Bollinger delivers 33rd FRC to CG

LOCKPORT, La. - Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana delivered the USCGC Joseph Doyle, the 33rd Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the Coast Guard on May 21 at Key West, Fla. The 154-foot Sentinel-class FRC will be the seventh stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. FRCs already in commission have protected the nation by seizing multiple tons of narcotics, interdicted thousands of illegal aliens, and saved hundreds of lives, according to Bollinger President/CEO Ben Bordelon. The vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for June 2019. Previous cutters have been stationed around the nation including Alaska and Hawaii. “We are extremely proud that the Fast Response Cutters built by Louisiana craftsmen here at Bollinger Shipyards are having such a major impact on our country’s safety and security,” Bordelon said. (Source: Bollinger Shipyards 03/26/19)

$80M to protect SW La. flooding

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will provide $80M over three years to build a barge floodgate on Bayou Chene at Amelia, La., aimed at blocking backwater flooding of large parts of Morgan City and six parishes during high water events on the Atchafalaya River. (Source: NOLA.com 03/29/19)

NOLA files mimic O&G lawsuit

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell filed a lawsuit late (5 p.m.) Friday afternoon (March 29) in Civil District Court against Entergy New Orleans, Chevron USA, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company and eight other oil and gas companies, demanding repair of damaged caused by exploration, production and pipeline construction activities in wetlands on the city’s eastern section. The lawsuit is similar to dozens of others filed against O&G firms by six Louisiana parishes. Those suits are pending before federal judges in New Orleans and Lafayette. (Source: NOLA.com 03/29/19)

Seemann: $74M SBIR marine pact

Seemann Composites of Gulfport, Miss., is awarded a $74,370,830 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-type, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for out-of-autoclave composite fabrication practices and procedures for large-scale, marine composite structures based on fundamental processes developed under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This contract will extend the fundamental understanding gained within the prior Phase I/Phase II/Phase III SBIR initiatives through further development, design integration and testing of engineering solutions to address hybrid material and composite laminate fabrication of marine/Navy-relevant components. Work will be performed in Gulfport, Mississippi (89 percent) and Horsham, Pa. (11 percent). The contract is expected to completed by September 2021. FY 2018 Navy research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $9,385,609 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured using other-than-full-and-open competition under the statutory authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(5) (authorized or required by statute). Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock Division of West Bethesda, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/29/19)

Port to buy two 100-foot gantry cranes

The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans has approved a $23.4M purchase of two new 100-foot gauge container gantry cranes to be used at its Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. These cranes are vital to the port’s success and growth, according to President/CEO at Port NOLA Brandy D. Christian. “They will increase our efficiency so we can accommodate larger and wider (and international) ships more quickly and meet the growing needs of our carriers and shippers.” The contract went to Shanghai (China) Zenhua Heavy Industries for construction and delivery of the cranes. There are no U.S.-based manufacturers of container gantry cranes. The port’s plan is to handle larger international container ships requiring equipment with increased capacity. Larger container ships serving the Gulf of Mexico range from 8,000-9,500 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) and are increasing in frequency, and best served by 100-foot cranes. Port NOLA is also in the midst of an engineering and design phase of extending the 100-foot gauge rail tracks for the new cranes. The purchase supports Port NOLA’s strategic master plan to invest in its facilities to meet projected volume, which grew by 12.3 percent in 2018 – an all-time high of 591,253 TEUs. Port NOLA’s terminal is Louisiana’s only container terminal participating in international trade. It reaches 58 global ports of call and connects with 450-plus via trans-shipments with containerized and break-bulk cargo. The project is tentatively scheduled to take up to 20 months from contract approval. (Source: Marine Link 03/29/19)

Metairie maritime coats 6 new barges

Maritime Partners of Metairie, La., an established player in the U.S. maritime leasing industry, recently added six tank barges to its fleet with a focus on three major requirements: Reliable performance, durable aesthetics, and improved safety features. Seeking to deliver a durable and aesthetically pleasing solution, MP turned to Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings to provide a premium protective coating system for the barges. Tank barges are massive flat-bottomed vessels designed to maintain a healthy domestic economy via the transporting of vital commodities such as chemicals and petroleum. With more barges traversing U.S. waterways, signs point to a growing economy. Recognizing that, Maritime Partners CEO Austin Sperry said: “We wanted to ensure the coating system … would facilitate reliable performance anywhere our customers may operate.” MP selected a series of primers, epoxies, polyurethanes and additives from Sherwin-Williams in addition to providing important performance functions like corrosion resistance and non-skid service. The coatings are designed to maintain gloss and color for many years of service in challenging marine environments in which barges operate. (Source: Marine Link 03/29/19)

The FADS of Destin & Big Fish

The Destin, Fla., Tourism Development Council (TDC) is launching a project to attract big fish that has never been done in the continental U.S. For seven years, TDC and Okaloosa County Commissioner Kelly Windes have worked on obtaining approval from National Marine Fisheries, Coast Guard and Eglin Air Force Base, which would deploy eight Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in the Gulf of Mexico. A FAD is a floating buoy that’s anchored to the Gulf’s floor. The device is designed to attract large fish such as marlin, wahoo and tuna. The buoys have radar reflection, GPS, real-time weather stations, and options for scientific equipment. The use of FADs date back centuries. There are FADs around Caribbean islands, Australia, and New Guinea. The Hawai’ian islands have had FAD systems in place for 30 years, and are the only active system in among U.S. states, but none have never been set up in the GoM. The project is primarily funded by Okaloosa County TDC with support from Gulf, Bay, Walton, Santa Rosa, Escambia counties in Florida, and Gulf Shores, Ala. A feasibility study took a look at buoys’ effectiveness. The study concluded buoy placement in deeper waters of the GoM was feasible. The eight FADs are to be deployed within 60-80 miles of Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Okaloosa Island in the De Soto Canyon. (Source: Destin Log 03/28/19)

Tall ship Elcano to dock at NASP

The Spanish Royal Navy tall ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano, the third largest tall ship in the world, sails into Pensacola, Fla., on March 30. Elcano Capt. Ignacio Paz Garcia made the decision to dock at Naval Air Station Pensacola instead of Plaza de Luna downtown. The first day of public visitation will be March 31. The change-of-site decision came down to a series of factors. The top one being the inability to assemble a gangway for the ship to dock at Plaza de Luna, but deep enough where it could anchor, Lipo Davis, son of Maria Davis, honorary vice consul of Spain in Pensacola, told the Pensacola News Journal. (Source: PNJ 03/28/19) Tour dates/times are March 31 from 3-6:30 p.m.; April 2 from 1-6 :30 p.m.; April 3 from 1-6:30 p.m.; April 4 from 3-6:30 p.m. Visitors must enter NASP through the back gate and show a valid driver’s license.

