Total makes GoM oil discovery

The French oil and energy group Total has made a significant oil discovery at the Ballymore prospect offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a company statement that did not give details. It’s their largest discovery in the area. The Ballymore prospect covers four blocks in the Norphlet play including Block MC 607, where the discovery was made. Total's acquisition of a 40 percent working interest in Ballymore was part of an exploration agreement signed with Chevron in September. Chevron has 60 percent. (Source: Marine Link 01/31/18)

Shell claims major GoM oil discovery

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the past decade in the Whale deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, although a Shell Offshore Inc. statement didn’t give figures. The Whale is operated by Shell and co-owned by Chevron Corp., according to a Shell Offshore Inc. Shell has three GoM deepwater projects under construction - Appomattox, Kaikias, and Coulomb Phase 2. It has added more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) resources in the last decade in the Gulf. The company expects global deepwater production to exceed 900,000 boe per day by 2020 from already established areas. (Source: Marine Link 01/31/18)

Jackson County industrial trade show

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The 29th Annual Jackson County (Miss.) Industrial Trade Show will be held March 20 at the B.E. "Mac" McGinty Civic Center in Pascagoula. This event is open to those in the industrial field. Chairperson for the event is Melanie Landsiedel of Chevron. Additionally, Jackson County’s Industrial Suppliers Association (ISA) meets every other month at the Chamber of Commerce to discuss ideas and information for businesses. Contact the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce for information about either event at (228) 762-3391 or e-mail to JohnsonL@jcchamber.com. JCCC’s website is www.jcchamber.com.

Oil spill at White Lake, La.

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard responded to an oil spill adjacent to White Lake, La., in Vermillion Parish on Jan. 30. GC Sector New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center at 11:30 a.m. that some 1,260 gallons of oil spilled from a flow line at an oil production facility – operated by the Peak Operating Company - into the wetlands adjacent to White Lake. Environmental Safety and Health, a local oil spill response organization, has been contracted to conduct cleanup operations. Personnel from CG Marine Safety Unit at Morgan City and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality also responded and are investigating. Containment boom have been deployed around the spill. Clean up efforts are underway. (Source: Coast Guard 01/30/18)

Coastal studies lab has opening

BATON ROUGE, La. - Gov. John Bel Edwards attended an opening of Louisiana State University's new coastal laboratory - the Center for Coastal Studies – on Jan. 29. The center is to be used to test the viability of restoration projects that address the state's alarming rate of coastal land loss. The $18M laboratory was paid for by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority from BP oil spill restoration funds. The new laboratory and education building features a scaled model of the Mississippi River between Donaldsonville and the Gulf of Mexico. The 45,568-square-foot building also houses researchers who will use the model to analyze flood control and land-building projects, part of the state's efforts to keep 24 parishes from disappearing into the Gulf. (Source: NOLA.com 01/29/18)

LPD 17 change of command

NORFOLK - Capt. Edgardo A. Moreno has relieved Capt. Darren W. Nelson as commanding officer of amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) during a change of command ceremony here on Jan. 25 at BAE Systems while dry-docked for a scheduled maintenance period. Capt. Moreno became the 10th commanding officer in the ship's history. Prior to assuming command, he was the ship's executive officer. Capt. Nelson served as the commanding officer for 18 months. His next assignment will be to the Naval Surface and Mine War-fighting Development Center. (Source: USS San Antonio 01/30/18) Gulf Coast Note: USS San Antonio is the lead ship of her class of amphibs. The crew took delivery and moved aboard at then-Northrop Grumman’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., three days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005.

Exxon plans $50B in investments

Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to invest $50B in the U.S. due in part to recently-approved corporate tax rate cuts, CEO Darren Woods said in a Jan. 29 company website blog. Exxon expects to spend $50B in American-based projects over the next five years. Exxon is "actively evaluating" projects now in planning stages as a result of new tax and regulatory changes, he wrote. More than $35B will be for previously unannounced projects, according to firm spokesman Scott Silvestri. Exxon previously pledged tens of billions of dollars for U.S. refining, petrochemical and shale exploration efforts. Last spring, it laid out a $20B investment in its Gulf Coast chemical and oil refining operations through 2022. (Source: Maritime Global News 01/29/18)

Ferry service likely by mid-May

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Gulf Islands National Seashore, the City of Pensacola, Fla., and Escambia County officials say they likely will be ready to start ferry-passenger services – from downtown Pensacola, Fort Pickens, and an unfinished site behind Quietwater Boardwalk on Pensacola Beach – by May 19, officials say. “We are on schedule to have a ferry operator under contract by this spring," said Dan Brown, superintendent of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Two 150-passenger ferries – designed to tentatively from May to October- were originally scheduled to begin service between the sites last spring, but was been delayed for a year because of problems constructing ferry landings and finding a contractor to operate the ferries. "We are in a far different place today than we were a year ago," said Brown. A contest to name the two ferries by school children resulted in Turtle Runner and Pelican Perch. The ferries are being funded with $5.2M BP oil spill restitution monies. Gulf Islands National Seashore is spearheading the project. The ferries are covered in protective plastic wrapping in dry dock at the Port of Pensacola. They are slated to be taken from dry dock and undergo sea trials in April by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each leg of the triangular trip would take up to 45 minutes. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 01/29/18)

Seabees conclude security exercise

GULFPORT, Miss. - Seabees concluded a week-long detachment site security exercise Jan. 26 onboard Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss. Sailors assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 focused on adequately securing a site to facilitate mobility and sustainment for the area of operations in preparation for an upcoming Field Training Exercise (FTX). The exercise trains sailors on security operations for establishing a detachment site, especially newbies. "I am learning hands-on, and getting to see it first hand, versus sitting in a classroom or waiting to move through these actions on the FTX for the first time without as much experience as I could have from training environments," said Steelworker Constructionman Kaeleigh Elhert. NMCB 1 is a Seabee battalion specializing in contingency construction, disaster response, and humanitarian assistance. The battalion's homeport is Gulfport. (Source: Naval Construction Battalion Center 01/29/18)

NMCB officer earns Combs award

WASHINGTON - Lt. Cmdr. Jason K. Ward of the Gulfport, Miss.-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 was named the winner of the 2017 Rear Adm. Lewis B. Combs Award in multiple Jan. 18 award presentations recognizing outstanding performances within the Naval Construction Force. The Combs award, named for the assistant to the chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks during WWII, is presented to the person who has made the most outstanding contribution in perpetuating the legacy of Seabees, Civil Engineer Corps, and Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) accomplishments and traditions. NAVFAC also announced the winners of three other awards. NAVFAC boss Rear Adm. Bret J. Muilenburg, also the chief of civil engineers, recognized the recipients of the Steelworker 2nd Class Robert D. Stethem and Combs awards on behalf of the Civil Engineer Corps-Seabee Historical Foundation. The awards are given by the foundation to “individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Navy and the nation while perpetuating the legacies of Petty Officer Stethem and Rear Admiral Combs,” the admiral said. Construction Mechanic 1st Class Brandon L. Burrow of Underwater Construction Team 1 was the Stethem award recipient. (Source: NAVFAC 01/29/18)

IWTC honors Pueblo legacy

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) aboard Corry Station held a remembrance ceremony Jan. 23 on the 50th anniversary of North Korea’s capture of the technical research and spy ship USS Pueblo. In 1968, USS Pueblo was confronted by North Korean military while operating some three miles inside international waters. The NK vessels opened fire on Pueblo injuring its commander, Capt. Lloyd Bucher, and two sailors and killing another. The 82 surviving crew were captured and held prisoner 335 days in NK before being released Dec. 23, 1968. Unofficial IWTC historian and instructor Mario Vulcano provided a detailed account of the events. "Courage and bravery were necessities that these servicemen could not live without, and they represented what our sailors today hold to be the Navy’s core values: Honor, courage, and commitment," he said. IWTC Corry Station is part of the Center for Information Warfare Training. It provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint-service personnel that prepare themselves to conduct information warfare across the spectrum of military operations. (Source: IWTC Corry Station 01/29/18) During anniversary week 2018, North Korea seized the opportunity to aggrandize the ship as a trophy amid escalated tensions with the U.S. The ship has become a frozen spectacle on the Pothong River, moored adjacent to the "Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum" in Pyongyang. Pueblo is the only U.S. ship held captive by a foreign government, and is still officially in commission in the U.S. Naval Vessel Register. When released, many of the crew was crippled, malnourished, and nearly blind from tortuous treatment. The U.S. government didn’t recognize the crew’s sacrifice until 1989, at which time they were awarded Prisoner of War medals.

App details military movements

A heat map published on the Internet by fitness tracking company Strava may have been inadvertently giving away sensitive secrets. An Australian student used the service to reveal the locations and activities of soldiers at U.S. military bases around the world. (Source: Huffington Post 01/29/18) Security settings likely can disable personnel locations. In the last several hours, the U.S. military has responded to privacy concerns over the heat-map app which displays users' fitness activity - and has been shown to expose of global facilities. - by saying it's reviewing the rules around usage of wireless devices and apps by its personnel.

