Seabees complete FTX at Shelby

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. – Navy Seabees from Gulfport, Miss., and Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., completed a two-week Field Training Exercise (FTX) on Feb. 22 at the Camp Shelby (Miss.) Joint Forces Training Center (CSJFTC). The Gulfport-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 operated across Shelby's rugged terrain while the FTX simultaneously tested the battalion's ability to enter and secure hostile locations, execute expeditionary construction, and defend against enemy attacks. NMCB 1 performed “stellar across the board and set high standards throughout the exercise," said Senior Chief Constructionman Timothy Weisenburg, operations department chief. NMCB 1 specializes in contingency construction, disaster response, and humanitarian assistance. (Source: NMCB 1 02/28/18) CSJFTC is primarily located at the southern edge of Hattiesburg, Miss. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation.

MS firm: $10.5M dredge award

Matthews Marine Inc. of Pass Christian, Miss., was awarded a $10,595,225 firm-fixed-price contract for emergency dredging of the Houston (Texas) Ship Channel; and Carpenters Bayou to Sims Bayou in Harris County, Texas. Bids were solicited via the Internet with six received. Work will be performed in Houston with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2018. FY 2017 Army operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,595,225 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 02/28/18)

HII awarded $7M LX(R) mod pact

Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $7,023,780 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-14-C-2410) for continued LX(R) Amphibious Ship Replacement program acceleration and affordability initiatives. HII-Pascagoula will be required to perform design efforts, special studies, analyses, and reviews in support of the program acceleration and affordability initiatives. The tasking may include efforts related to systems engineering, marine engineering, naval architecture, cost estimating and computer modeling. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, and is expected to be completed by September 2018. FY 2017 Navy research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $7,023,780 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 02/28/18)

Conrad delivers first of 3 ATB hulls

Conrad Deepwater South of Amelia, La., delivered the DS 801 - a 403-foot Articulate Tug Barge (ATB) - to the Vane Brothers Co. of Baltimore, Md. The double-hull ATB was designed by Bristol Harbor (R.I.) Group Inc. In 2015, BHGI was contracted by Conrad Industries Inc. of Morgan City, La., to develop the barge based on a proven hull design BHGI had completed for Conrad. The ATB barge is the first of three sister hulls to be delivered to Vane Brothers. (Source: Work Boat 02/26/18) Conrad Shipyard has been building vessels for both commercial use and the U.S. government for 70 years. Conrad has five Louisiana shipyards.

Mississippi River dredging contract

Manson Construction Co., of Seattle, Wash., was awarded an $11,318,750 firm-fixed-price contract for Mississippi River dredging from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico, Southwest Pass maintenance dredging, and cutterhead dredge rental. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. Work will be performed in Belle Chasse, La., with an estimated completion date of June 11, 2018. FY 2018 civil works funds in the amount of $11,318,750 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of New Orleans is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 02/26/18)

MSU awarded ‘Voices’ contract

ATLANTA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Program announced a $24,925 award to Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute at Mississippi State University to work with students in developing environmental awareness content for ‘Rural Voices Radio: Voices Along the Gulf’. The award will support two school groups, Bay-Waveland Middle School in Bay St. Louis and Stone High School in Wiggins, and one non-profit organization, the Hancock County Historical Society. EPA will work with ‘Rural Voices Radio’ to guide participants and help identify, and learn about environmental issues within the Gulf of Mexico region. Participants will then write about what they learn and record a segment for radio. The Gulf of Mexico Program began in 1988 to protect, restore and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf’s ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. A consortium of state and federal government agencies and representatives is made up of business and agricultural community, fishing industry, scientists, environmentalists, and community leaders from all five Gulf States. Rural Voices Radio (RVR) is a partnership between the Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute at MSU and Mississippi Public Broadcasting. It works with children and adults to write and record radio content. Those radio segments from the RVR series air weekdays at 3:28 p.m. and are broadcast throughout the state, in neighboring states and via the internet. (Source: EPA 02/26/18)

DOD industrial-base study

WASHINGTON - President Trump and Congress are on track to receive recommendations aimed at strengthening the health of the defense-industrial base by mid-April, Jerry McGinn, principal deputy director for the Defense Department’s office of manufacturing and industrial base policy, said Feb. 26 at a New America think-tank event. The guidance is due from a study of the base Trump ordered last July. The study is being led by a government-spanning task force; and more than a dozen working groups have presented interim findings, which identify risks in the industrial base. McGinn declined to discuss those interim findings, but told reporters: “We have a lot of known risk areas.” The groups will recommend ways to cover gaps and weaknesses. Some of those working groups are aligned with subsectors like shipbuilding, ground vehicles or radars, while others match cross-cutting topics like the workforce, cybersecurity and electronics, he said. The second phase of the effort will include a series of simulated stress tests, or war games, for the defense-industrial base, to see how well-prepared certain subsets are to surge in war scenarios. The plan is to rely on existing data, and where there are gaps, conduct targeted focus groups, town halls and listening sessions with industry to learn more, according to the Pentagon. (Source: Defense News 02/26/18)

LCS named for Australian cruiser

WASHINGTON - President Donald J. Trump has chosen to name a U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in honor of a Royal Australian Navy ship, HMAS Canberra, which fought alongside the U.S. during WWII. “What a great symbol of our shared alliance,” said Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull while visiting the White House, noting that the Independence-class LCS will be built by Austal USA, a Mobile, Ala.-based unit of the Australian shipbuilder, Austal. The heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was defending a beachhead at Guadalcanal on Aug. 9, 1942, when it – and three U.S. cruisers - was sunk by a Japanese task force during a night engagement at the Battle of Savo Island. It will be the second U.S. Navy ship to carry the name Canberra - Baltimore-class heavy cruiser (CA 70). The ship served in the Pacific theater from 1943-45. The ship was decommissioned in 1970 after service off Vietnam. (Source: Seapower Magazine 02/26/18)

HII-built amphib delivers Marines

During initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) exercises in December 2017, the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) proved it can put Marines on the beach “in adequate timeline to meet power projection requirements,” according to a January 2018 final report from the Commander Operational Test and Evaluation. The Navy released the report in response to questions of the ship’s effectiveness raised in January by the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOTE). “The movement of marines, cargo, and vehicles during testing failed to generate the operational tempo required … for an adequate operational test,” DOTE noted. The Navy, however, said the LHA managed to accommodate exercises and IOT&E. America deployed in July 2017, and completed a successful six month maiden deployment, which included participation in Operation ‘Alligator Dagger’, a sustainment exercise, the Navy responded. DOTE also noted several other deficiencies. (Source: Jane’s Defense Weekly 02/23/18) Gulf Coast Note: LHA-6 was built by Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.