Cutters prominent in CG requests

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz, fresh from the commissioning of the newest Fast Response Cutter (FRC) Terrell Horne, was to take the CG’s proposed $11.3B budget requests for FY 2020 before Congress on March 26. The budget request includes $9.32B in discretionary funding needed to recapitalize the cutter force, build new infrastructure, accelerate the deployment of unmanned aerial systems on National Security Cutters (NSC); upgrade aircraft; and chip away at a $1.7B shore infrastructure backlog. The proposed budget includes $1.2B for procurement, construction and improvements, including $457M for an Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and materials for the next two; $140M to buy two FRCs; $35M for production activities tied to the new Polar Security Cutter program; and $15M for a service life extension project (SLEP) for the Coast Guard's only heavy icebreaker Polar Star. The budget also would provide $200M for a SLEP of the MH-60T helicopter, upgraded MH-65 helicopters, adapt HC-27Js and HC-144As for service's missions; and for ScanEagle drones for those NSCs. The FY-20 requests are lower than the CG's FY-19 appropriations and 8 percent lower than its FY-18 enacted budget. (Source: Military.com 03/25/19) Gulf Coast Note: Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla., was awarded detail design contract for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) in September 2016. Long Lead Time Materials (LLTM) was awarded in September 2017. Construction began in FY 2018 with delivery of the lead OPC planned for FY 2021. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., is the sole builder of Legend Class National Security Cutters for the Coast Guard. The service exercised a contract option worth over $294.4M with Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., for production of six Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). The option brought the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to 50. The total value of the contracts is nearly $929M. The contract has a potential value of $1.42B if 58 FRC buys are exercised.

Gen.: Marines need more amphibs

The Marine Corps wouldn’t be able to successfully go into a contested maritime mission requirement with the number of amphibious ships the Navy currently has, Lt. Gen. David Berger, head of Marines’ Combat Development Command, told lawmakers March 26. The Navy had 19 amphibs ready to sail this week, he indicated, leaving about a third pierside. "The force we have this afternoon,” Berger claimed, “will not” allow us to compete in that environment “to the degree we need it to." Berger was nominated this week to serve as the next Commandant of the Marine Corps. Navy leaders are facing lawmakers this week after its FY 2020 budget request didn't include funding requests for amphibs. Vice Adm. William Merz, deputy CNO for warfare systems, said the Navy is committed to accelerating the building of the amphib fleet. "We see no amphibious ship request, no amphibious connectors," said House Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.). "So there's some concern about where we're going to be with the necessary capability in the Navy for Marine Corps operations." The tense Asia-Pacific region is a “maritime theater and ... we have a Marine Corps that comes from the sea," Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has said. "But we can't come from the sea if I don't have a way to get underway." (Source: Military.com 03/27/19)

Amphib buys may accelerate: Guerts

After sidelining amphibious vessels in FY 2020’s Navy budget requests, top acquisition executive Hondo Geurts told Congress March 27 that the service could accelerate buying two amphibious ships, if provided funding authority, in FY-21’s budget submissions. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a member of the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee, asked Guerts if the authority would be "advantageous" related to amphibious assault ship LHA-9 and the amphibious transport dock LPD-31. (Wicker’s home state includes Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula shipyard that has already built a number of LHAs and LPDs.) A few lawmakers urged the Navy last year to request advanced funding for LHA-9 in FY-20 and authorization to buy in FY-21. The Navy did not make either request for FY-20. LPD-31 had been scheduled for procurement in FY-20, but was deferred to FY-21. Geurts acknowledged being concerned about LHA-9 being pushed out to FY-24 based on the industrial base. "It was there from an affordability standpoint,” he told Wicker. There been a 7-year gap between LHA-8 and LHA-9, which is “longer than ideal.” Incremental funding authority could accelerate those ships' construction since Congress already provided $350M in advance procurement in FY-19’s defense bill for those two vessels. Amphibs were pushed aside in the FY-20 request in favor of a third attack sub and a third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. Vice Adm. William Merz, the top requirements officer, testified to House lawmakers March 27 that the Navy was looking to accelerate the time line for the future Large Surface Combatant (LSC). The CNO has said that the Navy is aiming to begin procuring the first in-class LSC in FY-23. The new budget request shows the Navy plans to buy the lead ship in FY-25. The large combatants may well take on one of the current Littoral Combat Ship’s design. (Source: Inside Defense 03/27/19) Gulf Coast Note: HII-Pascagoula began building LHAs again in 2008 with the first-in-class USS America (LHA 6). The 2nd ship, Tripoli (LHA 7), is under construction. Ingalls was selected to build LHA 8. The LPD 17 program at Ingalls was first awarded in late 1996. The first eight ships in the LPD 17 class – USS San Antonio (LPD 17), USS New Orleans (LPD 18), USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), USS Green Bay (LPD 20), USS New York (LPD 21), USS San Diego (LPD 22), USS Anchorage (LPD 23), USS Arlington (LPD 24), USS Somerset (LPD 25) and USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) – have been delivered to the Navy. The future Portland (LPD 27) is in the yard. In December 2015, an advance procurement contract was awarded for LPD 28.

HII to build future DDG Neal

WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer named a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer (DDG 131) in honor of Korean War veteran, and Navy Cross Recipient, Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class George M. Neal. Neal, a native of Springfield, Ohio, served with Helicopter Utility Squadron ONE (HU-1), a helicopter rescue unit embarked from Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney during the Korean War. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers conduct a variety of operations from peacetime presence and crisis response to sea control and power projection. The future USS George M. Neal (DDG 131) will be a Flight III destroyer capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously, and will contain a combination of offensive and defensive weapon systems designed to support maritime warfare, including integrated air and missile defense and vertical launch capabilities. The ship will be constructed at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard. (Source: Secretary of the Navy 03/26/19)