Opinion: Growing ‘Blue Economy'

Some of the smartest investments happen along coastlines, and what better coast to invest in than Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. The coast has seen its share of disasters, and resiliency to come back. Mississippi’s maritime economy, known as the “Blue Economy, is perhaps larger than many in the Magnolia State appreciate because economic data is incomplete. Best estimates put the overall economic impact of coastal Mississippi between 33-to-50 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. Last summer, Gov. Phil Bryant challenged the state’s Ocean Task Force to create a roadmap for the Blue Economy based on high-paying jobs and a highly trained workforce. The task force recommended a master plan to use public-private partnerships to create a unique maritime technology environment for research and development (R&D), evaluation and testing. The list is long, and the need is great. The University of Southern Mississippi is doing major R&D research on autonomous sea-vehicles. There are firms already invested in unmanned maritime systems, such as Leidos in Long Beach, which will build Sea Hunter II with United States Marine Inc. of Gulfport. The task force’s vision is called Ocean Enterprise. Its centerpiece is a large R&D center in Gulfport with additional capacity for advanced development, testing and evaluation in Hancock and Jackson counties. In short, OE will change the game in South Mississippi by shifting economic development toward high-end engineering and advanced technology development. Instead of having the best and brightest high school grads leaving the state, we can give them a reason to stay. (Opinion: Dr. William “Monty” Graham serves as chair of Gov. Bryant’s Ocean Task Force. He is director of the USM School of Ocean Science and Technology. (Source: Sun Herald ‘opinion’ column 01/28/18)

La. maritime firms form joint venture

Last week, Houma, La.-based Seacor Marine Holdings announced a plan to reorganize the Montco Offshore Inc. of Galliano, La., that includes a new joint venture approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Seacor and Montco will form a joint-venture company by contributing certain lift-boat vessels and related assets. It also requires the joint venture to assume certain operating liabilities and debt associated with those assets. The joint venture will consolidate ownership and operation of 11 lift-boats currently operated by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seacor Marine, six lift-boats currently operated by Montco, and two lift-boats currently operated by an existing joint venture between affiliates of the two companies. Seacor made a stalking horse bid (an initial bid on a bankrupt company's assets from an interested buyer chosen by the bankrupt company) last June. Montco filed for Chapter 11 protection in March 2017. The JV will take on about $131M of debt from Montco’s pre-petition credit facilities. It is expected Seacor will hold at least 70 percent of all equity interests, and will appoint a majority of board managers. The closing of the transactions remains subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions set in Montco’s reorganization plan, and JV contribution agreement. The transactions will expected to close in February. (Source: Work Boat 01/25/18)

HII mod pact for DDG 62

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded $30,169,626 for a cost-plus-fixed fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-4444) for the execution of USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) emergent repair and restoration. This effort shall provide for the additional modernization work items and contract growth for collision repairs as well as maintenance for USS Fitzgerald. Additional contract modifications for collision repair, equipment installation as well as other maintenance and modernization requirements are planned with final definitization of this contract in the third quarter of FY 2018. Work will be performed at HII-Pascagoula; and is expected to be completed by January 2020. FY-18 Navy operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $14,425,453; and FY-18 other Navy procurement in the amount of $659,360 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $14,425,453 will expire Sept. 30. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 01/26)18)

WDS set to begin Pensacola port ops

PENSACOLA, Fla. - World Direct Shipping (WDS) announced plans Jan. 26 to begin weekly sailings between the Port of Coatzacoalcos in Mexico’s state of Veracruz and the Port of Pensacola beginning Feb. 1. A second port along northern Mexico’s Gulf Coast will be added to the rotation in the near future, according to a WDS media release. “We are excited about our addition of Pensacola,” said Carlos Diaz, director of the Port Manatee, Fla.-based company. “It’s exciting to have this opportunity to open another ocean route between Florida and Mexico.” The two Mexican ports will give WDS access to Mexico City’s industrial and market regions, which, according to Diaz, should provide additional opportunities for more exports through Pensacola to Southeast markets. “Breaking into the container markets is a big deal for a smaller port like Pensacola,” said Port of Pensacola Director Amy Miller. “We’ve always known that there were smaller, niche container markets out there that made sense,” she said. The WDS service will be supported by two vessels. The first designated vessel is the 435-foot-long M/V Queen B has capacity for 657 (22-foot equivalent units or TEUs). The second is a chartered vessel of similar size. It is scheduled to be included in the rotation after WDS takes delivery in the fourth quarter of 2018. (Source: Port of Pensacola 01/26/17)

Recovery ops for C-2A and sailors

YOKOSUKA, Japan - The Navy has contracted the Research Vessel (RV) Petrel to survey the location of a C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed into the Philippine Sea en route to USS Ronald Reagan on Nov. 22. Embarked with Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) personnel, Petrel will depart from the Philippines within days and proceed to the C-2A's location at a depth of 18,500 feet. Salvage experts will deploy a side-scan-sonar and remote operated vehicle to survey and map the ocean floor; and afterwards, SUPSALV will analyze the data and assign an appropriate vessel, equipment, and personnel for recovery efforts. Salvage of an aircraft at that depth is unprecedented. The condition of the C-2A is unknown, but every effort will be made to recover the aircraft and the three fallen sailors from the crash. (Source: U.S. 7th Fleet 01/25/18) Gulf Coast Note: The Navy had identified the three service members as Florida natives Lt. Steven Combs and Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Apprentice Bryan Grosso; and Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) Airman Matthew Chialastri of Baton Rouge, La.

FL focusing on GoM drilling resolution

Florida is searching for some permanency to its offshore drilling issues some - 80 years of the oil and gas industry’s existence off both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts – and the Trump administration’s decision to expand O&G drilling across Florida and U.S. waters. The state House’s latest resolution (HR 319), which focuses mainly on the Gulf of Mexico, is using the federal Gulf of Mexico Security Act of 2006 as a foundation to extend an already-passed moratorium on oil exploration east of the Military Mission Line. The moratorium expires in 2022. HR 319 would ask the federal government for an indefinite extension. The line is part of the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex, which stretches from the Florida panhandle to Key West. The range is home to the largest military testing and training range in America. HR 319 would result in a loss of range areas and possible relocation of aircrafts and bases to other unrestricted range areas. Rep. Mel Ponder (R-Destin), one of the bill’s sponsors, fears encroachment on the MML would have a negative impact on Florida’s economy. The military is the third or fourth largest contributor to the state’s economy. There are more than 775,000 jobs and an $80B economic impact. “To us in northwest Florida, it’s actually 65 percent of our economy. It’s a big deal,” he said. Florida Petroleum counsel executive director David Mica claims HR 319 “can have an effect on our American energy security.” Mica asserts that the industry works hand-in-glove with the military on drilling permits, and that creating an indefinite moratorium gives industry another hoop to jump through. Ponder remains firm. The Range Complex is an “irreplaceable” asset to the country, he said. HR 319 passed its final committee vote Jan. 24, and is headed to the House floor for discussion and vote. (Source: WLRM-Miami Public Radio 01/25/18)

Peer-to-pier oyster farming

Within the past eight years, a number of commercial off-bottom oyster farms have been established in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and with significant interest being exhibited in Mississippi. There are 15 commercial oyster farms in Alabama, all established since 2010. Although mostly on a small-scale, these oyster farms have established the potential for off-bottom oyster farming in the South and Gulf Coast region. These businesses have found a ready market for locally produced, premium oysters. Despite opportunities, the new industry faces significant challenges with regard to increasing production efficiency, improving product quality and consistency, assuring product safety, disaster preparation, permitting and marketing. (Source: Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium blog 01/24/18) Oyster South Symposium II: The second Oyster South Symposium, a meeting for producers, gear suppliers, distributors, chefs, food writers, vendors, researchers, students, and managers from the Southeast, will be Feb. 9-10 in Charleston, S.C. There will be discussions of pressing issues; and relevant, practical research on oyster aquaculture. Registration includes admission to all sessions and trade show. This year’s symposium will feature talks on triploid oyster performance, hurricane preparation and recovery, useful tools and techniques, and a discussion about branding. (Source: http://oystersouth.com/events/

Finding long-lost slave ship

Relying on historical records and some old timers around the Port City of Mobile, Ala., the news organization AL.com and a team of archaeologists from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, may have located the long-lost wreck of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to bring human cargo to the U.S. in July 1860. What's left of the ship lies partially buried in mud alongside an island in the lower Mobile-Tensaw Delta, a few miles north of Mobile. The hull is tipped to the port side, which appears almost completely buried in mud. The entire length of the starboard side, however, is almost fully exposed. The wreck, which is normally underwater, was exposed during extreme low tides brought on by the same weather system that brought the "Bomb Cyclone" to the Eastern Seaboard. "I'm quaking with excitement. This would be a story of world historical significance, if this is the Clotilda," said John Sledge, a senior historian with Mobile Historical Commission. (Source: AL.com 01/23/18)

LPD-27 may be RIMPAC flagship

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii - This summer’s Rim of the Pacific naval exercise in Hawaii, the world's largest, is expected to include one of the Navy’s newest amphibious vessels as its flagship, the Army firing a Navy missile into the sea, and a first-ever innovation fair. USS Portland (LPD-27) has been tentatively tapped to serve as RIMPAC’s flagship. The final decision on flagship designation will not be made until a RIMPAC planning meeting in early April, Navy officials said. All 26 nations - including China - that participated in RIMPAC 2016 have been formally invited to this year’s international maritime exercise. Portland will be commissioned in April in Oregon. (Source: Stars and Stripes 01/24/18) Gulf Coast Note: LPD-27 was built at HII-Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. It is the 11th amphibious San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship in the Navy fleet.

