of the U.S. Coast Guard to the oil and gas industry throughout the Gulf coastal region. Chris Remont, vice president of government programs for Bollinger, explains the company’s awareness program of that relationship. As the offshore oil and gas downturn heads into year three, Bollinger is holding its own courtesy salute to the USCG. In Louisiana, where oil and gas, offshore service vehicles, workboats, and fishing boats rule the maritime landscape, Remont ensures shipyard workers, and Lockport, La., locals know the importance of USCG to the shipyard. In a show of awareness, the shipyard has placed a billboard in town exclaiming loud and proud, “Welcome to Cutter Country.” Bollinger has 38 Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters to build under contract with the Coast Guard. (Source: Marine Link 06/15/17)

New frigate expected at sea in 2024

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy expects to field its new frigate in 2024 while continuing to provide its Littoral Combat Ship industrial base - Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., and Marinette (Wis.) Marine - with 2018 orders for more LCS, according to testimony by Sean Stackley, acting secretary of the Navy. Testifying June 15 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Stackley said the Navy’s FY 2018 budget request will include “two littoral combat ships, one of which is to follow in an amended budget proposal." When requirements for the new frigate are better defined, which the Navy is working on, the sea service will ask the shipbuilding industry to find the “knees and the curves” and possible technologies, along with a cost schedule, according to CNO Adm. John Richardson. The Navy intends to put out Request for Proposals next year and getting them back in 2019; and awarding a contract in 2020 after a “competitive frigate down-select,” according to Stackley. (Source: Seapower Magazine 06/15/17)

SECNAV nominee has hearing date

President Donald Trump’s second nominee for Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, has a confirmation hearing date with the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 22. The former Marine Corps captain was selected by the President for the post June 3. Trump’s first nominee, businessman Philip Bilden, withdrew from consideration in late February. The President has made two selections for Secretary of the Army, but both have withdrawn from consideration. A new nominee has yet to be named. (Source: Military.com 06/15/17)

CG command changes in La.

NEW ORLEANS – In two change-of-command ceremonies June 15, Capt. Blake Welborn became commander of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Houma, La., and Cdr. Heather Mattern the new boss at CGMSU Morgan City, La. Welborn will continue to serve as the captain of the port, federal maritime security coordinator, federal on-scene coordinator, and officer-in-charge of marine inspection for the area, but will now be based out of Houma. Mattern reported to Morgan City from CG Sector New York where she served as chief of the inspections division in charge of regulating a commercial fleet responsible for carrying 60 million passengers and $210 billion in port cargo annually. (CG District Eight 6/15/17).

Flood control for MR, Atchafalaya

Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co. of Pine Bluff, Ark., was awarded a $23,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for flood control for the Mississippi River and tributaries; and stone placement for the Mississippi, Atchafalaya, and Red rivers, and Old River control channels. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2018. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of New Orleans is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/14/17)

Collaboration key for Navy MIW

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Mine Warfare (MIW) executives from Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City - Dr. Peter Adair, Stephen Hunt and David Everhart - are working to establish a culture of collaboration within the Navy's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) community to assist the country in maintaining maritime superiority over adversaries. Adair, a Panama City native who was recently appointed MIW director, says one objective is to coordinate and collaborate with all Naval Warfare Centers on fleet engagement, including mine counter-measures and mining. Everhart, the center’s Chief Technology Officer, says another objective is to lead change to enable more rapid identification of technologies, and innovative solutions to address gaps in the fleet’s MIW capability. (Source: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City 06/14/17)

CNO: May bring back ‘Fig 7s’

The Navy has studies underway to put seven or eight mothballed Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates (FFG-7s, also known as “Fig 7s”) back into service, and extending the life of current Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers (DDG-51s) to help the Navy reach its goal of a 355-ship fleet, according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. “We’re taking a hard look” at the Perry frigates, he said. “There’s seven or eight … but those are some old ships,” he continued. The studies will include a cost benefit analysis. The extended life plan for the DDG-51s could help the Navy reach the 355 ship level 10-to-15 years faster. (Source: USNI News 06/13/17) Gulf Coast Note: USS Antrim (FFG-20) and USS Flatley (FFG-21), the first two ships to homeport at now-closed Naval Station Mobile, Ala., were transferred to the Turkish Navy in 1997 and 2001 respectively. NSM’s also-closed sister naval station at Pascagoula, Miss., was home to USS John L. Hall (FFG-32) and Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29). The Hall was decommissioned in November 2012, and remains at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The Groves was decommissioned in February 2012 and is also in dry dock at the Philadelphia yard.