PC dive units testing prototype

A team of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic developers recently completed an Automated Dive Profile Data Transmission and Synchronization (Auto-DPTS) prototype aimed at streamlining the logging process for Navy dive units. La’Keisha Williams, NIWC Atlantic Science and Technology principle investigator, led the year-long management effort on the prototype, which attempts to transition Navy divers to an entirely digital platform for records keeping. “Before Auto-DPTS, divers would have to log everything with paper and pen while still on the boat,” said Williams. The efforts from Auto-DPTS resulted in a prototype to provide divers with a ruggedized mobile tablet running Scuba Binary Dive Application (SBDA)-100 software. “Performing effective rapid prototyping and then transitioning this technology into the hands of the fleet is a core capability of NIWC Atlantic’s science and technology department,” Williams said. To develop the Auto-DPTS prototype into a full working model, the Naval Experimental Diving Unit and the Naval Diving Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) in Panama City Beach, Fla., are currently testing the solution in an effort to integrate the product into their divers’ day-to-day training. (Source: Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command 03/26/19)

HII LPD 30 mod pact: $1.4B

Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $1,471,290,677 fixed-price-incentive modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-18-C-2406) for the procurement of the detail design and construction of Landing Platform Dock (LPD) 30, the first LPD 17 Flight II ship, which will meet all the capabilities and capacities requirements for the Amphibious Ship Replacement. Work will be performed in Pascagoula (82%); Crozet, Va. (3%); Beloit, Wis. (2%); and New Orleans (2%). Other efforts performed at various sites less than one percent throughout the U.S. (11%. It is expected to be completed by February 2025. FY 2018 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $1,369,362,790 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. (DoD awarded 03/25/19) https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/photo-release-huntington-ingalls-industries-awarded-1-47-billion-for-construction-of-u-s-navys-first-flight-ii-lpd

New rules for OSV disaster recovery

The Coast Guard’s advisory panel on offshore safety has completed recommendations for how offshore vessels (OSVs) in the energy industry can safely be put to work assisting in disaster relief efforts. The proposals include creating a new ‘response, restoration, and recovery vessel’ Certificate of Inspection (COI) endorsement. The “Triple R Vessel” (TRV) endorsement would allow operators to get preapproval of their vessels that would be available to assist a disaster, according to the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA). After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, several Louisiana-based OSV operators sought emergency approvals from the CG to haul relief supplies to Puerto Rico and between ports on the island. They needed approval to deviate from the vessels’ COIs, but the volunteer effort encountered a variety of challenges, which were noted for the National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee. OMSA proposed a subcommittee study the problem. The CG agreed and gave them the job in September 2018. After five months, NOSAC approved the subcommittee’s recommendations at a March 20 spring meeting in New Orleans. Other recommendations include that the New Orleans-based Coast Guard Eighth District HQ policies on energy industry vessels be adopted by districts around the naiton; and modifying the CG’s definition of ‘international voyage’ to clarify that U.S.-flag vessels are not on an international voyage when they sail between the mainland and Puerto Rico. The NOSAC subcommittee’s full report will be released and posted to the advisory panel website in coming weeks. OMSA President Aaron Smith said the recommendations would help the industry give a fast response to future natural disasters. (Source: Work Boat 03/26/19) https://www.workboat.com/news/offshore/new-rules-coming-for-osv-use-in-disaster-recovery/

Conrad delivers ATB to Vane Bros

The Morgan City, La.-based Conrad Shipyard delivered its third of a new class of articulated tug-barges (ATBs) to Vane Brothers Company of Baltimore, Md. The ATB is made up of the 110-foot tug Wachapreague and 403-foot barge Double Skin 803. The ATB is linked with a Beacon Finland JAK 700 coupling system. The barge is equipped with bow thrusters and thermal heaters for its cargo of asphalt. The ATB has a design draft of 15.4-feet and is powered by two 2,200-hp tier 3 engines. The ATB is the third of a series of like units built for Vane Brothers. The first, the tug Assateague, built at Conrad’s Orange, Texas, facility, is paired with the 80,000-bbl. barge Double Skin 801, which Conrad built in Amelia, La. All three ATB tugs were designed by Castleman Maritime of Panama City, Fla. The second ATB, the tug Chincoteague, is paired with the barge Double Skin 802. (Source: Work Boat 03/26/19) Vane Brothers recently expanded its operations to the Pacific Northwest and California coast. Vane’s current West Coast fleet operations are focused on a ship-bunkering partnership with Marathon Petroleum in Washington’s Puget Sound, and dock-to-dock transfers for Valero Energy in the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the Port of Benicia at the head of San Francisco Bay.

Austal EPF pact & future mods

Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $261,776,539 fixed-price-incentive (firm target) modification to previously-awarded contract (N00024-19-C-2227) for the detail design and construction (DD&C) of the 13th and 14th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships, and to definitize the long-lead-time material undefinitized contract actions for EPFs 13 and 14. This modification will award the DD&C effort for EPF 13 and EPF 14 and definitize and subsume the long-lead-time material undefinitized contract actions for EPFs 13 and 14. (Note: Funding obligated covers the DD&C award and also definitizes the UCAs, which results in a total greater than the face value of the award.) The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $370,733,399. Work will be performed in the Gulf Coast communities of Mobile (54%); Houston (4%); New Iberia, La. (3%); and Theodore, Ala. (1%) with other efforts performed at various locations throughout the United States below one percent (7%) and at various locations outside the U.S. below one percent (4%). Work is expected to complete by July 2022. FY 2018 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $134,609,225; and FY-19 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $161,815,453 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/25/19) Potential Future Modifications: The Navy is considering retiring one or both of its hospital ships, and has set up a team to examine whether a larger number of smaller ships could provide a viable alternative in some situations. A number of proposals already exist, including a conversion or purpose-built medical derivative of the San Antonio-class amphibious ship built by Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula, Miss.; a similar variant of Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport built at Austal USA of Mobile, Ala.; and a modular hospital package for the service’s new giant Expeditionary Sea Bases like the USS Lewis B. Puller, built by NASSCO of San Diego.