Foreign insect devouring La. coast

VENICE, La. – Louisiana’s coastline has been facing deadly threats such as rising seas, hurricanes, and oil spills for decades. Now, there’s a new threat that is literally eating its coastal wetlands and devouring the protective roseau cane perennial grass, and turning marsh lands into mud flats. Scientists determined in April 2017 that the culprit is a foreign pest identified as the Nipponaclerda biwakoensis (a scale) is largely to blame. The invaders hunger for the roseau cane grass, a hardy reed binding some of the state’s most delicate stretches of coastline. They couldn’t have come along at a worse time: Louisiana’s coast is disappearing at about 10 square miles per year. The roseau cane serves as a bulwark against the loss of land. The scale is consuming delta marshes, which protect shipping channels, fishing and shrimping grounds, and hundreds of oil wells and pipelines. The insect may reverse decades of coastal restoration projects, and undercut major elements of Louisiana’s 50-year plan to slow land loss, and limit damage from major storms. (Source: NY Times 02/24/18)

Grain shipments to GC at standstill

Grain-barge shipments were at a standstill across parts of the Midwest on Feb. 22. Heavy rain and melting snow is swelling rivers, halting loading, and sidelining towboats from shipping Farm Belt crops to Gulf Coast (GC) export terminals. The flooding sent cash premiums soaring for corn barge deliveries to the Gulf Coast. Barge lines suspended operations on the Illinois River, where water levels were likely to reach record crests this weekend, according to National Weather Service. Upstream grain exporters rely on inland rivers to transport farm products to terminals on the Gulf Coast. About 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports exit the country via the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Hellenic Shipping News 02/24/18)

Stennis sailors talk STEM in Texas

SAN ANTONIO - Military and civilian personnel from the Stennis Space Center Mississippi’s Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) visited more than 600 students across San Antonio for Navy Week, Feb. 19-23, to discuss careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. At each of 11 schools, NAVOCEANO personnel discussed the command's mission to conduct oceanographic surveys aboard Pathfinder (T-AGS 60) class vessels, and ensuring safety of fleet navigation. Personnel also showcased the command’s use of unmanned underwater vehicles, the mission of its civilian dive team, and the Navy's only operational geology laboratory. NAVOCEANO is located at John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. (Source: Naval Oceanographic Office 02/23/18)

Gulfport sailor is senior shore SoY

SUFFOLK, Va. - Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) announced its 2017 Sea, Shore and Reserve Sailors of the Year at an awards ceremony Feb. 8. Aerographer's Mate 1st Class Pedro J. Henry, who is assigned to Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Professional Development Center at Gulfport, Miss., was the Senior Shore Sailor of the Year (SoY). In 2002, Henry graduated from Aerographer's Mate Apprentice School in Biloxi, Miss., served on USS Ticonderoga (CG 47) at former NAVSTA Pascagoula, Miss.; and Naval Oceanography Anti-Submarine Warfare Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Brandon B. Sneyd of the Navy Information Operations Command in San Diego was named Senior Sea Sailor of the Year. Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Chad R. Murray of the Naval Reserve Office of Naval Intelligence Unit 0566 was named Senior Reservist Sailor of the Year. The next step for the Sea and Shore Senior Sailors of the Year is the U.S. Fleet Forces Sailor of the Year competition in late February and the chief's board this summer. (Source: Naval Information Forces 02/23/18)

Gulfport Seabee CMDCM relieved

Master Chief Keith Lefebvre, command master chief (CMDCM) of the Gulfport, Miss.-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 (NMBC 133) was relieved of duty in January in connection with allegations, and an ongoing NCIS probe, regarding personal misconduct, according to Cmdr. Cate Cook, a spokesperson with Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. Navy officials confirmed the action Feb. 22. Officials declined to provide additional information due to the ongoing investigation. Master Chief Joseph George has temporarily assumed duty as the battalion’s CMDCM until a permanent replacement is named. (Source: Navy Times 02/22/18) NMCB 133 is a deployable Navy Seabee battalion homeported at Gulfport. In August 2005, within days of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation to the northern Gulf Coast, Gulfport Seabee units, including NMCB 133, rushed out to clear roads for emergency workers as part of Joint Task Force Katrina; and in ensuing weeks provided humanitarian aid to the area, including the critical repair of lift stations, cleaning and repair of government buildings and schools, and distributing food, water and clothing to local residents.

La. firm earns $11.8M pact

Phylway Construction LLC of Thibodaux, La., was awarded an $11,844,750 firm-fixed-price contract for the replacement of the south chamber guide-wall of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway's Calcasieu Lock 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Work will be performed in Calcasieu Parish, La., with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2019. FY 2018 Army operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $11,844,750 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of New Orleans is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 02/22/18)

Navy to christen EPF in Mobile

The Navy will christen its newest Expeditionary Fast Transport, the future USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10), during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. With an all-aluminum shallow-draft hull, the EPF class is designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. The ship is capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading a combat-loaded Abrams main battle tank (M1A2). The EPF program delivered its ninth ship late last year, USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF 9). Puerto Rico (EPF 11) and Newport (EPF 12) are currently under construction at Austal. The principal speaker will be U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Mrs. Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, Senator Leahy’s wife of 55 years, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. (Source: US Navy 02/22/18)

HII-Technical Solutions exec move

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Feb. 21 that Michael Smith, executive VP for strategy and development, is moving immediately to HII’s Technical Solutions division. He will serve as president of its SN3 business and report to Michael Lempke, president of the Nuclear & Environmental group. The company also announced that Scott Stabler, executive VP of internal audit, is moving into a new role as HII’s executive VP and chief transformation officer, reporting to Mike Petters, HII’s President/CEO. Technical Solutions is a professional services business providing solutions to a variety of government and commercial customers worldwide. The division was formed in December 2016 when HII acquired Camber Corp. and combined it with HII’s existing services subsidiaries. It provides fleet maintenance and modernization, unmanned solutions and rapid prototyping, and software development; network engineering, training systems, logistics support, nuclear engineering and fabrication, and oil and gas engineering. Technical Solutions employs more than 5,000 people working in 35 states and 11 countries, with mobile “fly- away” teams that can support emergent situations around the globe, including a site at Panama City, Fla. HII’s Ingalls division is America’s largest military shipbuilding company with yards at Pascagoula, Miss., and Newport News, Va. (Source: HII 02/21/18)

Gov. Scott’s visit to Louisiana

Florida Gov. Rick Scott visited Louisiana back in January on a mission to lure at least four Louisiana businesses, and jobs, to the Sunshine State. Three of the four Louisiana firms Scott visited, reported by NOLA.com on Feb. 20, were mostly invitations to do business in Florida - not to relocate. "With no income tax, a low business tax and a business-friendly environment, Florida is the perfect location for Louisiana business owners and families who want to keep more of their hard-earned money," read a Jan. 16 media release from Scott’s office. His Jan. 17 itinerary for New Orleans had the governor visiting HRI Properties, Search Influence, Smoothie King and Waldemar S. Nelson & Co. Smoothie King officials could not be reached for comment. HRI Properties was originally scheduled to meet Scott in 2017 about a potential development in Tampa, but it was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. Waldemar S. Nelson & Co., an engineering and project management firm, had previously worked in Florida on port and coastal management projects, according to director Kenneth Nelson. The firm has one business in Florida for “many years on individual projects, but we had never had enough of a continuous stream of work to warrant opening an office there," he said. The Florida Republican has made business recruitment trips to other states with Democratic governors. Scott is a friend of former Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal. Florida has a brief history of luring NOLA-area companies. Less than a month after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse moved its HQ from Metairie to Orlando. (Source: NOLA.com 02/20/18)