CG ends Pontchartrain search

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard is searching for a possible person in the water after reports of a vehicle going over the Lake Pontchartrain (La.) Causeway Bridge before 4 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24. CG Sector New Orleans received a report from bridge authorities regarding a possible vehicle in the water after deputies reported a missing guardrail and propane tanks in the roadway. Those involved in the search include an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from CG Air Station New Orleans; a response boat and crew from CG Station New Orleans; Causeway Police; St. Tammany and Jefferson parishes' sheriff’s offices. Anyone with information can contact CG Sector New Orleans at 504-365-2200. UPDATE: The CG has ended its search for a person in the water after a body was recovered Jan. 24 by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office marine unit about 5 p.m. (Source: Coast Guard 01/24/18)

Escambia requests new boating zones

Escambia County, Fla., is pushing for five new boating regulatory zones that would require boaters to slow down inside designated areas. One of the proposed zones, requested by the Navy, is a portion of Bayou Grande that surrounds Naval Air Station Pensacola. The Navy requested the regulatory zone to improve safety and security of the base. The other four zones include Bayou Garcon, Kees Bayou, Old River, and Innerarity Point Park. Adding zones requires a thumbs-up from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said county commissioner Doug Underhill. "I would be very surprised if all five of the proposed zones are accepted," Underhill said. The new zones are needed because of an increase in population and boating traffic, he said. There have only been 11 zones in the history of the area. State and county leaders will hold public hearings to gather input before a final decision is made. The meetings could be as early as February. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 01/23/18)

Fed-state restoration meet delayed

A Jan. 23 federal-state Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) task force meeting, designed to oversee four new restoration projects totaling $115M along Louisiana's coastline, was canceled Monday because of the partial U.S. government shutdown. The group was to have given the OK to final design and construction of two of those projects. Federal voting members were unable to travel because of the shutdown. Louisiana is a non-voting representative on the task force. Congress had reached mid-day Monday deal to reopen the government, but task force members had already cancelled travel plans for Tuesday's meeting. The plan is to reschedule the meeting or hold an electronic vote on the meeting's decision items. The results of which would be sent out through the CWPPRA Newsflash, a newsletter distributed by the task force. (Source: NOLA.com 01/22/18)

HII-built LPD arrives in SoCal

SAN DIEGO - The future amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) arrived here Jan. 22 at its new homeport. Its arrival to 'SoCal' concluded a six-week transit from Huntington Ingalls’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The ship departed South Mississippi on Dec.14 and made port visits to Key West and Mayport, Fla., and a fuel stop Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. During transit, Portland conducted training operations to include certifying landing craft air cushion operations with Assault Craft Unit 5; experiencing its first-time of passage through the Panama Canal; and conducting a crossing the equator ceremony. (Source: USS Portland 01/23/18) Portland will be the 11th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship in the Navy. The ship’s keel was laid in August 2013 at the HII-Pascagoula. Portland was commissioned there in December. Its commissioning ceremony will be April 21 in Portland, Ore.

Fla.’s RESTORE 3 comment period

A 45-day public comment period – until March 2 – has started to get feedback on Florida’s expenditure plan from RESTORE Act monies following the 2010 BP oil spill. Two of those projects include $12.6M to clean up Bayou Chico in Pensacola, and $12.6M to improve water quality in Santa Rosa Sound. The Gulf Consortium was formed to qualify Florida's 23 Gulf Coast counties for Round #3 of RESTORE funding. Its board’s state expenditure plan is 571 pages of documents detailing 69 projects across 23 counties. The RESTORE Act awards 80 percent of all BP fines related to the oil spill to states affected – Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi - by the spill. The total has been estimated to be $6.6B in final payments by 2031. The money is divided into five rounds. The Gulf Consortium is responsible for equally dividing Florida's Round #3 funds that is estimated at $293.7M. The Santa Rosa Sound project is designed to improve water quality by converting the Soundside and Holley by the Sea communities from septic systems to sewer systems, and relocate the Navarre Beach treatment facility effluent discharge to a 200-acre site on Eglin Air Force Base property. The Pensacola project is designed to remove polluted soil from the bottom of Bayou Chico. Public comments on the projects can be made via Gulf Consortium's website, gulfconsortium.org/comment-page. There are two public comment webinars scheduled for the plans. The first will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (CT) on Feb. 1. The second will be from 1-3 p.m. on Feb. 15. People can register for the webinars on the Gulf Consortium's website. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 01/22/18)

Seabees prepare for field exercise

GULFPORT, Miss. - Seabees with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 completed a 96-hour Command Post Exercise (CPX) Jan. 19 aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss. The CPX was designed to prepare NMCB 1 personnel for an upcoming Field Training Exercise. The exercise deliberately cycles operations and mission planning in order to test command and control between a Combat Operations Center and sailors at their designated assignments. COC watch-standers oversee the real-time status and progression of operations on the grounds. "We need to be able to resource personnel where they are needed based on our vertical and horizontal assets assigned to us," said Chief Builder Bo Hartley. Sailors also trained on mission planning, convoys, occupying objectives, developing fire plans, patrol briefs, patrols and Entry Control Point operations. (Source: Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 01/22/18)

SCOTUS to hop on La. frog case

WASHINTON - The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) agreed Jan. 22 to take up a case concerning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s designation of about 1,600 privately owned acres in Louisiana as a "critical habitat" for a species known as the dusky gopher frog, despite the fact the species currently exists only in Mississippi. The case was filed by a Louisiana lumber firm that holds a long-term timber lease on the property that doesn't expire until 2043. Company lawyers say the tract "concededly contains no dusky gopher frogs and cannot provide habitat for them absent a radical change in the land use because it lacks features necessary for their survival." The frog historically lived in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, but there are only about 100 alive in Mississippi due primarily to habitat loss. The Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against the St. Tammany Parish landowners and holding that the company had not established that F&WS’ Endangered Species Act interpretation was unreasonable in Louisiana and "essential for the conservation of the dusky gopher frog." The case is expected to be argued next term. F&WS concluded the designation may likely cost $34M in lost development value of the acreage. But the government argued that the frogs are "trans-located to the site" in five ponds "in close proximity to each other" and that adult frogs could potentially create a "meta-population." (Source: CNN 01/22/18)

La. firm contracts for hybrid tugs

Harbor Docking and Towing of Lake Charles, La., has contracted with Washburn & Doughty of East Boothbay, Maine, to design and build two 93-foot by 38-foot hybrid Z-drive tugs. The hull is a proven design with 18 tugs in operation and four under construction. The vessel will be built as a harbor assist vessel as defined in USCG Subchapter M and measure less than 200 gross U.S. regulatory tonnage. Caterpillar Marine will provide a “stem-to-stern” Cat content hybrid propulsion system, with support from both Milton Cat and Louisiana Cat. The hybrid propulsion system scope includes twin 3512E main engines, producing 2,550 hp at 1,800 rpm, each, two C18 generator sets, sparking 565 kW of electrical power, a C7.1 generator set, producing 200 kW of electrical power, shaft lines, MTA 628 azimuth drives with cu-ni-al bronze 2800 mm propellers and water-cooled thruster motors . (Source: Work Boat 01/19/18)

Farming for caviar; and dangers

Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will entertain an idea to allow the importing and farming of Sterlet sturgeon, a Russian delicacy, but currently banned in the state. Its eggs are the food equivalent to gold and reaching prices of about $100 an ounce as top-shelf caviar. The proposal would permit the raising of the fish in indoor pools. "If we find a way to sustainably raise caviar,” said Wildlife and Fisheries Commissioner Jerri Smitko, a Houma lawyer, “it's not just good for a few but for everyone." Sturgeons have swum the Earth's waterways for some 200 million years, and grow to as large as 20-feet long. But economic benefit pale in comparison to the environmental risk, according to a number of wildlife groups and other government agencies, including W&F’s own biologists. If sturgeon are released or escape, they could compete with Louisiana's four native sturgeon species for food and habitat, according to Patrick Banks, head of W&F’s fisheries division. Two local sturgeon varieties are of particular concern: The Pallid and Gulf sturgeon. The Pallid is disappearing from the lower Mississippi basin. The Gulf sturgeon only moves into Louisiana rivers to spawn, and was damaged by the 2010 BP oil spill. Both are threatened species. "The department has been very clear: Each time (sturgeon farming is proposed), we recommend not moving forward," Banks said. Despite alarms, the commission will hold a public hearing Jan. 24 in Baton Rouge. Approval could come early this year. (Source: NOLA.com 01/20/18)