Volunteers work DDG 62 availability

NORFOLK, Va. – Volunteers from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center’s (MARMC) Waterfront Operations Department have had a continuous presence aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) – damaged in a June 2017 collision - since it began repairs at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., last year. The destroyer collided with the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal leaving extensive starboard damage above and below the waterline. DDG 62 began an Extended Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) at HII-Pascagoula that included restoration, modification and modernization. It’s been a team effort from three major regional maintenance centers in its planning and execution, said MARMC Project Manager Kenneth Millington. He is among MARMC members who volunteered to go to Pascagoula and help lead the EDSRA, which includes more than 400 work items along with the collision repairs. Volunteers can only serve six-month assignments. “The first six months, every day was about learning,” said MARMC Project Manager Brian Campbell. Fitzgerald is scheduled to end its availability in February 2020. Some volunteers have returned to their jobs elsewhere, but are keeping an eye on the progress in case they have to go back to help complete the mission. (Source: Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center 03/26/19)

Surface Navy researching aircraft PEs

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The surface Navy is developing a solution for detecting symptoms associated with rapid pressure fluctuations in military aircraft, a phenomenon associated with physiological events (PEs) in E/A-18G, T-45C trainers, and F/A-18 weapon systems. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City’s (NSWCPC) Fluctuating Altitude Simulation Technology (FAST) team delivered an aircraft cabin simulator system to the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) for their use conducting human subject research. NSWCPC engineers designed and fabricated the FAST system to replicate the rapid cockpit pressure fluctuations observed in the Navy’s jet aircraft. The FAST system characterizes symptoms associated with rapid pressure fluctuation, and determines what symptoms may most closely be associated with PEs. The information will allow us to conduct future research targeted and focused on specific symptoms and adding in cockpit factors, according to Navy Research Psychologist, Lt. Jenna Jewell. Aircrews experience PEs when there is a suspected aircraft or aircrew systems’ malfunction, and a loss in performance related to insufficient oxygen, alterations in breathing, unexpected pressure or other human factors. Environmentally-controlled research “flights” were conducted at NEDU to simulate rapid cabin pressure fluctuations, which allowed medical researchers to investigate whether there are physiological or neuro-cognitive impacts due solely to the pressure fluctuations. “This study is the first-of-its-kind human subject research investigating PEs plaguing Naval Aviators by replicating the cabin pressure fluctuations observed in the Fleet. It is also the first-ever study to investigate and identify the physiological responses and symptomology associated with rapid cabin pressure fluctuations at altitude,” said NEDU Research Physiologist, Lt. Travis Doggett.(Source: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City 03/25/19) Cmdr. Brad Hickey and the NEDU Aviation Physiological Events team presented their research into aviation PEs at the 2019 U.S. Naval Aeromedical Conference in Pensacola, Fla.

La.’s Harvey Gulf expanding ops

Harvey Gulf International Marine, with offices in New Orleans and facilities at Port Fourchon, La., continues expanding operations worldwide with the opening of offices in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico City, Trinidad, and Guyana. The efforts will begin to material in April when HGIM reflags two more DP2 Offshore Supply Vessels - Harvey Seahawk and Harvey Falcon. The two vessels will join the Offshore Support Vessel Harvey Leader and Harvey Legend, and along with the Fast Supply Vessels Harvey Clipper to operate and service customers in Mexico. Harvey has also opened operations’ shore bases in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico. Operations in Mexico and Trinidad have started with Harvey vessels already deployed under contracts. (Source: Work Boat 03/25/19) HGIM is a marine transportation company that specializes in providing Offshore Supply and Multi-Purpose Support Vessels for deep-water operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. HGIM’s Port Fourchon facility has six dual fueled LNG powered offshore supply vessels under construction; and the port is the first of its kind LNG fueling facility.

Biloxi beach sea oats planting project

BILOXI, Miss. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program (GMP), alongside the Harrison County (Miss.) Sand Beach Authority and local partners, participated in a dune vegetation planting project of 3,000 sea oats along the shoreline of Biloxi beach March 22. “This dune development project is a great example of our state, federal, and local governments working together to increase community resilience while protecting our Mississippi Gulf coast,” said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator Mary S. Walker. Dune grasses stabilize the beach and help build the dune systems, protecting infrastructure from flooding and erosion, according to beach authority director Chuck Loftis. The vegetation will stabilize the dunes, control sand erosion, provide a buffer against coastal hazards, and supply a unique habitat for wildlife. Students from Gulfport and Long Beach high school and local partner organizations, including Audubon Society, Mississippi State University’s Coastal Extension and Research Center, and Mississippi Wildlife Federation, assisted with the plantings. The beach was in critical need of more vegetation due to its proximity to development and increased levels of public use. GMP began in 1988 to protect, restore and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. (Source: STL News 03/24/19)

$244M in GoM lease sale

March 20's Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 252 generated $244M in high bids for 227 tracts covering 1.26M acres in federal waters of the GoM. Thirty companies took part in the lease sale, submitting almost $284M in total bids, Department of the Interior officials said. The lease sale included 14,699 unleased blocks, located from three to 231 miles offshore, in the Gulf’s western, central and eastern planning areas. The sale totals reflect a trend toward increased high bids from the lease sales over the last two years. (Source: Work Boat 03/21/19)

La. firm’s $18M fuel contract

Freeman Holdings of Louisiana, doing business as Million Air of Lake Charles has been awarded a minimum $18,832,439 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for fuel. This was a competitive acquisition with 148 responses received. This is a 47-month contract with a six-month option period. Location of performance is Louisiana, with a March 31, 2023, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is FY 2019-23 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy of Fort Belvoir, Va. (Source: DoD 03/20/19)

$8M for MS inflatables' repairs

Air Cruisers Co. of Wall Township, N.J. is awarded an $8,026,673 long-term contract for repair of five various life-raft inflatables in support of the Multi-Place Life Rafts System for use on various aircraft. The contract will include a three-year contract with two one-year option periods, which if exercised has a total contract value estimated at $13,754,049. Work will be performed in Liberty, Miss. Work is expected to be completed by March 2022. If all options are exercised, work will be completed by March 2024. No funds are obligated at the time of award. Annual Navy working capital funds will be obligated as individual task orders are issued. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source, non-competitive requirement pursuant to the authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command’s Weapon Systems Support of Philadelphia is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/20/19) Founded in 1935, Air Cruisers Co. is the manufacturer of inflatable safety products for the aviation industry with a facility in Liberty, Miss. Liberty is located about 110 miles south of Jackson.