‘Emile the Crawfish’ pardoned

Louisiana’s Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser pardoned a crawfish named Emile Feb. 20 during a New Orleans ceremony to kick off the annual boil season. It was the second annual pardoning of the crawfish sponsored by Zatarain's. The ceremony is a Louisiana twist on the traditional turkey pardoning at the White House prior to Thanksgiving. More than 30 species can be found in Louisiana, according to Brac Salyers, a biologist with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LW&F), but only two species – red swamp and white river crawfish - are commercially harvested. Native Americans have consumed crawfish for centuries. In Louisiana, commercial harvesting dates to the late-1800s. But farming of crawfish didn't come around until the 1950s. Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, and the Carolinas also farm crawfish. Louisiana is the top producer, accounting for up to 95 percent, according to industry officials. Crawfish season typically begins in the spring and runs until late-July. High demand has driven some farmers to harvest earlier in recent years. At the pardoning, Emile was escorted down a red carpet in a crawfish trap to the tunes of a Zydeco band before being placed into an aquarium. The pardoned crawfish will be released at Bayou Segnette State Park by the LW&F. (Source: NOLA.com 02/20/18)

SSI-Ala. hires fed contracts manager

MOBILE, Ala. - Silver Ships Inc. of Theodore, Ala., announced the hiring of retired Navy captain Shawn Lobree to be Federal Contracts Manager. Lobree has more than 25 years of military experience in maritime operations, information technology, shipbuilding and repair. His skill-set will provide SSI’s military customers a seamless contract-to-build process experience, according to a company media release. Lobree’s career has also included working as a maritime and defense consultant, and assistant to a shipbuilding supervisor. As Federal Contracts Manager, he will construct, deliver and provide customer support for multi-vessel Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity military contracts; and be responsible for developing new proposals in support of U.S. Defense and Homeland Security department projects. Lobree grew up in Miami, and graduated from Florida State University where he earned a bachelor’s in Economics. He has also earned an M.S. in IT Management, and an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies. During his naval career, he commanded an amphibious warship, squadron, and served more than 3,000 days at sea. SSI produces aluminum boats for military, federal, state and municipal governments, and for commercial applications. SSI’s headquarters is located on a 25-acre site in Theodore, Ala. (Source: Silver Ships 02/19/18)

Biting flies signal marsh recovery

Louisiana’s coastal region is abuzz with blood-thirsty horse flies, and that’s good news, according to Claudia Husseneder, an LSU biologist tracking the recovery of the flies since the 2010 BP oil spill. "This blood-sucking nemesis (native to Louisiana’s marshes) is a sign of a healthy coast," she said. "They're a bio-indicator of ecosystem health after an oil spill," she said during a presentation to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference recently in New Orleans. The oil spill harmed nearly every species in the Gulf from dolphins to shore birds, but the horse fly hints at trends in the ecosystem’s recovery. They're the top predator of marsh insects and tiny invertebrates. A marsh without horse flies is usually a sign that the food chain is out of whack or something toxic in the environment. Other species are not faring well. Bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, and deep-sea coral are among the marine life still struggling. But, the fly’s reemergence may seem like bad news for fishermen, duck hunters, and visitors to the state’s marshlands. "But, look on the bright side of life," Hasseneder said. "It means you're in a much healthier and productive marsh again." (Source: NOLA.com 02/20/18)

La. O&G diversifies for wind farming

Gulf Island Fabrication, a Houma, La.-based oil-and-gas offshore platform-building company is expanding into the renewable energy market. They are building steel frames for a wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. GIF is building steel frames for the wind farm, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Like a great many petroleum industry firms, GIF lost work and was forced to lay off workers with the drop of oil prices, says Roy Francis, senior VP of business development. GIF saw an opportunity to diversify; and realized its metal frames built to support O&G platforms (called jackets) could be adapted to support wind turbines. Keystone Engineering, a Metairie-based firm, helped with the design of the jackets and pilings in a way to allow GIF to use the facility and equipment already within their inventory. (Source: NOLA.com 02/16/18)

Austal, HII get FFG(X) design pacts

Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $14,999,969 firm-fixed-price contract for Guided Missile Frigate (FFG(X)) conceptual design. Austal will be maturing their proposed ship design to meet FFG(X) system specification. The conceptual design effort will inform the final specifications that will be used for the detail design and construction request for proposal that will deliver the required capability for FFG(X). The conceptual design phase will reduce cost, schedule, and performance risk for the follow-on detail design and construction contract. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $21,399,022. Work will be performed in Mobile (57%); Pittsfield, Mass. (33%); Annapolis, Md. (8%); Groton, Conn. (1%); and Houston (1%), and is expected to be complete by June 2019. FY 2018 research, development, test and evaluation; and FY-17 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amounts of $11,000,000 and $1,200,000 respectively will be obligated at time of award and funds in the amount of $1,200,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with six offers received. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Additionally, Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $14,999,924 firm-fixed-price contract for Guided Missile Frigate (FFG(X)) conceptual design. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $22,997,330. Work will be performed in Pascagoula (95%); and Ocean Springs, Miss. (5%), and is expected to be complete by June 2019. (DOD 02/16/18)

HII: LPD 29 award for $1.43B

Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $1,430,821,350 fixed-price-incentive modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-2431) for the procurement of the detail design and construction of Landing Platform Dock (LPD 29) ship. Work will be performed in Pascagoula (82%); Crozet, Va. (3%); Beloit, Wis. (2%); and New Orleans (2%), with other efforts performed at various sites throughout the U.S. (11%), and is expected to be completed by July 2023. FY 2017 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $1,247,244,740 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of FY-18. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 02/16/18) HII won a $218M advance procurement contract in 2017 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. Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29; and fabrication begins later this year, according to HII. Portland (LPD 27), the 11th ship, will be commissioned on April 21 in Oregon. The 12th, Fort Lauderdale, is under construction and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2020. (Source: Sun Herald 02/16/18)

New budget request addresses PEs

The Navy has two top aviation safety priorities that need to be addressed. One is the physiological episodes (PEs) in the T-45C Goshawk trainer and the F-18; and developing a new gunner seat to alleviate back and neck problems for MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crews. Both could benefit from a $500M bump in funding for aircraft modification kits if the service’s new FY 2019 budget request is approved by Congress. For FY-19, the Navy is requesting $3.15B for modification kits, a 16 percent jump from FY-18’s $2.71B proposal. The kits are supposed to correct deficiencies and improve operational capabilities in current aircraft. The PE episodes in the T-45C and F-18 had been increasing for a decade, culminating in March 2017 when 94 flights were canceled due to pilot concerns with the onboard oxygen generation systems (OBOGS) onboard T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft flown out of Naval Air Stations Meridian, Miss.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Last June, the Navy’s Physiological Episodes Comprehensive Review reported that the integration of OBOGS in the T-45 and F/A-18 was “inadequate to consistently provide high quality breathing air” and to varying degrees “neither aircraft is equipped to continuously provide clean, dry air to OBOGS.” The result is that contaminants can enter the aircrews’ breathing air and “potentially induce hypoxia.” The Navy has installed CRU-123 solid state oxygen monitoring units throughout the T-45 fleet. The unit alert aircrew to falling oxygen pressure and allows more time to take corrective action to prevent a PE. Based on a NASA report, the Navy is also installing more precise monitoring equipment to gauge pilot breathing. (Source: USNI News 02/15/18)