HII-Ingalls mod pact for DDG 62

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $125,136,069 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-4444) for the execution of USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) emergent repair and restoration. This effort shall provide for the additional collision repairs as well as maintenance and modernization. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, and is expected to be completed by January 2020. FY 2018 Navy operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $50,630,589; and FY-18 other Navy procurement funding in the amount of $11,937,446 will be obligated at the time of award, and will expire Sept. 30. This contract modification was not competitively procured, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 (only one responsible source and no other supplies or service will satisfy agency requirements). Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

CG suspends search off Fort Morgan

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard is searching for a person in the water about 55 nautical miles southeast of Fort Morgan, Ala., Saturday morning, Jan. 20. CG Sector Mobile received a report at 6:52 a.m. from the pleasure craft Motion Granted, a 41-foot Hattaras yacht, regarding 40-year-old Matthew Willis being overboard. The man was last seen at 2 a.m. Three people in the yacht have been at anchor since the man was last seen. Involved in the search include an HC-144 Ocean Sentry air crew from CG Aviation Training Center Mobile; an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from CG Station New Orleans; Response boat from CG Station Dauphin Island, Ala.; and the CG cutter Razorbill out of Gulfport, Miss. (Source: Coast Guard 01/20/18) UPDATE: The CG suspended its search Jan. 22 for a person in the water off Fort Morgan. CG Sector Mobile suspended the search at 9:45 a.m. after searching about 2,830 square nautical miles for some 50 hours.

NW Fla. RIBS appraisal meeting

On Jan. 22,, the Santa Rosa County (Fla.) Commissioners will discuss approving $12,600 to appraise a proposed 200-acre site rapid infiltration basin system site (RIBS) on Eglin Air Force Base property northwest of the Holley community. In 2001, the SRC commission OK’d the concept to eliminate discharge into Santa Rosa Sound, and re-direct treated effluent to a regional disposal on the Eglin Range. The commission contracted with the CH2M firm to develop a conceptual plan, preliminary design, routing alternatives, wastewater treatment plant upgrades, and assist in obtaining approvals from Air Force and Eglin. A FONSl/FNPA was issued by the AF and approved. Florida issued a permit for construction of the Eglin project, and was renewed in September 2015. The new amendments to the project for the CH2MHill task order includes updating the environmental assessments at the RIBS; updating alternatives analysis for the reuse transmission mains and pump stations; preparing a 30% design summary; wastewater treatment facility upgrades; selected transmission system; and assisting with the lease negotiations. The commission meeting will take place at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 22 at the County Administrative Complex in Milton. The meeting can be viewed online via www.santarosa.fl.gov. (Source: South Santa Rosa County News 01/19/18)

House, panel extol Jones Act

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing Jan. 17 on “The State of the U.S. Flag Maritime Industry” during which congressional and maritime leaders stressed the importance of the Jones Act. The group included, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.); Mark H. Buzby, administrator of the Maritime Administration; Matt Woodruff, president of the American Maritime Partnership; Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America; and Aaron Smith, president/CEO of the Offshore Marine Service Association. The committee and those testifying expressed bipartisan support for the Jones Act and enforcement of the law. Rep. Graves noted the need to maintain a strong domestic maritime industry, and the Jones Act’s importance. “We want to keep the Jones Act in place and make sure that we've got American vessels, make sure we're doing our job, make sure it's helping our economy, and make sure it's helping our national security.” Yet, he countered those remarks by saying the Jones Act “isn't just about employment and the economy, it's about national security implications” and that should remain on the “front burner.” (Source: Marine Link 01/19/18)

FSU partnering with NSWC-PC

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Florida State University-Panama City will have two new programs beginning in Fall 2018, and one of them will be in partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City. FSU-PC Dean Randy Hanna made the announcement of a new bachelor's program in mechanical engineering, and masters program in systems engineering during the Florida State’s board of trustees meeting Jan. 18. The mechanical engineering program, expanding from the Tallahassee campus, teaches contemporary engineering practices for developing products from concept to the marketplace. Courses focus on thermal and fluid systems, mechanical systems, mechanics and materials, dynamic systems, and engineering design. Hanna says the push for these programs comes from the local industry's demand, and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Hanna says he looks forward to what the Navy base will bring to the program. (Source: Florida State 01/18/18)

GE ships LM2500s to Ingalls

CRYSTAL CITY, Va. - GE’s Marine Solutions has shipped its LM2500 marine gas turbine propulsion module, which is designed to help power the Navy’s 75th Arleigh Burke­-class destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the company reported Jan. 10 at the Surface Navy Association’s symposium. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., will construct the new destroyer with Navy Flight III upgrades. Each DDG destroyer features four GE LM2500 marine gas turbines in a COmbined Gas turbine And Gas turbine (COGAG) configuration. HII-Ingalls has delivered 30 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy. (Source: GE Marine Solutions 01/10/18)

Fitzgerald arrives in Pascagoula

WASHINGTON - The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) arrived in Pascagoula, Miss., on Jan. 19 aboard heavy lift vessel MV Transshelf from Yokosuka, Japan. Fitzgerald is expected to spend several days in the Port of Pascagoula as the heavy lift ship commences reverse operation of unfastening, lowering, and guiding the ship from the platform. The ship will then be taken to its designated pier at HII-Ingalls' shipyard. Due to the extent and complexity of restoration, both repair and new construction procedures will be used to accomplish the restoration and modernization efforts. Various Hull Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E), C4I and Combat System equipment, including the electronic warfare suite, radar, switchboard, gas turbine generator, and air condition plant require repair and/or replacement. Fitzgerald will also receive HM&E, Combat System and C5I upgrades that were originally planned for installation during a fiscal year 2019 availability. Work on the ship is expected to occur on a land level facility throughout 2018 and up to two quarters of 2019, followed by an extensive test and trials period to ensure systems and spaces are restored to full function and operational capabilities. The restoration and modernization efforts are expected to take about two years after work commences. (Source: Naval Sea Systems Command 01/19/18)

Civilian-military disconnect

WASHINGTON – Americans are less connected to the military than ever before and Defense Department leaders - facing a potential future recruitment crisis – are starting to take notice. From DOD internal data, a “civilian-military divide is expanding,” said Amber Smith, deputy assistant for outreach at DOD. “That ultimately is a threat to the viability and sustainability of the all-volunteer force.” In the decades since America ended the draft, following the Vietnam War in 1974, the all-volunteer force has grown into a professional military fed in part by families whose sons and daughters follow their parents into service. The U.S. is nearing completion of a second decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and the number of young adults with parents who served has dropped over those decades from 40 percent (1995) to 15 percent today, Smith said. The rest of America, she said, is only learning about the military via Hollywood and the news, leading to misperceptions about military service. In February, DOD will launch a year-long PR campaign (under the hashtag #KnowMyMil) aimed at utilizing social media, sports franchises, and military outreach to help Americans get to know the military, Smith said. The increased operational tempo since 9/11 have placed enormous strain on service members and families, prompting DOD to look for ways to alleviate some of the stresses. The military also needs to be more adaptable and find ways to respond to custom needs of service members and families while still answering the security needs of the nation, said David Chu, an expert from the Institute for Defense Analyses. “It can no longer remain ‘one size fits all’, he said. (Source: Stars and Stripes 01/18/18)

New 30-Yr shipbuild plan coming

WASHINGTON, DC – In February, the Defense Department will send an FY 2019 budget request to Congress that will include a 30-year shipbuilding plan. In recent years, the Navy has made 30-year shipbuilding plans to outline proposed ship procurements and decommissionings to provide a detailed idea of near-, mid- and long-term views within the fleet. The plans generally lose reliability in out-years, but somewhat helpful as planning tools for industry and lawmakers. But, the Navy did not make a 30-year request plan with its FY-18 request or five-year spending request projections. Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer promised the House Armed Services Committee on Jan. 18 that the Navy can expect a 30-year plan with the FY-19 request that is slated for release during the first week of February. Navy just wrapped up an analysis on three shipbuilding rates: Current production, normalized curve, and aggressive curve rates. The middle- and high-rate options would balance Navy’s needs while taking care of the industrial base. Smoothing out the curve would be an “excellent solution for both the industrial base and for us,” SECNAV said, with one caveat: If the Navy needs ships in an “expedited rate, we’re going to have to go there.” CNO Adm. John Richardson said the plan will show historical shipbuilding context to 1955, which makes clear the “devastating effect of the peace dividend” on the ship-building industrial base. More than 12 shipyards have shuttered in that timeframe leaving the remaining yards with less capacity. “We really need to protect that treasure with everything we can.” HASC member Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) reminded Navy leaders that Congress added five ships to the Navy’s plans in the FY-18 request, and expects to see continued uptick of shipbuilding. “We expect a large investment in shipbuilding to relieve the stress” on the fleet, he said. (Source: USNI NEWS 01/18/18) Gulf Coast Note: Rep. Bryne’s Alabama district is home to Austal USA shipyard, which builds one of two classes of Littoral Combat Ships, and the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF).