CG rescues duo from sinking sailboat

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard rescued two people from a sailboat March 20 that was sinking in the Gulf of Mexico about 20 miles south of Venice, La. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Skipjack received a report at 8:30 a.m. of a sailboat, within two miles of the cutter, taking on water. The cutter arrived on scene at 8:56 a.m., rescued the duo and transported them to CG Station Venice in stable condition. The sailboat sank after the rescue. "Accidents can happen at any time on the water, which is why it is so important for mariners to be prepared for the worst,” said Cmdr. Michael Wolfe, a search and rescue mission coordinator at CG Sector New Orleans. The survivors were wearing life jackets. (Coast Guard 03/20/19)

HII kicks off $79M expansion

Huntington Ingalls Industries Shipbuilding kicks off a $79M expansion development project to reopen facilities on the east bank of the Pascagoula River. By far, it is the biggest project planned for South Mississippi in 2019. Permits have been issued for $68M for three new fabrication shops and $13M for site and infrastructure work. HII-Pascagoula announced in 2018 that it planned to reopen the east bank site – its original shipbuilding site. The east shipyard was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Construction should be completed in 2020. “The primary component of the project includes the addition of large, covered production areas for the construction of ship assemblies and components, as well as the restoration of an outfitting pier,” Bill Glenn, corporate manager for public relations, told the Sun Herald. (Source: Sun Herald 03/16/19) The Treen Report of construction shows $89M in building permits issued in South Mississippi in February; and $118M over a 12-month period.

GC refineries need more hydrogen

Gulf Coast petroleum refineries have increasingly relied on merchant suppliers, rather than their own production, to provide hydrogen used to reduce sulfur content in fuel. As global demand for distillate fuel oil increases and sulfur content regulations more stringent, refineries have need for more hydrogen. Hydrogen demand is expected to continue to rise as International Maritime Organization regulations limiting sulfur content in marine fuels takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020. GV refiners in Petroleum Administration for Defense District 3 – Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi - are consuming more hydrogen from merchant suppliers than their own production. From 2012-17, consumption of hydrogen obtained from merchant suppliers increased 25 percent. Over the same period, on-site production of hydrogen from natural gas fell 13 percent. In 2017, merchant suppliers accounted for more than 85 percent of hydrogen consumed the GC refineries. A big part of hydrogen’s use by GC refineries is supplied by a 600-mile, 1B cubic foot per day network of hydrogen pipelines that links Lake Charles, La., to Houston. From 2012-17, GC petroleum refineries increased its hydro-cracking capacity by 50 percent with a similar increases in distillate production. Over the same period, steam methane reformer (SMR) unit capacity went down 19 percent, leading refiners to purchase more hydrogen from merchant suppliers. (Source: General Energy News 03/16/19)

Ala. CCs join aero, maritime studies

The Alabama Community College System and Huntsville’s Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation’s University Consortium (VCSI-UC) college system are partnering to expand students’ access to aerospace, manufacturing, and defense industry training that could lead to an engineering technology degree. VCSI-UC has agreements with four-year institutions in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Alabama’s community college (ACC) system is the first to participate. Students could also study automotive manufacturing, maritime, digital transformation and engineering technology; plus receive training in 3-D technology, augmented reality, and virtual reality programs. The latest partnering is designed to elevate workforce development in Alabama. (Source: AL.com 03/19/19)

FSU, Eglin AFRL partner grant

The Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering and researchers and engineers from Eglin Air Force Base have begun a new partnership to train graduate and undergraduate students in areas critical to the Air Force. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Eglin will fund a $400,000 grant to create the Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars program at the College of Engineering. The summer STEM-related intern program will bring students into the laboratory environment where they can directly benefit from working with faculty researchers on Air Force-related research. (Source: Florida State University 03/19/19) At Eglin, the AFRL Scholars Program offers summer on-site internship opportunities in research-based projects for high school and university students, as well as professional educators. The program includes researching the technologies and gaining a hands-on learning experience under the mentorship of AFRL scientists and engineers. The Eglin scholars program in Valparaiso, Fla., offers various programs, which include the Hap Arnold Scholars for internship positions to graduate students interested in various STEM fields that include Bioscience, Fuze technology, Materials Science, and Munitions Aerodynamics.

Phase I storm cleanup at NSAPC

URS Group Inc. of Morrisville, N.C., is awarded a $9,800,000 modification on a firm-fixed-price task order under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62470-13-D-6022) for phase one of Hurricane Michael repairs for stabilization and repairs to multiple buildings at Naval Support Activity Panama City (NSAPC), Fla. The work to be performed provides for removal of carpet, walls, windows and other unsalvageable items due to water penetration, clean-up of roofing materials and tarping of rooftops to mitigate further water intrusion. Repairs include roof replacement, roof decking, and sealing roof penetrations. The repairs also include correction of architectural, structural, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, fire protection, electrical deficiencies and any other incidental related work as found due to the hurricane. After award of this modification, the total task order value will be $52,795,320. Work will be performed in Panama City, and is expected to be completed by September 2019. FY 2019 Navy operations and maintenance contract funds in the amount of $9,800,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast of Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/19/19)

Decommissioning 6 GC-built cruisers

The Navy is weighing whether to cancel six planned service-life extensions of its oldest cruisers in 2021-22 - Mobile Bay, Bunker Hill, Antietam, Leyte Gulf, San Jacinto, and Lake Champlain, all built on the Gulf Coast (GC) in the 1980s. At that point, the sea-service will have 16 largest surface combatants, according to defense officials who spoke to Defense News. The Navy will propose the plan to Congress to decommission (decom) the six cruisers by 2022 and forego service life extensions that have been supported by lawmakers in past years All six ships will be at/near the their 35-year service lives at decommissioning, but the Navy has not decided on a replacement for the cruisers, which have 122 vertical launch systems (VLS) cells. Navy needs all the missiles it can muster downrange in case of potential threats from Chinese and Russian anti-ship missiles. Cruisers have 26 more VLS cells per hull than the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA destroyer, and 32 more than Flight I Arleigh Burke. Cruisers are lead air defense ships in carrier strike groups, but have been reputably difficult to maintain. The service plans to release an updated 30-year shipbuilding plan very soon, but declined comment until it was public. The Navy has been making the most of the ships. USS Mobile Bay was the first ship in the fleet to have the latest version of the Aegis Baseline 9 installed on its Baseline 8 system as an experiment to prove new installs on legacy ships could be done in weeks vs. years. The Navy wants to employ it for all ships going forward.(Source: Defense News 03/18/19) Gulf Coast Note: All six of the cruisers were built at the Pascagoula, Miss.-based Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries (now HII) in the 1980s. USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) was commissioned on Feb. 21, 1987, at the Alabama State Docks in Mobile, Ala.

UPDATE: GC calls of search on Miss.