Daisy Mae is Z-drive smooth

“The Daisy Mae is the closest you can get to Z-drive maneuverability, without the cost of Z-drive,” according to its builder Joseph Rodriguez of Rodriguez Ship Building Inc. of Bayou LaBatre, Ala. He’s built and designed a great many tugs over a career, and doesn’t make this claim lightly. The 82- by 32-foot tug was delivered in October to Coeymans Marine Towing based at the Port of Coeymans, N.Y., 110 miles up the Columbia River from NYC. The triple-engine tug is powered by a port and starboard Tier 3 Cummins QSK38s that each deliver 1,300 hp at 1,800 rpm, and a center-line Tier 3 Cummins QSK19 for an 750 more hp at 1,800 rpm. (Source: Maritime Link 02/15/18)

DISL announces summer excursions

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. - The Estuarium at the Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Lab has announced dates for its 2018 Summer Excursions. The excursions take visitors into the habitats studied by DISL marine scientists, researchers and students. (Source: DISL 02/12/18)

$62M OK’d for La. coastal projects

The joint federal-state Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act task force announced Feb. 15 that it had approved spending $62M to begin engineering and design work on four projects, and to move two projects into the construction phase. Final construction projects include the (1) Caminada Headlands Back Barrier Marsh Creation, which is to receive $28.7M to create/nourish 395 acres of back barrier marsh between Belle Pass and Caminada Pass in Lafourche Parish. (2) The Cameron-Creole Freshwater Introduction project, which is to receive $18.6M, to redirect freshwater into wetlands east of Calcasieu Lake in Cameron Parish. The four new projects include (1) $3.7M for planning of the Mid-Breton Land Bridge Marsh Creation and Terracing in Plaquemines Parish, just west of Delacroix along Bayou Gentilly. (2) $3.2M for the Bayou Cane Marsh Creation on the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge in St. Tammany Parish. (3) $4M for the Northeast Turtle Bay Marsh Creation and Critical Area Shoreline Protection, located east of the Harvey Canal in Jefferson Parish. (4) $3.8M for the Sabine Marsh Creation to restore marsh habitat west of the Calcasieu Ship Channel in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron Parish. The task force's Jan. 25 meeting to consider approval of the projects was cancelled by a three-day federal government shutdown. The task force held an electronic vote on Feb. 9 to approve the projects. The task force was created by Congress in 1990. It has authorized 214 projects since then, with 154 projects still being active. The projects receive 85 percent from the federal government and 15 percent from the state. (Source: NOLA.com 02/15/18)

Cougar turned into artificial reef

For nearly 40 years, Shell oil’s Cougar 3,000-ton metal platform in the Gulf of Mexico pumped oil and gas from the bottom of the Gulf. The structure was recently converted into an artificial reef off the coast of Louisiana, and will serve as habitat for marine life. Cougar was installed in 1981; and had produced about 31M barrels of O&G, according to Theodore Rolfvondenbaumen, Shell’s external relations advisor. The platform was decommissioned, and the deck and topside were brought back ashore, and the frame was donated to the state’s Artificial Reef Program, which provides marine habitat, and benefits O&G firms by reducing the cost of barging equipment ashore. Shell has converted at least three platform structures into artificial reefs, he told NOLA.com. (Source: NOLA.com 02/15/18)

HII to hand out $500 bonuses

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) personnel in south Mississippi and Virginia will receive a one-time $500 bonus as a result of the firm’s response to the federal Tax Reform Act, which lowers corporate taxes. HII is the parent company of Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. HII-Pascagoula, the state’s largest manufacturing employer, has some 11,500 workers. Since forming in 2011, HII has opened new apprentice school facilities at both of its Pascagoula and Newport News, Va. shipyards; and spent nearly $100M annually on workforce development, said President/CEO Mike Petters. In 2017, HII reached a four-year labor agreement extension. The bonus will be given to all employees with the exception of those who work through an incentive plan. (Source: Sun Herald 02/15/18)

CBD challenges EPA dumping permit

The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity has filed a formal challenge of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s new permit allowing oil companies to dump waste, including fracking chemicals into the Gulf of Mexico. In December, the CBD sent a required "notice of intent to sue" letter to EPA requesting them to rescind the new permit or face a court challenge. On Feb. 12, CBD filed a "petition for review" requesting the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals review the permit decision. “The EPA is supposed to protect water quality, not give oil companies free reign to use our oceans as their garbage disposal," Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the center, told NOLA.com. The EPA did not adequately explore the environmental effects of disposing of wastes in the Gulf, the group argued in its lawsuit notice. In December, an EPA spokesman said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. (Source: NOLA.com 02/14/18)

Two Austal-build ships named

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer announced that the U.S. Navy’s next Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ship will be named USNS Newport (T-EPF 12). The new EPF is under construction at Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. It is the fourth ship to be named in honor of the Rhode Island city, which is home to Naval Station Newport and the Naval War College. USNS Newport is the 12th and final vessel in the EPF series. It was formerly known as the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). In 2008, the Navy awarded Austal USA a $185.4M contract modification for one EPF, with options for up to nine additional ships and associated shore-based spares. A modification for the contract of EPF 11 and EPF 12 was awarded to Austal in 2016, bringing the total to 12 ships. (Source: Marine Link 02/14/18) UPDATE: SECNAV also selected the names for two Littoral Combat Ships on Feb. 13: USS Nantucket (LCS 27) and USS Savannah (LCS 28). Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., will build LCS 28.

First supertanker being loaded in La.

The first oil supertanker ‘Shaden’, capable of carrying two million barrels of crude, was being loaded in south Louisiana this week, signaling the next phase in America transitioning to becoming a major energy exporter. The Saudi Arabian-flagged tanker was chartered by Shell Oil, according to a report by S&P Global Platts. The ship was due to leave the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port near Cut Off, La., with a cargo of medium sour crude, sources told Platts. Shell declined to comment on the report. (Source: Hellenic Shipping News 02/15/18)

MS House bonds to support HII-Ingalls

JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi’s House Ways and Means Committee is moving forward with a proposal (House Bill 321) to add $45M in state bond debt to finance several projects, including improvements to the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. It is not clear whether the proposal will survive in the state Senate, where leaders have been reluctant to increase the state's bond debt. HII-Pascagoula is one of Mississippi's largest private employers with some 11,500 workers. Committee Chairman Jeff Smith (R-Columbus) said it is part of a multi-year commitment the state is making to the shipyard that has multiple defense contracts. (Source: The AP 02/13/18)