Surface boss steps down

Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden , the Navy’s director at Naval Surface Force Pacific and the service’s top Surface Warfare officer, officially stepped down Jan. 18. The reins were turned over to Vice Adm. Richard Brown, a former commander of the Navy Personnel Command at Millington, Tenn. Brown is inheriting a community and force searching for answers after a troubling year, which included two destroyers colliding with commercial ships, resulting in the deaths of 17 sailors, in the Navy’s 7th Fleet operational area. The Navy’s consolidated disposition authority, tasked with overseeing disciplinary actions in the wake of those collisions, recommended Rowden be relieved. He was planning to retire in three weeks. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Brown has spent the majority of his time at sea on cruisers and destroyers. He previously commanded the destroyer The Sullivans, cruiser Gettysburg, and Carrier Strike Group 11. Rowden oversaw the reorganization of the Littoral Combat Ship program, moving from a complicated manning system that split three crews between two ships to a Blue/Gold crew model, dividing two crews between each ship. He also moved the LCS program away from switching out of mission packages to single-mission ships where crews were experts in a warfare specialty – mine-countermeasures (MCM), surface or anti-submarine warfare. (Source: Defense News 01/18/18) Gulf Coast Note: Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence-class LCS. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., has been intimately involved with development and testing of the MCM warfare program.

Fitzgerald to arrive at Ingalls today

The Navy’s guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, damaged from a collision last June with a Philippine-flagged container ship off Japan, is expected to arrive at Huntington Ingalls’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., on the morning of Jan. 19. HII-Ingalls announced the Fitzgerald's expected arrival on Thursday, and inviting residents to wave flags as the ship is carried up the Pascagoula River aboard a transport ship. Colleen O'Rourke, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command, which is overseeing the repair at Pascagoula, wrote in an e-mail that the Navy will have more information once the ship arrives. The collision resulted in the death of seven sailors. DDG-62’s hull was also punctured twice more in November while being loaded aboard a transport ship, which eventually sailed from Japan on Dec. 9. HII-Ingalls, chosen because it was one of only two shipyards that builds destroyers and had available capacity, was awarded a $63M repair contract. Fitzgerald will also be modernized while at HII-Ingalls, and had been scheduled for an overhaul in FY 2019. (Source: The AP & WLOX 01/19/18)

Zumwalts have no ‘big gun’ weaponry

The futuristic Zumwalt-class destroyers are years away from being ready for combat, but the Navy still don’t have a load for its “big gun” weaponry. In 2016, the Navy canceled plans to purchase the long-range land attack projectile (LRLAP) for DDG 1000s, designed to be fired from the ship's massive 155mm Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) weapon, and at a pricey cost of some $800K per round. The ship is expected to reach operational capability by FY 2020, but there’s still no substitute. Capt. Kevin Smith, program manager for DDG-1000, said the Navy continues to watch industry for a solution. Each of the three DDGs, built at Bath (Maine) Iron Works, cost about $4B. Zumwalt was commissioned in 2016; Michael Monsoor is expected in March; and Lyndon B. Johnson is set for delivery by 2020. The first commanding officer of the Zumwalt, Capt. James Kirk, indicated that the purpose of the ship is “going to be looking at shifting the mission set … to a (long-range) surface strike, land-and -sea-strike surface platform," he said. That’s a contrast to its previous focus on being on suppressive firing from close to land. The Zumwalts are not without weapons: Sea Sparrows; tactical Tomahawks; and anti-submarine missiles; plus a pair of 30mm chain guns. Officials have discussed the possibility of arming AGS with a hypervelocity projectile, like the electromagnetic railgun being tested for a second time by the Navy. A decision to move forward has yet to be made. (Military.com 01/12/18) Gulf Coast Note: In 2006, the Navy funded two ships – one to be built at Ingalls in Pascagoula, Miss., and one at BIW. Ingalls was awarded a $90M contract modification for materials and production planning in November 2007. In February 2008, BIW was awarded a contract for DDG 1000. Ingalls was awarded a contract for the construction of DDG 1001, USS Monsoor.

76th commander at NAVOCEANO

SLIDELL, La. - Capt. Ron Piret became the 76th commanding officer of the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) during a ceremony held at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium on Jan. 12. The NAVOCEANO is a multi-mission government agency located at Stennis Space Center, Miss., which conducts oceanographic and hydrographic surveys carried out by six T-AGS 60 class survey ships under the command's technical control. Piret is a graduation of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical oceanography. He earned a master’s in oceanography and meteorology from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Among some of his operational duties, Piret served as oceanographer and duty coomand officer in USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72); and commanded Provincial Reconstruction Team Uruzgan, Afghanistan, working with multi-national and inter-agency partners in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. NAVOCEANO is comprised of about 800 military, civilian and contract personnel various platforms, including unmanned underwater vehicles, to collect oceanographic and hydrographic data from the world's oceans. (Source: Naval Oceanographic Office 01/17/18)

Conrad delivers pushboat ‘Ray S’

Conrad Shipyard delivered the 102-foot twin-screw pushboat, the Ray S, to Houston-based Enterprise Marine Services in late December 2017. The boat was built at Conrad’s Amelia, La., facility and a christening took place Jan. 15 Enterprise’s Houma, La., location. It is the fourth boat Conrad has built for Enterprise. “We wanted the versatility that this boat gives us as a 3,000 (hp) boat that can run on the river or intracoastal (waterway),” said Jacob Brown, Enterprise’s director of shipyard operations. (Source: Work Boat 01/16/18)

Changes to LCS warfare packages

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy will unveil changes to the number of mission warfare packages it plans to buy for the Freedom- and Independence-class Littoral Combat ships in its FY 2019 budget, said Capt. Ted Zobel, the LCS mission module program manager. The three LCS warfare packages each have a number of weapons, sensors and unmanned systems used for missions related to anti-submarine, surface, and mine-countermeasures warfare. Changes to existing programs could spell millions of dollars for companies manufacturing those products. The LCS program had planned to buy 24 surface, 24 anti-submarine, and 16 mine-countermeasure warfare modules. “That’s going to change,” Zobel told reporters. He declined to elaborate. The changes were being driven by the Navy purchasing 32 LCS vice 55; and to semi-permanently install the mission equipments instead of having swappable package. The SW package is scheduled to hit initial operational capability in FY-19, followed by the anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures modules in FY-2020. (Source: Defense News 01/16/18) Gulf Coast Note: Austal USA builds the Independence-class LCS at Mobile, Ala. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., has been intimately involved in the mine-countermeasures warfare package development.

Bill directs all BP funds to South MS

The Mississippi Senate Appropriations Committee passed SB 2176 on Jan. 15 that would direct 100 percent of the BP oil spill settlement money into an account for Mississippi coastal projects. The bill created the Gulf Coast Restoration Reserve Fund, which would hold the money separate from the general fund. The bill was authored by Sen. Brice Wiggins (R-Pascagoula). The bill heads to the full Senate for consideration. Wiggins wrote a similar bill last year that died in the House of Representatives. (WLOX 01/15/18)

Bollinger to build ATB for Alaska firm

Crowley Fuels LLC has signed a contract with the Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards for the construction of a new 100,000-barrel-capacity articulated tug-barge (ATB) to transport multiple clean petroleum products in the Alaska market. The Alaska-class vessel will be built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators Shipyard in Amelia, La., with an expected delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019. The build contract includes an option for a second ATB. (Source: Marine Link 01/15/18)

Independence commissioned in 2010

On Jan. 16, 2010, the first-in-class Littoral Combat Ship USS Independence (LCS 2) was commissioned at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala. The original contract was awarded to General Dynamics in 2003. The contract to build LCS 2 was awarded to Austal USA in mid-October 2005. The keel was laid down Jan. 19, 2006. Delivery to the Navy was in December 2008. LCS 2 completed its maiden voyage in April 2010. (Source: U.S. Navy 01/16/18)

Metal Shark patrol boat joins PR fleet

JEANERETTE, La. - Louisiana-based boat-builder Metal Shark has delivered its new law enforcement patrol boat, Metal Shark 35 Defiant, to the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD). It has already been put to use in the ongoing Hurricane Maria recovery efforts. PRPD’s other Metal Shark boats weathered the storm undamaged in September and have served on relief missions around the coast and the islands of Culebra and Vieques. The new 35-foot aluminum pilothouse patrol vessel was built at Metal Shark’s Jeanerette production facility. It joins a fleet of 36-foot Metal Shark Fearless-class high performance center console patrol boats delivered to the PRPD in 2017. Defiant is the first new boat to enter service with the PRPD since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. (Source: Metal Shark 01/15/18)