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard is searching for a person in the water after a towing vessel capsized at mile marker 55 on the lower Mississippi River north of Point a la Hache, La., in the evening of March 18. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received notification at 8:12 p.m. of the 54-foot inspected towing vessel Seattle Slew capsizing in the Mississippi River near Myrtle Grove Fleet. Three people were on board. Two were recovered. One is remains missing. CG assets conducting the search include an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew, 45-foot response boat/crew. There is a waterway closure from mile markers 55 to 58. The cause of the incident is under investigation. (Source: Coast Guard 03/18/19) UPDATE: The CG suspended its search March 19 for a person who went into the water after a towing vessel capsized on the lower Mississippi River. CG crews searched some 158 square-nautical miles for about 18 hours. The towing vessel was located by Turn Services outside the ship channel at mile marker 57. The Mississippi River has been re-opened to all traffic with restrictions requiring minimum safe speed and wide berth from mile markers 56 to 58. The incident is under investigation. Plaquemines Parish law enforcement sources told New Orleans' WWL-TV that the missing crewman was the captain of the vessel, David Mills of Marrero, La. The two crew members that jumped overboard were taken to University Medical Center and were in good condition.

FWB gets 1% of $2B mod pact

General Dynamics’ Electric Boat of Groton, Conn., is awarded a $2,039,763,908 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-2100) for additional material to include Long Lead Time Material and Economic Ordering Quantity associated with the FY 2019-2023 Virginia class submarines (SSN hull#s 802–811). The largest percent of the work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif. (19%); Annapolis, Md. (6%); and Jacksonville, Fla. (3%). 26 locations earned between 1% and 3%, including Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (1%). Other U.S. sites each were awarded less than 1% each for contract work (25% overall). FY 2019/2018 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $2,039,763,908 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The statutory authority for this sole-source award is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/18/19)

Coda working with PC Navy divers

ORLANDO, Fla. – Coda Octopus Group (CODA) of Orlando, Fla., has advanced its real-time 3D subsea visualization technology in three significant areas during the first quarter of 2019, according to Annmarie Gayle, chairman/CEO. In February, CODA - a global leader in real-time 3D sonar technology and real-time subsea intelligence - completed and launched its full line of hardware revisions for fourth and fifth generation 3D imaging sonar, the Echoscope 4G®, which is suited for autonomous and unmanned surface vehicles. The technology is the world’s only commercially available sonar capable of seeing, mapping and measuring in real-time 3D in low-to-zero visibility underwater conditions. The firm is also advancing the Navy’s Divers Augmented Vision Display-Head Up Display system (DAVD-HUD) that is being developed in conjunction with Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. The DAVD-HUD system is scheduled for operational test trials in June at Florida International University’s Aquarius Reef Base. (Source: Globe News Wire 03/18/19)

CG to award La. duo with safety award

MORGAN CITY, La. ­­- Rear Adm. Paul Thomas, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District headquarters in New Orleans, is scheduled to present Louisiana natives and businessmen Andy Bui and Paul Tran, with the CG’s Meritorious Public Service award on March 19 at the LSU Agriculture Center’s offices in Abbeville, La. The owners of Vermillion Gulf Seafood of Abbeville, Bui and Tran, will be presented the award for their assistance in the rescue of four commercial fishermen from the partially sunk fishing vessel Capt M&M in Sabine Pass on Sept. 18, 2018. The duo required all vessels moored at their facility to pass a Coast Guard safety exam; and helped vessel operators with the registration of their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB), and placed themselves as emergency contacts that provided a secondary benefit of allowing them to translate English and Vietnamese between the vessel owners and the CG. Their efforts were initially rewarded when the captain of the commercial fishing vessel Capt M&M that struck jetties at Sabine Pass two miles from shore was able to deploy EPIRB before the vessel partially sunk. The crewmembers entered the water and huddled around the emergency beacon that alerted the CG of their position. The CG directed the Jefferson (Parish) Sheriff’s Department to the vessel’s position, and were rescued. By assisting all vessels with the registration of EPIRBs, Bui and Tran directly contributed to the safe recovery of four commercial fishermen. (Coast Guard 03/18/19)

UPDATE: Floods may not reach NOLA

OMAHA, Neb. – Midwest authorities used boats and vehicles March 16 to rescue and evacuate residents in parts Nebraska after a deluge of rainwater and melting snow slid over frozen ground and overwhelming creeks and rivers. At least one person was killed trying to rescue stranded motorists. Rescuers were thwarted by levee breaches and washouts of bridges and roads in southwest Omaha as floodwaters broke through a levee along the Platte River. There was moderate flooding in Illinois along the Mississippi River, but meteorologist Brian Pierce with the National Weather Service in Davenport, Iowa, said flooding on the Mississippi could get worse in several weeks as snow begins to melt in Minnesota and Wisconsin. "What we're having now is the dress rehearsal for the main event that's going to happen in early April" with flooding on the Mississippi River, he told The Associated Press. (Source: The AP 03/16/19) Gulf Coast Note: Back on March 4, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the New Orleans area along the Mississippi River - unrelated at the time with the Midwest flooding. The warning initially was to remain in effect until March 23. The official flood stage for levees around New Orleans is 17 feet. Floodwalls and structures protect NOLA to 20 feet. This has the potential to be more severe, than first thought back in early March, for lower Louisiana beyond March 23 as those upstream waters begin to inundate the Mississippi River and its tributaries. UPDATE: Mississippi River levels in New Orleans are not likely to be affected by the severe flooding that has impacted residents across four midwestern states, as rising water levels of the Missouri River breached or overtopped nearly 200 miles of levees this week, according to Danielle Manning, a meteorologist with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service. Although the Missouri River is one of the major tributaries to the Mississippi River, meteorologists do not expect to see much of an impact on water levels farther south. Manning told NOLA.com that water levels near the Carrollton gauge in New Orleans are expected to start falling by the end March and early April. A secondary crest is expected around mid-April, but not to the extent the river is rising currently.

MSU shark researchers party at DISL

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. – The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) welcomed two new additions for Alabama's Coastal Aquarium, the Estuarium, on March 16. The pair of nurse sharks joined the aquarium’s residents to give visitors an up-close look at the life found throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Nurse sharks are sometimes called the “couch potatoes of the sea” and can be found around the world, according to a DISL media notice. The name comes from the “unusual sucking sound” it makes while hunting that “resembles the suckling of a nursing baby." The welcome to the Estuarium party included a shark research team from Mississippi State University and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. (Source: WPMI 03/16/19) MASGC provides integrated university- and college-based research, communications, education, extension and legal programs to coastal communities that lead to the responsible use of ocean and coastal resources in Alabama and Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico, through informed personal, policy and management decisions.