Acreage added to south Ala. refuge

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. - The non-profit Conservation Fund, State of Alabama, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced Feb. 13 the protection of 251 acres at the Little Point Clear Unit of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge thanks to funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund. The non-profit purchased and transferred the property to the FWS. The addition of the acreage to the refuge will provide for expanded fishing, boating, walking trails, and other potential public recreational opportunities. Some 100,000 people visit the refuge annually which is located on the Fort Morgan Peninsula and adjacent to state and federally protected lands. The property features a variety of coastal habitats at Navy Cove, including its shoreline, pine flatwoods, saltwater marsh, freshwater lagoons, wetlands, dune systems, maritime forests, and tidal creeks; and provides ideal habitat for numerous species, including Kemp's ridley sea turtles. The Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund supports projects benefiting natural resources in and around the Gulf of Mexico by remedying damage and eliminating or reducing the risk of harm to coastal natural resources affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The fund is working with FWS and the state to protect an additional 236 acres of critical coastal habitat to the refuge’s Little Point Clear Unit in the future. Together these two additions will increase the protected lands in the refuge for wildlife and public recreation by some 25 percent. (Source: The Conservation Fund 02/13/18)

Navy to decom 21 ships; buy 54

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy plans to decommission or place out of service 21 ships between FY 2019-23. Despite the losses, the fleet will grow under the service’s 2019 30-Year Shipbuilding Plan - with a goal of a 355 by the 2050s. Over the next five years, the Navy will decommission 11 nuclear-powered submarines and three mine-countermeasures ships, and place out of service four Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oilers (T-AOs) and three Powhatan-class fleet ocean tugs (T-ATFs). The ships will be replaced by Virginia-class SSNs, Freedom- and Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), John L. Lewis-class T-AOs, and new tow, rescue and salvage ships (T-ATS). The Navy’s fleet is on track to increase to 299 ships (from current 286). Ships slated for delivery in FY-19 are four Freedom and Independence-class LCS, two Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers (DDGs), one amphibious assault ship (LHA), one Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport (T-EPF), one Lewis B. Puller expeditionary sea base ship (T-ESB), and two subs. From 2019-23, the Navy plans to buy 54 ships, including the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier, the first Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN), 10 Virginia-class SSNs, 14 DDGs, the last LCS, six new guided-missile frigates, three LX(R) next-generation amphibious warfare ships, eight T-AOs, six T-ATFs, two T-ESBs and two next-generation ocean surveillance ships. (Source: Seapower Magazine 02/13/18) Gulf Coast Note: LCS and T-EPFs are built at Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. LHAs are built at HII-Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.; DDGs are built at HII-Pascagoula and Bath (Maine) Ironworks.

First LCS OTH in ’19 budget request

As the competition to provide over-the-horizon (OTH) missile capability for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) draws to a close, the Navy is budgeting $18M to buy the launch systems for the yet-to-be chosen weapon and eight missiles, according to the president’s budget request for FY 2019. Plans for the next five years show ramp-up buys for LCS to receive the new capability and eventually deploy with it: 12 LCS OTHs each year from FY-20/22, and 20 in FY-23. LCS is nearing the end of production (32 ships), but is planning to use the OTH on its successor, the new frigate (FF(X)). The Navy has opened competition for the frigate design. A winner is expected to be chosen by April. The likely winner of the OTH contract is the Naval Strike Missile, submitted by Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg. The anti-ship warhead, with a range of about 100 miles, was tested successfully in 2014 from the USS Coronado (LCS 4). According to Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of U.S. Pacific Command, the missile will be employed by the Army in the joint Rim of the Pacific exercise later this year, when the Army is to fire it from shore to sink a ship. (Source: Military.com 02/13/18) Gulf Coast Note: Even-numbered LCS hulls – like Coronado – are Independence variants built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Adm. Harris is a graduate of Pensacola, Fla.’s Booker T. Washington High School.

LOOP initiates supertanker tests

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately owned crude terminal in America, has moored a supertanker and initiated a detailed test procedure, bringing it closer to being able to export crude oil worldwide. Washington lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports two years ago, and since then tankers filled with U.S. crude have landed in more than 30 countries from China to Togo. In 2017, LOOP said Gulf Coast facility would have the capacity to load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), the largest oil tankers, which can ship some 2 million barrels of oil by early 2018. GC terminals handle three-quarters of U.S. crude exports, but only LOOP can handle supertankers. The company made minor modifications to its existing facilities to operate the port complex for both imports and exports, according to its website. The configuration safely enables loading and offloading of VLCCs without multiple shuttle tanker movements, the company says. (Source: Marine Link 02/13/18)

Overdue boaters found, rescued

NEW ORLEANS – It’s been a busy early week for the Coast Guard’s Eighth District. The CG is searching for an overdue vessel with two people aboard Feb. 13; and also medevaced a diabetic and two others from a disabled vessel near New Orleans on the night of Feb. 12. The missing 23-foot Mako commercial fishing boat was last known to be about 10 miles west of the Southwest Pass jetties in the Gulf of Mexico. Missing is Tuan Nguyen, described as being Vietnamese and 5-foot 6-inches. There was no description available for the other person. The CG units from Mobile, Ala., CG Air Station New Orleans, and CG Station Venice, La.’s cutter Vigilant Anyone with information is requested to contact the CG at (800) 874-2153. On Monday, the CG received a telephone call from a man aboard a disabled Boston Whaler with three people aboard, including a diabetic who did not have medication. The CG launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from CG Air Station New Orleans, who medevaced the survivors. The survivors were transferred to University Hospital in New Orleans. (Source: Coast Guard 02/13/18)
UPDATE: The overdue boaters were located clinging to the hull of their capsized vessel by a good Samaritan vessel, Lady Tierny, some 18 miles south-southeast of Port Fourchon, La., on Feb. 13. Lady Tierny transported the survivors to emergency medical services in Port Fourchon.

Update: Navy re-proposes 2nd LCS

WASHINGTON - The Navy released its proposed $194.1 billion (Base and Overseas Contingency Operations) budget Feb. 12 for FY 2019, which is part of the $716B overall defense budget President Trump submitted to Congress. This year's budget request is focused on growing readiness, capability, and capacity of the Navy/Marine Corps team and to build a more lethal and agile force. Among the proposed buys is one Littoral Combat Ship. The proposal includes a $63.4B (base/OCO) for operation and maintenance, maximum funding for aviation and ship depot maintenance, and the flight-hour program. The submission includes a $58.5B (base/OCO) procurement to buy 10 new ships, including three Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, two submarines, a single LCS, and one expeditionary staging base. Additionally, the proposal funds the construction of 120 aircraft in FY-19. The budget supports funding for personnel career-development initiatives, and a 2.6 percent pay raise. (Source: Navy Office of Information 02/12/18) The president also unveiled his $4.4 trillion federal government budget proposal for FY-19. The Navy plans to stop buying LCS and start purchasing the FFG(X) future frigate in 2020, according to the future-year defense planning projections. Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence variant of LCS.
UPDATE: The Navy opted to buy just one LCS, just like it did last year, but turned around the next day and requested a second LCS. Some lawmakers wanted a third LCS for FY-2018 – though Congress still has not passed a defense spending bill for FY-19 to support the shipbuilding industrial base. The Navy will upgrade to a next-generation frigate (FFG(X)) design in 2020, and both LCS builders – Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., and Marinette (Wis.) Marine – have said they need a minimum of three ships per year between the shipyards to remain viable until the frigate contract award is made. In the Navy’s LCS portion of the ship acquisition plan, there is a requirement to build 32 ships. The programmed ship in FY-19 is the 32nd LCS. https://news.usni.org/2018/02/12/navy-grow-fleet-46-ships-5-years-plans-increase-deployed-hulls-30-percent