Ports' contract talks still in limbo

American beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) and container lines may have to start their annual trans-Pacific rate and service negotiations without a new longshoremen labor agreement for the Gulf and East coast ports. Bargaining sessions by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) has been stalled since Dec. 6, when talks broke down after a dispute over the definition of automated terminals, which ILA President Harold Daggett opposed. ILA and USMX leadership hoped for an agreement on a contract extension, which would assure shippers scheduled to attend the Journal of Commerce’s (JOC) yearly Trans-Pacific Maritime (TPM) conference in California from March 4-7. The ILA prez told union officials to cancel plans to attend TPM, which suggests no extension is expected beforehand. The current ILA-USMX contract extends to Sept. 30. Shippers have been anxious for an early deal, which allows for supply chain plans without potential disruption from port shutdowns. ILA and USMX will resume negotiations on a Maine-to-Texas master contract, but no bargaining sessions have been scheduled. ILA had indicated it would be willing to delay negations until contract ends. But, Daggett directed ILA locals to continue local and regional agreements as supplements to a Gulf-East coast master contract. Local contract issues vary by port. (Source: JOC.com 01/14/18)

Shifting sands of Navarre Pass

Navarre, Fla., has the same sugary white beaches and gleaming Gulf waters as do the more tourist-mecca destinations of Destin and Pensacola beaches. But there’s something missing from turning Navarre, and Santa Rosa County, into a competitive stop for tourists, say area leaders. That something is a boating path from the sound to the Gulf of Mexico. Today, Navarre-based boaters must travel either 24 miles to Destin Pass or 24 miles to Pensacola Pass to reach the GoM. Without a pass, county and congressional leadership says Navarre is missing out on billions in potential development. "It could be an economic engine for our entire county," said SR commissioner Bob Cole. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, (R-Fort Walton Beach) has pledged to reopen it, which he concludes would make the county among the wealthiest in Florida. The congressman also has suggested BP oil spill monies to be set aside for projects like Navarre Pass to spur economic development. Gaetz's father, former state Senate President Don Gaetz, sits on the board that oversees $1.5B from the BP oil spill settlement. But nothing is simple with the county's nearly 50-year battle for the pass. In 1965, there was a pass, but it was closed by debris from Hurricane Betsy. Cole is a supporter of re-opening it, but sees it as an improbable task due to the strong objections from the Defense Department, Gulf Islands National Seashore and environmentalists, and Eglin Air Force Base. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 01/13/18)

Large oyster shell reef completed

EGLIN AFB, Fla. - The largest oyster shell reef in the Choctawhatchee Bay watershed, coming in at 1,700 feet long in Alaqua Bayou, has been completed with the assistance of volunteers and a partnership between the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) of Northwest Florida State College and Eglin Air Force Base. The reef is made up of 13,000 bags of shells collected, and dried, for more than a year from local restaurants. The reef's design is to reduce shoreline erosion, provide habitat for juvenile oysters, and enhance the ecosystem for fish and crustaceans, according to a media release from CBA. Each oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day that is suspected to improve the bayou’s water quality. CBA works to enhance swimmable and fishable waterways through monitoring, education, restoration, and research. (Source: NW Florida Daily News 01/12/18)

How will IoD define Florida?

U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke declared he was “taking Florida off the table” for new offshore oil drilling. Does that mean all of the Sunshine State? Zinke’s announcement offered few details. “Right now, his promise is just empty words,” said U.S. Sen. Nelson (D-Fla.), who has opposed offshore drilling. Does it mean both coasts – Atlantic, Gulf and the Straits of Florida? IoD has months to decide, and could be far from a drilling blockade. Oil and gas (O&G) firms are hoping for wiggle room. IoD’s proposal opened the door for selling drilling rights in a small pocket of the eastern GoM right away and auctions of territory throughout the region after a scheduled ban from drilling ends in 2022. “How will Interior define ‘Florida’?” asked Kevin Book, managing director of Washington-based ClearView Energy Partners LLC. A broad definition would include all three offshore planning areas that surround the state, including the straits. “Until Interior says differently,” claimed National Ocean Industries Association’s president Randall Luthi, “we’re in the middle of an administrative process, and that’s how we’re going to treat it.” IoD will have an opportunity to provide more specifics later in 2018, when it issues a formal proposal for selling offshore oil leases - after a public comment period and environmental assessments. (Source: Bloomberg 01/12/18) In an e-mail to constituents Jan. 12, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla. 1st District) proclaimed “some great news” for Florida after Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced he will no longer pursue plans to drill for oil off the coast of Florida. “I feel confident that drilling will not come to Florida during this presidency,” he wrote. On Jan. 22, Gaetz will host an “Open Gaetz Day” in Cantonment followed by one Jan. 25 in Milton.

LCS cost reduction ‘hull over hull’

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy is achieving cost reductions with each Littoral Combat Ship hull completed, and with fewer discrepancy results from acceptance trials, LCS program deputy Neal White told attendees Jan. 11 at the Surface Navy Association National Symposium. In recent years, each LCS has been delivered at a progressively lower cost, all within the congressionally imposed 2010 cap of $480M per ship-variant, he said. LCS shipbuilders Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., and Lockheed Martin at Marinette, Wis., have delivered 11 ships in two separate variants – Independence and Freedom. Eighteen are under contract; and two are in the FY 2018 budget. The 2018 defense budget authorized a third LCS, but it awaits funding. If it’s funded, there would be a total production of 32 LCS. The program office has been incorporating changes in design from lessons learned in operations. Modifications and changes to Austal’s Independence variant include USS Jackson (LCS 6) will include habitability improvements and bridge wings; and USS Kansas City (LCS 22), which will be delivered with habitability improvements, increased magazine protection, shock-hardened water system, a Lightweight Tow assembly; and space for a future over-the-horizon missile. (Source: Seapower Magazine 01/11/18)

DOI launches major reorganization

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke launched a new effort Jan. 10 to undertake the largest reorganization in DOI’s 168-year history that purports to move and shift tens of thousands of workers to new locations, and change the way the U.S. government manages more than 500 million acres of land and water across the America. The plan would divide the U.S. into 13 regions and centralize authority for different parts of DOI within those boundaries. The regions would be defined by watersheds and geographic basins, rather than current boundaries that guide DOI's operations. The proposed plan would be accompanied by a dramatic shift in location of the HQs of major bureaus – like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Zinke brought 150 Senior Executive Service (SES) personnel to explain the proposal and seek input. He then split them into working groups to discuss ways to streamline BLM and USBR, Fish & Wildlife Service and other agencies. The SES groups identified alternative cities outside Washington, Denver and Albuquerque, N.M., where thousands of employees could live with suitable schools and homes they can afford. DOI has some 70,000 total employees. (Source: Washington Post 01/10/18)

NYC next up to sue Big Oil

New York City has become the latest city in America to sue the world’s largest oil companies over their industrial contributors to climate change. The case against BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell is City of New York v. BP Plc, 18-cv-00182, and is to be heard in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, Imperial Beach, and Marin, Calif., had previously filed suits against the oil industry over the environmental impact of fossil fuels. The suit claims the companies are “collectively responsible” for more than 11 percent of all carbon and methane pollution from industrial sources “since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution," lawyers for NYC said in their complaint late on Jan. 9. NYC hopes to build on its legal efforts against producers of asbestos products, cigarettes, and lead paint as an extension of legal responsibility. The lawsuit is based on claims that corporations make on products causing severe harm when used exactly as intended, and that those firms “should shoulder the costs of abating that harm," the city said in the complaint. (Source: Bloomberg 01/11/18) Gulf Coast Note: In 2014, the Top 10 emitting states were responsible for nearly half of the America’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nearly equal to the combined emissions of Japan, Canada, Germany, or all of India, according to a report by the World Resources Institute. Louisiana accounted for 3.4 percent of U.S. emissions (#8). Texas, California, and Pennsylvania were the Top 3. Florida was #6.

NJROTC manager retires

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The director of the Navy's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) program was recognized for his 17 years of leadership during a retirement ceremony here Jan. 5 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Dr. J. D. Smith was presented with the Distinguished Civilian Service Award by the commander of Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi. "It's been wonderful being able to assist in the development of the nation's youth through the JROTC program," said Smith who retired after 44 years of federal service. Smith began his federal civil service employment at the flag-command HQ of the Chief of Naval Education and Training in Pensacola in 1973. In 2002, Dr. Smith was selected to become the NJROTC program manager. Navy JROTC was founded in 1964 as a citizenship development program for high school students and in U. S. secondary educational institutions. The program is currently under the direction of NSTC, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., and includes 573 units worldwide. NSTC command oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. (Source: NSTC 01/11/18) Among some of the coastal Mississippi JROTC units are at Gautier High School, Moss Point, and Pascagoula. Among coastal Louisiana units are Brother Martin High School, Landry Walker, and McDonogh 35 all of New Orleans, Covington, LaGrange of Lake Charles, and Slidell Senior. Among some of the Alabama units are Robertsdale High School, Gulf Shores, and Davidson of Mobile. Among NW Florida units are Arnold High School of Panama City; Escambia and Pine Forest of Pensacola; and Milton, Pace and Navarre. Dr. Smith is also a former Pensacola City Council representative.