NOLA firm’s $49M pact for MSC

Sentient Digital Inc., doing business as Entrust Government Solutions of New Orleans is being awarded a $49,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for information technology (IT) engineering support services. IT services in this contract will assist Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Systems (C4S) Division in providing and sustaining Defense Department (DoD) and Navy compliant technical C4S solutions. Additionally, this contract will satisfy emerging requirements, enhance and develop IT capabilities in support of MSC’s mission, and assist in the development of governance to ensure IT capabilities align to MSC N6’s strategic business support plan, MSC’s technical architecture road maps, DoD, and Navy mandates. The solutions primarily satisfy emergent cyber security mandates and technical refreshes for end of life hardware and software. Work will be performed at Norfolk, Va., and is expected to be completed by April 2024. This contract includes a five-year ordering period. FY 2019 Navy Working Capital funding in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a small business set-aside, with more than 10 companies solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, and 10 offers received. U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command of Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/15/19)

Mobile port adds PEX-3 Asia service

MOBILE, Ala. – The Alabama State Port Authority announced March 6 that CMA-CGM, a company that serves 420 of the world’s 521 commercial ports and operates on more than 200 shipping lines, has added the Port of Mobile to its PEX-3 Asia Service market for containerized cargo shippers. CMA-CGM added the Port of Vung Tau, Vietnam, to its Asia service. “We’re extremely pleased to see the Vietnamese market added to our portfolio of weekly ocean carrier container service,” said Jimmy Lyons, director and CEO for the Port Authority. Vietnam’s domestic consumption for U.S. steel, machinery, aircraft, automobiles and machinery “presents new opportunities for Alabama manufacturers,” he said. Vietnam posted 6.8 percent domestic product growth in 2017. PriceWaterhouse Coopers predicts Vietnam will have the strongest average GDP growth until 2050 - exceeding 5.1 percent annually, and to the 20th largest economy. (Source: Alabama State Port Authority 03/06/19)

Metal Shark expands to Croatia

Metal Shark of Jeanerette, La., has established a foothold across the Atlantic with the opening of a European engineering office. It is Metal Shark’s first location outside of America. Metal Shark Croatia is a new engineering facility recently opened in Rijeka on Croatia’s northern Adriatic coast. The facility employs about 20 naval architects, machinery systems engineers, and electrical engineers who collaborate with Metal Shark’s domestic engineering team in support of the company’s shipbuilding operations at its three U.S. facilities in Alabama and Louisiana. Efforts by Metal Shark are underway to significantly expand in Croatia by year’s end. The establishment of Metal Shark Croatia “allows us to scale up our engineering resources at a rate that would be otherwise impossible,” CEO Chris Allard said in announcing the European facility. Metal Shark has grown its U.S.-based engineering team and has expanded focus on autonomous technology, LNG, and hybrid propulsion systems and technologies. Following two years of world-wide research into engineering capabilities, Croatia was short-listed by the company. Its key attributes: Shipbuilding heritage, numbers of shipyards, technical expertise, and pool of highly trained naval architects and marine engineers. The Croatia facility uses the same advanced engineering software and project management systems of Metal Shark’s U.S. facilities. (Source: Metal Shark 03/13/19)

GC shipyards deliver ATB to NY

The new articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit Evening Breeze/B. No. 252 has been delivered to Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. in Melville, N.Y. It was built by VT Halter Marine and Bollinger Shipyard. The 112-foot 4,000-hp tug Evening Breeze left VTHM’s Pascagoula, Miss., facility March 12 to pair up with the 317-foot 55,000-bbl. B. No. 252 built at Bollinger’s Lockport, La., facility. The vessels, linked by an Intercon coupler system, got underway to join Bouchard’s fleet service in New York. The Evening Breeze is the first Bouchard tug to meet Tier 4 emission requirements. The new ATB will transport clean petroleum products in the Jones Act market. (Source: Work Boat 03/14/19)

LHA 8 keel laying at HII

PASCAGOULA, Miss - The keel laying and authentication ceremony for the future USS Bougainville (LHA 8) was held at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Pascagoula shipyard on March 14. The ship’s sponsor, Ellyn Dunford, wife of Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, authenticated the keel by welding her initials into the keel plate. Bougainville is the third ship of the America (LHA 6) class of amphibious assault ships. LHA 8 is the first Flight I ship of the America class, and designed to support the Marines ashore. It also will be able to accommodate Marine Corps' F-35Bs and MV-22 Ospreys. HII-Pascagoula is currently in production on Tripoli (LHA 7), guided missile destroyers Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), and amphibious transport dock ships, Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) and Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). The shipyard is under contract for six Flight III Arleigh Burke class destroyers awarded as part of the FY-18/22 multi-year procurement. (Source: US Navy 03/14/19)

GIF delivers 2nd of 10 escort tugs

Gulf Island Fabrication, a Houston based firm with seven shipyards in Louisiana and Texas, announced that its Shipyard Division has successfully delivered the M/V Ted C. Litton, a Z-Tech 30-80 Terminal/Escort Tug to Suderman & Young Towing Co. The M/V Ted C. Litton was built at Gulf Island’s, Jennings, La., facility. The vessel will be operated by G&H Towing on behalf of Suderman & Young Towing Co. of Houston. Gulf Island is currently building eight other sister vessels that are in various stages of construction. (Source: Marine Link 03/14/19)

HII-built DDG commissioning in Fla.

SAN DIEGO - Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer has approved Port Everglades, Fla., as the site for the commissioning of the future guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), which the Navy accepted from Huntington Ingalls’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., on Feb. 22. The commissioning will be July 27. DDG-117 is the Navy's 67th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and will feature the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system that will allow the ship to simultaneously patrol for ballistic missile threats as well as combat traditional air and cruise missiles threats. (Source: U.S. Pacific Fleet 03/14/19)

CG reopens section of Miss. River

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard reopened the Mississippi River, from mile marker 224.5 to mile marker 226, after a vessel sank near Baton Rouge, La., on March 14. CG Marine Safety Unit-Baton Rouge’s incident management team confirmed an oil sheen in the water. There is a reported potential of 18,500 gallons of fuel aboard the Michelle Anne. An unknown amount was discharged into the river. Due to concerns over responder safety from dangerous river conditions, the CG and OMI Environmental of Belle Chasse, La., are managing the spill from shore. CG Sector New Orleans received an 11 a.m. report of the towing vessel Michelle Anne, pushing an empty dry cargo barge with four crewmembers, sinking at Baton Rouge General Anchorage. General Anchorage remains closed. The crewmembers escaped to the barge and were recovered by a tug. There were no reported injuries. The barge was recovered. The cause of the incident is under investigation. (Source: Coast Guard 03/14/19)