Baldwin County sewers overflow

FOLEY, Ala. – Heavy rains have caused an estimated 124,000 gallons of partially treated sewer discharge Feb. 11 at the Wolf Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant, according to a report from the Foley Utilities Board. The Baldwin County Health Department has urged residents to thoroughly cook fish and seafood caught nearby, and to wash hands after handling fish or seafood. Fairhope, Ala., is also reporting a sewer discharge in the area of the Valley Street Lift Station. Up to an estimated 10,000 gallons have spilled into local waterways. (Source: WKRG 02/11/18)

GC-to-Asia shipping trade grows

Asia has become the main driver of the U.S. Gulf Coast’s container shipping growth during the last decade. Volume jumped more than 25 percent in 2017. Ships on the three Asia-to-Gulf Coast container services, via the expanded Panama Canal, are running near capacity. Importers have diversified their port gateways by using Gulf Coast (GC) ports - Houston; New Orleans; Mobile, Ala.; Gulfport, Miss.; and Pensacola, Fla. - in supply chains to serve the region’s growing population. Strong exports are being boosted by growth in synthetic resins shipments. Shippers are urging carriers to add more services to Asia from the Gulf Coast, where the resin production is centered. Houston ships more than two-thirds of the GC’s container volume. The Gulf Coast’s share of containerized imports from Asia rose to 6.6 percent (from 5.87) in 2016, and 4.7 percent in 2015. That’s when Houston landed its first all-water container service from Asia. Imports were up 17.4 percent last year at the Port of Mobile. Several ports, including New Orleans, Mobile, and Gulfport, have installed or are planning to purchase post-Panamax cranes, and are in various stages of financing deeper or wider channels. While Asian services through the canal represent the fastest-growing GC market sector, most of its container volume still comes from Latin America, North Europe, and the Mediterranean. (Source: JOC.com 02/10/18)

CG concludes oil spill response

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a fuel oil spill Feb. 11 near mile marker 145 on the lower Mississippi River near Mt. Airy, La., at the Pine Oaks Terminal. CG Sector New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center just after midnight Sunday that a potential spill of up to 4,200 gallons of fuel oil had been released into the river from the terminal. ES&H, an oil spill response organization, has been contracted to provide an assessment. CG incident management teams are on site and conducting over-flights to assess the impact. The waterway remains open. The cause of the incident is under investigation. (Source: CG Eighth District 02/11/18) UPDATE: The CG has concluded its response to the oil spill on the Mississippi River near Mt. Airy. CG incident management teams determined that the maximum amount of oil released was about 100 gallons.

Feds order La. LNG tanks shuttered

Super-cold liquefied natural gas (LNG) leaked Jan. 22 into a space between the inner and outer walls of two tanks at the first-ever LNG export terminal in the United States. The major storage facility is located at the Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Cameron Parish, La. The minus 260-degree temperature created numerous 1-to-6-foot cracks in the carbon steel outer tank wall, allowing some gas to escape, according to a Feb. 8 order to shutter the facility by mid-February by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. While investigating the leak, federal investigators were told 11 similar incidents may have occurred from 2008-16. Each tank can hold up to 3.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas, which is about 2 percent of the total natural gas produced in Louisiana in 2017. Other storage tanks at the facility must also be inspected. Cheniere Energy Inc. of Houston owns the facility. In a Feb. 9 statement, the company said: "Safety is Cheniere's number one priority, and we want to stress that there was and is no immediate danger to our community, workforce, or our facility from this incident, nor is there any impact on LNG production." (Source: NOLA.com 02/10/18)

HII: Boxer pact for $11.59M

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded an $11,595,871 cost-plus-fixed-fee order against previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-16-G-4305) to provide program management, advanced planning, engineering, design, scheduling, and participation in planning conferences and design reviews in support of the ship installation drawings development and support for USS Boxer (LHD 4). Work will be performed at HII-Pascagoula (81 percent); and San Diego (19 percent). Work is expected to be completed by December 2018. FY 2018 Navy operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $2,210,000 will be obligated at time of award; and will not expire Sept. 30, 2018. Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair-Gulf Coast of Pascagoula is the contracting activity. (DOD 02/09/18)

La. AG suing CoE over wetlands

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry filed a lawsuit in Lafayette’s U.S. District Court accusing the Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) of failing to maintain the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The suit also demands the federal government repair land within the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in Vermilion Parish that has been eroded by the expanding GIW. The waterway was begun in the 1920s by the CoE and purchased by the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in 2002. The suit claims that with the purchase comes the right to enforce provisions of a servitude entered into by the original landowner in 1929. The lawsuit claims CoE failed to maintain the waterway, which was authorized to be 125 feet wide and nine feet deep within a 300-foot wide easement granted to the federal government by the original property owners. "In some areas, the width of the waterway now exceeds 670 feet … and appears to be continually growing larger," the lawsuit states. The expanding waterway is causing damage to the wetlands, a 72,000-acre site located about seven miles south of Gueydan, and 13 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, according to the state. "The decline of Louisiana's coastline over the past 50 years has been a constant issue for Louisiana," Landry said in a news release about the suit. "Unfortunately, the creation of the Intracoastal Waterway by the corps has exasperated the problem." The suit came as a surprise to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who in a statement said Landry did not consult his office or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority regarding the lawsuit. (Source: NOLA.com 02/09/18)

MS intros new passenger vessels

JEANERETTE, La. – Louisiana shipbuilder Metal Shark (MS) partnered with the hull-designer Incat Crowther, which has U.S. offices in Lafayette, La., to develop a new line of passenger vessels that it introduced at the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) Maritrends Conference in Savannah, Ga. The new “Endurance PV-X” lineup includes both 150- and 350-passenger models. The PV-X is a welded-aluminum, high-speed, low-wake, catamarans that have been optimized for comfort, safety, and operational efficiency. The vessels are derived from Metal Shark’s latest military patrol boat designs. In 2017, Metal Shark delivered eight 150-passenger vessels on time. The new Endurance PV-X models are intended to allow the company to deliver them even faster. MS is tentatively scheduled to deliver nine passenger vessels in 2018. There are several already under construction at its Franklin La., shipyard for markets that include New York, Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. (Source: Metal Shark 02/09/18)

Navy’s final RFP for DDG 51

WASHINGTON - The Navy released its final Request for Proposal (RFP) Feb. 8 for the DDG 51 multi-year procurement (FY 2018/22) for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The solicitation is limited to current DDG 51 class shipbuilders: Bath (Maine) Iron Works (BIW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The procurement will continue production of the DDG 51 class shipbuilding program, which has delivered 65 ships to date. The FY-18/22 ships will continue the Flight III configuration, which incorporates the Air and Missile Defense Radar/AN/SPY6(V)1, which satisfies the Navy's critical need for an enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability. With the appropriate approvals from Congress, the Navy intends to award contracts later in FY-18. (Source: Team Ships 02/08/18)