Feds do extend Red Snapper season

Gulf State Fisheries directors and the U.S. commerce department has agreed to extend the federal Red Snapper recreational season through Labor Day, according to WKRG-TV in Mobile, Ala.. The official announcement is expected later today (June 14). (Source: WKRG 06/14/17)
UPDATED INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Commerce officially extended (June 14) the federal Red Snapper season to 39 days in both federal and state waters. The season begins June 15 and concludes on Labor Day. (Source: Sun Herald 06/14/17)

Port Fourchon expansion

South Louisiana’s Port Fourchon has been the center of oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1960s. The port has seen an increase in traffic at the South Lafourche Airport at Galliano. In a recent interview, Chett Chiasson, Greater Lafourche Port Commission’s (GLPC) executive director, discussed a Fourchon Island project that involves creation of a new deepwater drilling rig repair and refurbishment facility; a new communications system; and plans to build an LNG (liquified natural gas) export facility. (Source: Offshore magazine 06/13/17)

Haitian maritime meets with USCG

A Haitian delegation led by Dieudonné Bruno, director general of the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti, and composed of the Director of Cooperation and Maritime Affairs as well as pair of executives from the Coast Guard Service recently met with U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District leadership in New Orleans. The visit, at the invitation of the American Embassy in Haiti, was to exchange information on practices and lessons learned in the identification of vessels requiring offshore inspection prior to docking at ports along the northern Gulf of Mexico, and to become familiar established procedures. Eighth District commander, Rear Adm. David Callahan, welcomed the contingent. Later, the delegation traveled to Alabama and Mississippi to meet with other Coast Guard units. (Source: Haiti Libre 06/11/17)

FEMA adds $1M for maritime museum

BILOXI, Miss. - Federal officials will give the City of Biloxi an additional $1 million to pay for a rebuilt Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has ruled in favor of Biloxi in a dispute over funding for the museum. Biloxi had appealed a 2014 FEMA ruling denying some costs requested by the city for demolishing the old museum and elevating its replacement by 12 feet. (WPMI 06/10/17)

Austal USA launches EPF 9

MOBILE, Ala. - The Navy’s ninth expeditionary fast transport vessel, USNS City of Bismarck (EPF 9), was launched June 7 from the Austal USA Shipyard in Mobile, Ala., according to a Naval Sea Systems Command media release. “Launching is a significant achievement in the production process,” said Capt. Henry Stevens of the Program Executive Office. “We’ll now focus our efforts to final outfitting in preparation for trials.” Austal USA and the Navy have marked major milestones in the EPF program this year. USNS Yuma was delivered in April. The Navy christened City of Bismarck in May. Austal also is under contract for the construction of EPF 11 and EPF 12. (Source: Sea Power magazine 06/08/17)

Boeing, HII teaming on giant UUVs

Boeing’s aerospace division is teaming up with Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding to build underwater drones for the Navy. The partnership comes as the Navy begins work on extra large unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) that may change how the military fights. In recent months, Boeing has been pushing its Echo Voyager, a 50-ton autonomous UUV being tested off the coast of California. Different modules will allow various types of missions, like dropping mines, firing missiles or collecting data. The Navy plans to conduct trials with existing UUVs and continue development of new types of technology before formally adding the sub to the fleet. Boeing and HII will work together on UUV projects at design and production facilities in Panama City, Fla.; Huntington Beach, Calif.; and Newport News, Va. (Source: Defense One 06/08/17)

CG medevacs cruise passenger

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 66-year-old male with heart-attack like symptoms from the cruise ship Carnival Fantasy about 170 nautical miles south of Mobile, Ala., on June 7. CG Sector Mobile directed the launch of a CG Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and aircrew and a CG Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircrew. The helicopter aircrew hoisted the survivor along with the ship’s nurse and transported them to University Medical Center in New Orleans. The survivor’s condition is unknown. (Source: Coast Guard 06/08/17)

Mammoet completing La. plants

Heavy-lift specialist Mammoet has completed the lifting and positioning of the two largest units of an $8B Sasol ethane cracker plants, including Lake Charles, La., that will add to exports of polyethylene resins from the Gulf Coast. The Lake Charles plant is among the largest in a wave of petrochemical plants in the region and is expected to increase annual containerized exports by more than 500,000 TEU. The boom has also provided business for heavy-lift vessel operators, heavy haulers, and construction companies struggling with a weak global market. Low-cost natural gas feed stocks have transformed the U.S. into the world’s low-cost producer of ethane and derivatives (like polyethylene resins). Sasol plans to ship out most of its polyethylene production from the new plants in bulk hopper cars for bagging and export through the ports of Houston and New Orleans. (Source: JOC 06/07/17)

CG suspends Pontchartrain search

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard and local Louisiana agencies are searching for a person in the water from a 14-foot johnboat in Lake Pontchartrain near Seabrook Bridge on June 7. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report from a motorist on the bridge who reported seeing a person fall from a capsized 14-foot johnboat at 2:40 p.m. Any information about the person or the johnboat are asked to call CG Sector New Orleans at 504-365-2200. (Source: US Coast Guard 06/07/17)
UPDATE: The Coast Guard suspended its search at 7:45 p.m. June 8. The CG searched about 218 square nautical miles for 28 hours.