MS firm among MSC awardees

Talon Electrical Mechanical Group, Park Ocean Springs, Miss. (N32205-18-D-4708); Amee Bay, Hanahan, S.C., (N32205-18-D-4700); Auxiliary Systems Inc., Norfolk, Va. (N32205-18-D-4701); Continental Tide Defense Systems, Reading, Pa. (N32205-18-D-4702); Custom Panel and Controls LLC, Virginia Beach, Va. (N32205-18-D-4703); Glenmount Global Solutions, Portage, Ind. (N32205-18-D-4704); Intech Marine Services, Chesapeake, Va. (N32205-18-D-4705); Mid Atlantic Eng. Tech Services, Chesapeake, Va. (N32205-18-D-4706); Powergen Controls, Pearland, Texas (N32205-18-D-4707); The GBS Group, Virginia Beach, Va. (N32205-18-D-4709); The McHenry Management Group, Chesapeake, Va. (N32205-18-D-4710); Trantecs Corp., Arlington, Va. (N32205-18-D-4711); and MSCorp, Boston, Mass. (N32205-18-D-4712), are being awarded a not-to-exceed $8,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for a one year requirement to provide worldwide shipboard engineering and electrical services to the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The contract includes option years which, if exercised, would bring the total contract maximum value to $44,520,000. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2018. FY 2018 Navy operations and maintenance contract funds in the amount of $44,500 are being obligated at the time of award. Funding will expire Sept. 30, 2018. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website. Fifteen offers were received. Military Sealift Command of Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity. (DOD 01/10/18)

Weaponizing CUSV for SW role

The Navy wants to add on a number of Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) anti-surface weapons that to date have only been used as a passive platform for the Littoral Combat Ship’s mine-countermeasures warfare package. On Jan. 9, Naval Sea Systems Command and Textron announced they have entered into a study agreement to weaponize the CUSV for a surface warfare (SW) role. In a statement from Textron indicated that NAVSEA had signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the company “to develop and integrate surface warfare payloads” onto the CUSV. Payloads are to include various missiles, designators, sensors, and remote weapon stations. Initially, CUSV was developed as part of the Littoral Combat Ship’s (LCS) mine-countermeasure warfare package to tow the Unmanned Influence Sweep System. UISS is designed to emit signals that would cause mines triggered by sound or electromagnetic signatures to detonate. Based on the news release, it is unclear the types of weapons the CUSV could field. The Navy will use a vertically launched AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missile for its Littoral Combat Ships' surface warfare mission package. (Source: USNI News 01/09/18) Gulf Coast Note: Textron and Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., have been working on the LCS mine-countermeasures warfare package for years.

New FFG(X) estimate: $950M each

Naval Sea Systems Command confirmed Jan. 9 that each new Guided-Missile Frigate has an expected end cost of an average of $950M million, according to Regan Campbell, program manager of the frigate program office. The cost doesn’t include the first in class ship, which typically carries a higher price tag. The Navy is planning for a 20-ship order for the designated FFG(X), which was initially a step beyond the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Navy released the final conceptual design request for proposals in November, which specified the ships will be built in U.S. shipyards and those potential contractors must start with a parent design - one that has been through production and demonstrated at-sea testing. The FFG(X) program has improvements over previous frigate designs such as shock- and blast-hardening, and structural fatigue length, she said. Campbell could not reveal which companies have submitted conceptual designs, but will be able to say what shipyard(s) would be getting an award “shortly.” (Source: Defense Daily 01/09/18) Gulf Coast Note: Austal USA shipyard of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence variant of the LCS for the Navy.

Engine damage after overhauls

An investigative report on Auxiliary Engine Damage by The Swedish Club - a European mutual marine insurance company - indicates the majority of all engine damage to commercial vessels takes place within the first 1,000 hours following maintenance work. Fifty-five percent of casualties occur within the first 10 percent of the time of operation after overhaul. In most cases the damage occurs only a few hours after start up. The report also finds that container vessels have a significantly higher claims frequency due to the larger number of engines on those vessels. In addition, these engines have considerable output, which lead to higher repair costs compared with other vessels. (Source: Maritime Propulsion 01/08/18)

DoI exempts Fla. from drilling plan

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Trump administration and the Department of Interior will exempt Florida from its draft plan to open potential lease sales that would have allowed for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. DoI’s reverse course comes five days after its initial announcement of a Draft Proposed Program to open 47 potential lease sales in 25 of 26 planning areas, including 12 in the GoM. It would be the largest number of lease-sales ever proposed for the National Outer Continental program’s five-year lease schedule. DoI acknowledged that pressure from Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott, a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with Scott at the Tallahassee airport and took Florida "off the table" when it comes to waters in the eastern GoM and Atlantic Ocean. The change of course highlights the importance of Florida political-wise. President Trump narrowly won the state's 29 electoral votes, and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate. The state’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry is built on sunshine and hundreds of miles of beaches. "Our tactic was open everything up, then meet with governors (and) stakeholders so that when we shaped it, it was right," Zinke told reporters on Jan. 9. "The president made it very clear that local voices count." (Source: The AP 01/09/18)

Chouest unit forms subsea group

C-Innovation LLC (C-I), an affiliate of Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) and its family of companies, has announced the formation of a turnkey subsea projects group that is capable of providing a solutiona to its global customer base without having to venture outside of the Chouest family of companies. The new group is based in ECO’s Houston office. (Source: Work Boat 01/08/18) Edison Chouest Offshore companies (ECO) are among the more diverse and dynamic marine transportation solution providers in the world. HQ for ECO is in Galliano, La.

Joint training in South Mississippi

KEESLER AFB, Miss. - Personnel from the 41st Aerial Port Squadron (APS) of Savannah, Ga., and other units from the Air Force, Army and Navy teamed up for GRIP III Breaking Barriers, a joint training exercise Jan. 5-7 at Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi, Miss., and the Gulfport (Miss.)-based Combat Readiness Training Center’s (CRTC) Battlefield Airman Center. Reservists, guardsmen, civilians, and active-duty from the services worked side-by-side highlighting joint training efforts. Personnel from the 1108th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group of the CRTC provided UH-60 helicopters to ferry service members from Keesler to Gulfport simulating transportation between forward operating bases. The primary goal of the training was to give reservists and military members an opportunity to train with aircraft, personnel, and equipment that they don’t regularly encounter in everyday training. “So our guys need this kind of training to give them the chance to mimic what they might encounter downrange,” said Master Sgt. Steve Martin of the 41st APS. The Navy Special Boat Team 22 at Stennis Space Center, Miss., provided a Riverine command boat, rigid inflatable boats and trailers for the APS members to practice loading and off-loading. The 41st APS also worked alongside Mississippi Air National Guardsmen from the 186th APS at Key Field near Columbus, Miss., loading and off-loading vehicles onto a C-5M Super Galaxy from Dover AFB, Del. MNG helicopter mechanic supervisor Master Sgt. Vernon Dedeaux of Gulfport’s 1108th TASMG noted the importance of communication for these types of training, and working together in a deployed environment. (Source: 403rd Wing 01/09/18)

Converting excess PSVs

In the well documented downturn in the oil and gas markets over the past several years, an increasing number of platform supply vessels (PSVs) are currently being under-utilized - notably in the Gulf of Mexico. U.K. naval architect Dave Pitt of OSD-IMT has noted that various proposals have been made for repurposing unnecessary tonnage. OSD-IMT and its partner Gibbs & Cox, which has operations in New Orleans, have been investigating a potential solution for converting PSVs into trailing-suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs). The IMT978 PSV was chosen as the best design to reflect size and arrangement of the 10-to-15 year-old candidate vessels identified by G&C’s research. Due to U.S. environmental regs on bottom door cargo discharge, a pump-out system was added, which enables dredge material to be re-used for wetland creation and restoration, and levee maintenance and construction. G&C’s analysis of the conversion shows it is economically viable. (Source: Offshore Support Journal 01/05/18)

Update: FL has shot in 'water wars'

Apalachicola Bay, a Florida Panhandle estuary – often known as the ‘Forgotten Coast – has been recognized by the United Nations for its uniqueness, once produced 10 percent of the nation's oysters, and 90 percent of those in the state of Florida. It may not matter much longer. The U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the three-decades-old Florida v. Georgia case Jan. 8. The case is all about the fight for water. It pits metro Atlanta and South Georgia farmers against conservationists and seafood producers in Northwest Florida. Both states need fresh water. Georgia has been the big winner for water to date, and aided by decisions by the Army Corps of Engineers. The wide flood plains of this fragile small-town in NW Florida serve as a spawning ground for crab and fish in the Gulf of Mexico. It nourishes the largest stand of tupelo trees in the world. Florida argues that Georgia’s over-consumption of water endangers its estuary that is home to the highest density of amphibian and reptile species in North America that supports hundreds of endangered or threatened animal and plant species. Florida blames the lack of fresh water for leading to a collapse of Apalachicola Bay’s oyster fishing that has led to higher salinity in the bay that supports predators that are devastating the oysters. (Source: Washington Post 01/07/18) UPDATE Jan. 9: Florida lawyers appeared to have fared well during the court hearing, according to officials who sat through the hearing. The court only heard arguments, and will make a decision at a later date in the decades-old legal fight between Florida and Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River and basin. U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn (R-2nd District of Florida, whose district includes Apalachicola) was among them. He said the state has a “real shot of winning the case.”