Pilot program for states’ red snapper

After years of butting heads with federal regulators, the five Gulf Coast states are taking a step forward, through a two-year pilot program, for the management of red snapper recreational fishing in its adjacent federal waters. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted last week to allow all five states to manage recreational snapper fishing through the pilot program off their respective coasts through individual Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs). The decision follows years of shortened snapper seasons that have frustrated anglers and commercial fishermen. Gulf Coast leaders negotiated a compromise through U.S. Commerce Department’s Secretary Wilbur Ross that extended the season in 2017. If the states’ EFPs get approval from NOAA, the majority of the 46-day 2018 season would take place on weekends from June 1 to Sept. 2, and the week of July 4th. It would run concurrently in state waters and in federal waters, which begin nine miles off the coast. (Source: Lagniappe 02/07/18)

MCM production decisions in ’18

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Navy has scheduled three mine countermeasures (MCM) systems for developmental tests (DT), and two for operational assessments (OA) this year. ‘Milestone C’ production decisions of the two are expected before the end of FY 2018, according to Rear Adm. John P. Neagley, program executive officer for Littoral Combat Ships. Neagley credited much of the alignment progress with the unmanned system to the Navy’s unmanned surface and underwater programs and their relationships with the fleet. The three MCM warfare systems are designed for deployment with LCS. The Knifefish underwater utility vehicle will commence DT/OA in February with the Milestone C decision(s) scheduled for the third quarter of FY-18. The Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) - developed by Textron and in builder’s trials - is a mine-sweeping magnetic and acoustic system towed by a Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle. UISS is scheduled to go through DT/OA in the spring with a Milestone C decision scheduled for the fourth quarter. Raytheon will deliver 10 AQS-20C mine-hunting sonars to the Navy in the spring, with DT scheduled for the third quarter. (Source: Seapower Magazine 02/06/18) Gulf Coast Note: Textron and Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., have been working on the LCS mine-countermeasures warfare package for years.

Bipartisan Senate deal on budget

WASHINGTON – Senate leadership has reached an agreement Feb. 7 on a two-year budget deal, adding some $200B in federal spending. The bipartisan accord would lift statutory budget limits and provide tens of billions of dollars in disaster relief funding. Earlier in negotiations, despite hopes of a deal to keep the federal government operational – rather than having a second shutdown this year - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced early on Feb. 7 that “a large number” of fellow Democrats will oppose a spending deal unless guaranteed a vote on immigration legislation. The later-in-the-day agreement removed the immigration issue from the budget deal. Senate Democrats have no appetite for another shutdown, and had begun to de-link “Dreamers” from a budget deal to touting domestic federal spending; and kicking the immigration issue down the road. Without congressional action, the government will begin to shutdown at midnight Feb 8. (Source: Washington Post 02/027/18)

CG airlifts 4 from downed aircraft

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard rescued four people from an airplane traveling from Slidell about 17 nautical miles south of Patterson in the Atchafalaya River on Feb. 6. The Eighth Coast Guard District command center received notification from the Federal Aviation Administration at about 5 p.m. that a Piper PA-34 twin-engine airplane traveling from Slidell with four people on board was low on fuel. The aircraft's pilot shut down the engines to conserve fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing. The CG launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from CG Air Station New Orleans. The aircrew hoisted the survivors and transported them to Perry’s Flying Center in Patterson. One person suffered a minor injury. (Source: Coast Guard 02/06/18)

Kirby agrees to buy Higman Marine

The Houston-based Kirby Corporation announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Higman Marine Inc. of Mobile, Ala., and its affiliated companies for about $419M in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments. The purchase is be financed through additional borrowings. Higman’s marine transportation fleet consists of 159 inland tank barges with 4.8M barrels of capacity, and 75 inland towboats. Higman’s fleet moves petrochemicals, refined petroleum products, crude oil, natural gas condensate, and black oil on the Mississippi River System and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway for large midstream and global integrated oil companies. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur in this quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions. (Source: Marine Link 02/05/18)

CODA prototye for Navy dive-helmet

ORLANDO, Fla. - Coda Octopus Group (CODA), a leader in real-time 3D sonar technology and subsea intelligence, announced it had been awarded a follow-on sub-contract award from the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University, a tenured Defense Department-designated university research center as part of a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) program. The award is for development of a prototype real-time 3D Head Up Display solution for divers. The 3D HUD System is to feature both real-time 3D sonar imaging hardware and 3D augmented visualization software by Coda Octopus. The 3D HUD System feeds directly into the Divers Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) that permits advanced visualization while underwater at any depth. DAVD was created at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. DAVD is a high-resolution see-through head-up display embedded inside a diving helmet. This new combined capability is designed to enable Coda Octopus’ 3D real-time sonar technology, which will advance diving operations and missions. The 3D HUD System prototype is expected to be ready for NAVSEA testing in the second quarter of 2018. (Source: Globe News Wire 02/05/18) NSWC Panama City is one of the major research, development, test and evaluation laboratories in the Navy, and boasts a wide base of expertise in engineering and scientific disciplines.

CG 58 arriving for Mardi Gras

The Coast Guard is providing free public tours aboard the CG Cutter Jacob Poroo during the Mardi Gras celebration Feb. 10-11 in Mobile, Ala. The tour timelines are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Feb. 10) and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Feb. 11) at the Gulf Coast Museum on Water Street downtown. The Jacob Poroo is one of the CG’s newest cutters, commissioned in December 2017. It is currently stationed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is an Eighth Coast Guard District HQ asset. (Source: CG Eight District 02/05/18) UPDATE: The Navy's USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), a Flight II Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser homeported in Mayport, Fla., will be welcomed to Mobile's Mardi Gras public celebration on Friday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. at the Alabama state dock's Pier 2 terminal, Gates open at 9:30 a.m.

Getting rid of non-deployables

Military service members in a non-deployable status for at least 12 straight months will be separated from service based on a draft of new Defense Department policies that are being reviewed. The draft policy memo would require services to “process members who are non-deployable for 12 consecutive months for admin or disability separation," according to a draft summary of the policy obtained by Military Times. The memo is to be followed by a DOD instruction, which will take months to complete. The new retention policy is being reviewed by the service chiefs and Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. "The goal of the policy is to further reduce the number of non-deployable service members and improve personnel readiness across the force," said Air Force Maj. Carla Gleason, a DOD spokesperson. Some 235,000 (about 11%) of the 2.1 million personnel serving on active duty, reserves or with the National Guard are currently non-deployable, according to Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, senior enlisted adviser to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford. DOD has started to target the 11 percent. About 99,000 are on a list for not having immunizations or required dental exams. Some 20,000 are non-deployable due to pregnancy, and 116,000 are non-deployable due to either short- or long-term injuries, but “very few” are combat injuries. “It's related to … doing their job or during physical training,” he said. "The 99,000 is the easy stuff,” said Troxell. All that’s required is walking over to the base dental/health clinic to get an annual exam. The draft retention policy is a result of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' direction in a July 2017 focusing on non-deployables and other factors, such as excessive training requirements” that are seen as impacting both "war-fighting readiness and force lethality." Each service now has its own policies regarding non-deployables. (Source: Air Force Times 02/12/18. Link unavailable due to Feb. 12 release date.)