LCS-10 commissioning

WASHINGTON -- In January 2012, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) decided to resign her seat after an assassination attempt that left her disabled. On that same day, she got a call from then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus about plans to name a warship in her honor. It would be the first Navy warship to be named after a living woman since the Harriet Lane - named for President James Buchanan’s niece. It was commissioned in 1857. On June 10, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-10) Gabrielle Giffords will be commissioned in Galveston, Texas. The ship’s keel was laid and christened at the Austal USA Shipyard in Mobile, Ala. (Source: NY Times 06/05/17)

Intracoastal Waterway contract

Carter's Contracting Services Inc. of Andalusia, Ala., was awarded a $30,000,000 fixed-price-award-fee contract for disposal area management and levee maintenance of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River System, in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 2, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/02/17)

First floating LNG terminal app OK'd

The U.S. Department of Energy has approved the nation's first long-term application to export gas from a floating LNG terminal. Delfin LNG will be able to export 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day (Bcf/d) from its proposed Louisiana floating offshore LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility, jointly owned by the India and Singapore-based Fairwood Group and the U.S.-based Peninsula group, is expected to be operational in 2020. (Source: Maritime Executive 06/02/17) Gulf Coast Note: Delfin’s LNG Deepwater Port, about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico, will moor multiple floating natural gas liquefaction vessels (FLNGVs) that will liquefy and export U.S. natural gas.

Bryant creates Ocean Task Force

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed an executive order June 1 creating the Ocean Task Force, an umbrella group of business, academic, military, and government groups to promote the Gulf Coast as a research and development testing ground for air and sea unmanned craft. The task will have representatives from the University of Southern Mississippi, Navy, Congress, Department of Marine Resources, and an array of other agencies. It will deliver a master plan to the governor within 120 days as to how the Mississippi coast can attract unmanned craft builders and operators. The OTF will also recommend how to develop and train a workforce to build and operate the unmanned craft. Monty Graham, director of USM’s School of Ocean Science and Technology, which offers training through its unmanned maritime systems programs, will be the chairman of the task force. (Source: Sun Herald 06/01/17)

‘Indy’ on way to recycling bin

PADRE ISLAND, Texas - The 60,000-ton USS Independence, last of the Forrestal class of aircraft carriers, was towed June 1 through Brazos Santiago Pass on its way to be recycled at the Port of Brownsville. The ship, towed from Washington state, was decommissioned 1998. International Shipbreaking Ltd. (ISL) President Chris Green credited the port and Cameron County for a ceremony honoring the veterans who served on the carrier. The 1,070-foot-long “supercarrier” passed on the horizon behind the podium. Flags waved with the sea breeze as speakers said farewell to the ship. The Independence served in the Vietnam War, Lebanese Civil War, and Operation Southern Watch in Iraq. ISL will cut the ship's high-nickel steel into 2-by-3 foot sections and ship it out to mills that will melt it down, repurpose it in order to “make other U.S. military with it,” Green said. (Source: McAllen Monitor 06/02/17)

Navy pushes back DDG-51 upgrade

The Navy and Huntington Ingalls Industries have reached a “handshake agreement” for the shipbuilder to build the first Flight III Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer (DDG-51) at HII’s Pascagoula, Miss., yard, acting acquisition chief Allison Stiller told a House Armed Services subcommittee. The move will push back the first ship to field a next-generation solid-state, S-band radar, and an upgraded combat suite designed to counter cruise and ballistic missiles and enemy aircraft simultaneously. The Navy decided to award a third-ship FY-16 Flight III hull to Bath (Maine) Iron Works (BIW) as part of a “swap ship” agreement with HII. The update from Stiller on Flight III delays comes as the Navy has been in year-long negotiations with both HII and BIW over the ECPs to modify a Flight IIA hull to include AN/SPY-6 air and missile defense radar, and upgrades for the electrical and cooling systems to accommodate a new system. (Source: USNI News 05/31/17)