LCS 12 makes ‘Gitmo’ fuel stop

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba-- The future Littoral Combat Ship USS Omaha (LCS 12) made a fuel stop at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) from Jan. 2-6. During its visit, Omaha’s crew conducted public tours aboard of the Navy's newest ships. LCS 12 is on its way to its new San Diego homeport where it is to be commissioned Feb. 3. Omaha is among the Independence variant of LCS built at Austal USA shipyards in Mobile, Ala. it was launched from Alabama’s “Port City” in late November and christened Dec. 20. NSGB is the Navy's strategic logistics installation for routine, contingency, humanitarian, counter-narcotic and migrant operations in the Caribbean. (Source: NSGB 01/08/18)

Surface Navy national symposium

CRYSTAL CITY, Va. - The 30th annual Surface Navy Association’s (SNA) national symposium is scheduled here for Jan. 9-11. Discussions at the "Surface Forces and Cross-Domain Integration" symposium will include innovative solutions for current and future surface warfare challenges, and to highlight procedures and exercises across the surface fleet’s air, land, maritime, space, and cyberspace domains. The sessions are to provide opportunities for Navy leaders, government officials, and private industry to discuss a broad range of professional and career issues for the surface community. The SNA symposium can be viewed on a line stream on the ‘Navy Live’ blog at http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/01/07/surface-navy-association-30th-annual-national-symposium by using a the social media code #SNA2018.

Eastern among Bay's top 2017 stories

BAY COUNTY, Fla. – In 2019, Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City will begin construction on the first of nine Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters, which brings with it an anticipation of more than 1,000 jobs to the region. In 2020, Tyndall Air Force Base will increase by almost 33 percent with an additional 1,600 airmen to support a new MQ-9 Reaper drone wing if the base passes muster on a mandatory Environment Impact Study. By the end of this year, the international aerospace manufacturing company GKN Aerospace will have brought 100 new jobs to the region. All of these projects are expected to bring spin-off businesses. “These kinds of initiatives are game-changers,” said Bay County Economic Development Alliance President Becca Hardin. “It’s an anomaly to have three projects like this at once,” she said. “People work their whole careers and don’t have one project. These projects are life-changing.” GKN’s move to a new facility on Panama City Beach was announced last February. In May, legislation to start spending BP oil spill money through Triumph Gulf Coast was passed. The Reaper wing was announced in November. Eastern Shipbuilding’s project hit the news in September 2016, and continued to bring attention to NW Florida. These were among the culminations of 2017. (Source: News Herald 01/04/18) The Coast Guard awarded Eastern Shipbuilding with a detail design contract for the OPCs in September 2016; and a Long Lead Time Materials (LLTM) award one year later. Construction is planned to begin in FY 2018. Delivery of the lead OPC is planned for FY-21.GKN Aerospace is a tier one supplier of aerostructures, engine products and systems and electrical wiring systems to the global aerospace industry. The Worcestershire, England-based firm has manufacturing facilities in 14 countries and serve more than 90 percent of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers. GKN’s technologies are used in aircraft ranging from the most-used single aisle aircraft to business jets, and the world’s advanced 5th generation fighter aircraft, according to its website.

Top 13: Beaches of NW Fla., Ala.

The travel website Tripping.com has listed Destin, Fla., as the No. 1 beach destination for 2017. Gulf Shores, Ala., was No. 3 followed by Panama City Beach. Orange Beach, Ala., ranked ninth; and Pensacola, Fla., Beach was No. 13. The website saw an increase in searches for urban markets such as NYC, but beaches were the most popular destination, according to the report. The three NW Florida beaches were among the overall Top 25 destinations: Destin was No. 2 followed by NYC; Panama City Beach was No. 5, and Pensacola Beach No. 20. Looking ahead to 2018, Tripping.com predicts lake destinations will rise, but southern beaches will continue to gain popularity. (Source: News Herald 01/04/18) The average rental price for Destin Beach was $267; Panama City $195; and $229 for Pensacola Beach, according to the website.

MDA targets growth industries

The Mississippi Development Authority has identified eight target-growth industries to focus on Mississippi’s assets, human and natural resources, and business climate. Those eight include: Shipbuilding and aerospace, advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, automotive, forestry, energy, healthcare, and tourism and film. Mississippi public universities support these eight industries in many ways. (Source: Hattiesburg American columnist (01/07/18)

Protecting NW Fla. bayou, watershed

The full restoration of Bayou Chico, which runs along the border line of Escambia County and the City of Pensacola, Fla., will take years to complete. But both local governments have on-going projects to manage pollution from storm-water runoff from the waterway. Pensacola is tentatively scheduled to complete its $600K storm-water facility in March. Escambia County is continuing work on multiple projects to protect the bayou's watershed. The county commission was to have voted Jan. 4 to buy a property along Jackson Creek as part of a project to restore is watershed, which flows into the western sector of Bayou Chico. The ECC was to have voted to award a $349,250 contract to Gulf Marine Construction (MC) to build a 1,765-foot boardwalk extension in Jones Swamp, a watershed of Bayou Chico, as part of the Jones Swamp Wetland Preserve and Nature Trail. "It took Escambia County 100 years worth of bad management to get here," said County Commissioner Doug Underhill. "We're not going to fix it overnight …” Once the storm-water facility is completed, it will prevent solid pollutants from flowing into the bayou from a 200-acre area that drains into Maggie's Ditch through a 48-inch storm pipe, according to the director of the Pensacola Public Works Department. The facility will consist of an underground storm-water vault that is designed to function like a home septic tank and trap any solid pollution from escaping. The city will empty it up to three times a year. The county is working a plan to measure toxicity and pollution in Bayou Chico. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 01/04/18) Pensacola-based GMC’s products and services include piers, decks, dune crossovers, lifts, seawalls, fill, and wetlands/water cleanup.

Fla. solons rip DOI drilling plan

The Trump Administration’s plan to open nearly all U.S. waters to oil drilling – including 12 lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico – has taken hits from Florida Republicans. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Gov. Rick Scott released statements Jan. 4 opposing Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's proposal to allow O&G companies to drill on the Atlantic Coast for the first time since the 1980s. “I urge Secretary Zinke to recognize the Florida Congressional delegation’s bipartisan efforts to maintain and extend the moratorium in the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” said Rubio, “and remove this area for future planning purposes.” Scott, a Trump ally, tweeted that he had already asked for a face-to-face meeting with Zinke to “discuss the concerns (and to) remove Florida from consideration.” DOI’s plan calls for 25 of 26 offshore areas, about 90 percent of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, available for lease. The areas excluded are marine sanctuaries, and Alaska’s North Aleutian Basin Planning Area. If approved, the plan would be in effect from 2019 to 2024. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who introduced a bill in 2017 to abolish the EPA, tweeted that he was "100 percent opposed." (Source: Huffington Post 01/04/18) In an e-mail to constituents on Jan. 5, Gaetz wrote he does not support Zinke’s plan for Florida based on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 that was a “catastrophe for Florida and for the environment. “(W)e must do everything possible to ensure a disaster like that never happens again.” He also noted that the drill area overlaps the military’s Gulf Test Range training area, a vital location for current and next-generation technology. Drilling that area “would greatly harm our military readiness and our national security,” he claimed.

Will '18 be different animal for O&G?

After a strong 2018 start, oil prices fell a little Jan. 5. Geopolitical tensions and inventory draw-downs were the main reasons for the initial rise, but a build-up of gasoline stocks slowed both West Texas Intermediary (WTI) and Brent Crude's price momentums. The fallback appears to be partly due to oil traders selling off some gasoline stocks on Jan. 4 to pocket from recent gains. Energy stocks under-performed in 2017 versus the broader stock market, even when oil prices were rebounding. But 2018 may be a different animal. Oil prices are at their highest since mid-2015. The outlook for energy stocks appears to be brighter. Secondly, a number of firms have trimmed costs. Oil majors have returned to positive cash flow, which may give potential investors more confidence in those O&G stocks. 2017 was challenging for investors. Investment banks (UBS, RBC, JP Morgan) issued strong positive outlooks for the O&G recently, according to Reuters. (Source: Oil Price 01/05/18)

Spraggins to direct DMR

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant appointed retired Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Joe Spraggins as the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR). He replaces Jamie Miller, who had served since 2013. Miller will become deputy director for governmental affairs and chief innovation officer at the Mississippi Development Authority. Spraggins had served at DMR as the COO since 2013. (Source: Mississippi Business Journal 01/04/18)