Weeks Marine $19.9M mod pact

Weeks Marine of Covington, La., was awarded a $19,976,213 modification (P00007) to contract W912BU-17-C-0004 for construction of five new storm-water drainage and outfall systems for long-term storm management in Margate City, N.J. Work will be performed in Margate City with an estimated completion date of April 15, 2019. FY 2014 Army operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $19,976,213 were obligated at the time of award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 02/02/18)

South’s wetland forests worth billions

The economic benefits of Louisiana’s wetland forests add up to $74.9B, according to an analysis reported by the Dogwood Alliance, a North Carolina-based environmental non-profit; but are disappearing. Estimates suggest that as much as 80 percent of habitat across the South has been lost. What remains is threatened by logging, agriculture, and urban development. Louisiana has 5.2M acres of wetland forests, including 260,000 acres in the Atchafalaya Swamp alone, said Sam Davis, research director and author of the report. "We shouldn't have to put a price tag on forests," he said. "But when we do, it shows just how valuable they are when we invest in their protection." Louisiana's wetland forests provide protection from extreme weather by absorbing water and slowing storm surge. That kind of protection is estimated to be worth $23.8B. Wetland forests also attract tourists, hunters, filter water, provide habitat for pollinators, and absorb carbon dioxide to aid with slowing climate change, he said. The combined value of these services is worth 15 times more than what wetland forest wood is valued for timber. (Source: NOLA.com 02/03/18) Mississippi’s wetland forests are worth $51B; Alabama’s $34.4B; and $80.8B in Florida.

Coastal mapping training in Kiln

KILN, Miss. – A joint venture of Woolpert and Optimal GEO, WMR-532, recently hosted a training session on the Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar (CZMIL) program for Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) personnel. This session, which took place over five days at Stennis International Airport, was supported by the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetric Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX), Teledyne Optech and the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission. WMR-532 is providing operations and maintenance of airborne coastal mapping and charting sensors in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and NAVOCEANO worldwide, as well as technical support to JALBTCX. CZMIL is a USACE and JALBTCX program designed to develop and evaluate a sensor for mapping and charting the coastal zone to improve performance and data products. (Source: PRNewswire, 02/01/18)

Four Fitz sailors guilty at NJP

Four sailors, including the former executive officer (XO) and command master chief (CMDCM) of the destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), currently undergoing repairs at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., have been found guilty at non-judicial punishment (NJP) hearings for dereliction of duty. Fitz and USS John S. McCain were involved in separate deadly collisions last summer. The Navy has also set preliminary hearing dates on more serious charges. Fitz XO Cmdr. Sean Babbitt and CMDCM Brice got letters of reprimand at NJP on Jan. 25. One additional Fitz officer was found guilty of dereliction and reprimanded, while another had a finding of guilt set aside based on review. For USS McCain, an enlisted sailor was found guilty of dereliction of duty and received a punitive letter of reprimand, forfeiture of half pay for two months, and demotion by a pay grade. The pay forfeiture and demotion were suspended for six months. NJP charges against another McCain officer and enlisted sailors were dismissed. Article 32 preliminary hearings for both commanding officers (COs), and three additional officers from the Fitz, have been set for early March. McCain CO, Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez, faces charges of dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel, and negligent homicide. Fitz CO Bryce Benson and XO Cmdr. Jessie Sanchez were relieved of duty in October. The McCain CO will have an Article 32 hearing March 6. Fitz CO’s hearing is March 7; a joint hearing for three additional Fitz officers, including two lieutenants and a lieutenant junior grade, has been set for March 8. The last time the Navy sent a ship's CO to court-martial was 1989. (Source: Military.com 02/01/18)

Ala. shipbuilder delivers 2nd tug

Master Marine of Bayou La Batre, Ala., recently delivered the towboat 'Tom Torretti' to Waterfront Services of Cairo, Ill. The tug is the second of four sister-ships Master Marine is building for Waterfront Services. Laborde Products of Covington, La., provided a pair of Mitsubishi Tier 3 diesel marine engines. Gulf Coast Air & Hydraulics of Mobile, Ala., provided the steering system and a pair of Quincy F325 reciprocating air compressors. Schuyler Maritime of Broussard, La., provided rubber fendering. R.S. Price & Son of Fairhope, Ala., provided the Mitsubishi mini-split heat pump HVAC system with Theodore, Ala.-based Blakeney Marine providing all custom woodwork and interior finishes. Donavon Marine of Harahan, La., delivered the aluminum Diamond SeaGlaze windows, and Plaquemine, La.-based Dales Welding and Fabricators supplied aluminum exterior doors. New World Electronics of Bayou La Batre provided all of the electronics and communications. (Source: Work Boat 02/01/18)

La. loses ruling for FEMA funds

The state of Louisiana's five-year effort to obtain $586M from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for restoration of damages to the barrier island system, along the Gulf Coast caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, was denied by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 29. The 16 barrier islands are part of the federal John H. Chaffee Coastal Barrier Resources System. The state’s lawsuit to obtain the funds was filed in 2013 by the Department of Natural Resources. The state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) oversees the lawsuit, which Louisiana contends that federal law provides environmental protection to the national barrier island system and makes Louisiana eligible for restoration aid when damaged by hurricanes. FEMA turned down the state’s request in 2015. The state appealed to an arbitration panel, which came to the same conclusion as FEMA. On Jan. 29, the court upheld the panel’s ruling. CPRA believes Louisiana is entitled to public assistance for its barrier islands and “intends to pursue all avenues of recovery” for restoration. (Source: NOLA.com 01/31/18)

Austal-built LCS commissioning

The Navy will commission its newest Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Omaha (LCS 12), during an 8 a.m. CST ceremony Feb. 3 in San Diego. Omaha will be the 11th LCS to enter the fleet, and the sixth of the Independence-variant design, all built at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Twenty-nine LCS have been awarded to date: 11 delivered, 15 under construction, and three in pre-production stages. The ceremony can be viewed on the Navy Live blog at http://navylive.dodlive.mil. (Source: DOD 02/01/18)

GC joint venture for ethylene facility

Enterprise Products Partners LP and Navigator Holdings Ltd. announced that the two have entered into a 50/50 joint venture to build a new ethylene export facility along an as yet undetermined site along Gulf Coast (GC). The facility would have the capacity to export about 1M tons of ethylene annually. Refrigerated storage for 30,000 tons of ethylene will be constructed on-site and will provide the capability to load ethylene at rates of 1K tons an hour. It is expected to be in service by the first quarter of 2020. The project is supported by long-term contracts with anchor customers that include Texas-based ethylene producer Flint Hills Resources, and a major Japanese trading company. “By 2021, the petrochemical industry is expected to expand aggregate ethylene production capacity in Texas and Louisiana by nearly 50 percent,” said A.J. “Jim” Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. The location and final investment decisions for the terminal are subject to reaching acceptable arrangements with local taxing authorities. (Source: Navigator Gas 01/31/18)