Fla. amphib: At-sea quarantine months

Twenty-five sailors and Marines aboard the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), a Whidbey Island class amphibious warship home-ported out of Mayport, Fla., has essentially been quarantined at sea for almost three months and unable to make a port call due to an outbreak of parotitis, a viral infection similar to mumps, according to military officials. Until CNN asked, the military had not disclosed any information about the outbreak. The illness first broke out Dec. 22. The most recent case reported was March 9. "None of the cases are life-threatening and all have either already made or are expected to make a full recovery," the U.S. Fifth Fleet announced in a statement to CNN. All 703 personnel aboard the ship have received measles, mumps and rubella booster vaccinations, according to Fifth Fleet’s HQ in Bahrain. The ship is currently operating somewhere in the Persian Gulf. Shipboard medical officials are assessing when it may be medically safe to make a port call, generally 30 days after the last reported illness (March 9). The ship includes elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Since the initial case Dec. 22, 24 of 25 patients have returned to duty. No one had to be medically-evacuated from the ship, and are expected to make a full recovery, officials said. A Navy medical team, specializing in preventive medicine, is expected to deploy in days to make a further assessment, says a Fifth Fleet official. (Source: CNN 03/13/19) Fort McHenry left Mayport in mid-December as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), which consisted of the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), USS Arlington (LPD 24), USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), MEU 22, and Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 2.

Navy PC's SeaPerch challenge

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City (NSWCPC), Fla., scientists and engineers partnered with academia March 8 to challenge students to a regional SeaPerch competition here at the University of West Florida. Students prepared remotely operated vehicles (ROV) to compete by navigating through an obstacle and challenge course. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and Embry-Riddle University, SeaPerch provides students with kits equipped with all essential parts to build an underwater robot. “Basically, it’s an underwater ROV built out of PVC pipes, direct current motors and a control box,” said Kinsey Taylor, NSWCP electrical engineer and SeaPerch course designer. NSWCPC physicist Dan Flisek, a technical director for the competition, said SeaPerch challenges and regional competitions help provide students with a hands-on approach while learning the STEM disciplines. (Source: NSWCPC 03/12/19)

Prez’s FY-20 Navy requests

President Trump released his FY 2020 Defense budget March 11, which includes several Navy aviation readiness and shipbuilding programs, as part of $718B in requested funding. The requests include a third attack submarine and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. The request also steers money toward recruitment and retention, according to a White House summary. The addition of a third attack submarine to the budget was welcomed by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), who chairs a House Armed Services subcommittee, whose district includes one of two submarine yards. But, also, whose party leadership has called the budget requests dead on arrival. In early March, the Navy released a draft Request For Proposals for the design and construction of a planned class of 20 next-generation guided-missile frigates (FFG(X)). The draft called for building the first 10 ($up to 950M each for hull numbers 2 through 10). The goal is to award a contract in FY-20 for Frigate Hull #1. Small design contracts were awarded to Austal USA of Mobile, Ala.; Lockheed Martin; Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss.; Fincantieri Marine and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works (BIW) of Maine. However, the construction competition will be open to any competitor. As FY-18 ended, the Navy signed a five-year, $9B contract with HII-Pascagoula and BIW to build 10 destroyers with options for up to five more if monies are available. The proposed budget calls for three, the same as FY-19’s budget. FY-20 could see a slowdown (comparatively speaking) for shipbuilding that is creating concern on Capitol Hill/industry. The next amphibious assault ship (LHA-9 for HII-Pascagoula) has been considered an FY-24 project. The Marines/industry wants to move it up to FY-21 to keep production lines running. Some reports indicate SECDEF may be planning to delay that pace. (Source: USNI News 03/11/19)

Prez proposes $193.4M for BOEM

President Donald Trump has proposed a $193.4M for the Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management’s (BOEM) FY 2020 budget. The FY-20 budget request focuses on the execution of BOEM’s mission, which includes offshore oil and gas exploration and leasing, offshore renewable energy, marine minerals management, and science-based analyses. (Source: Work Boat 03/12/19)

Houma firm to build USNS Navajo

WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced March 12 that the new class of Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ship will be named Navajo in honor of the major contributions of the Navajo people have made to the armed forces. The new class of vessels will be based on existing commercial towing offshore vessel designs and will replace the current T-ATF 166 and T-ARS 50 class ships. The first ship of this class will be USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6). The contract includes options for potentially seven more vessels, and each additional ship will be named in honor of prominent Native Americans or tribes. Gulf Island Shipyards of Louisiana was awarded a $63.5M contract last year for the detail design and construction of the new Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship that are to replace the current T-ATF 166 and T-ARS 50 class ships in service with the US Military Sealift Command. The first ship in the class will be built at the company’s shipyard in Houma, La., and is expected to be completed in March 2021. (Source: Secretary of the Navy 03/12/19)

GA-Tupelo earns 25% of EMALS pact

General Atomics of San Diego is awarded $18,898,425 for cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0006). The order provides Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) integrated test and evaluation effort for EMALS test-site operations, Failure Reporting Analysis and Corrective Actions System, prototype and testing, environmental qualification testing and remediation, electromagnetic interference testing, and training efforts. Work will be performed in Lakewood, N.J. (60%); Tupelo, Miss. (25%); and Rancho Bernardo, Calif. (15%), and is expected to be completed in January 2021. FY 2018-19 Navy research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $18,898,425 will be obligated at time of award - $2,737,924 will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command of Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/11/19) EMALS is designed to replace the steam catapult systems currently used on the Navy aircraft carriers. USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the first carrier to use it.

GC states’ firms garner fuel contracts

Two Gulf Coast states’ companies, among 17 overall, was each awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE602-18-R-0717 for various types of fuel for the Defense Logistics Agency Energy. The two Gulf Coast states’ firms, and their contract awards, are Placid Refining Co. of Port Allen, La. ($124,968,052); and Hunt Refining Co. of Tuscaloosa, Ala. ($34,052,469). The 17 firms were each awarded fixed-price contracts. These were competitive acquisitions with 32 offers received. The contracts are for one-year, with a 30-day carryover. Locations of performance are Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Ohio, Wyoming, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Arkansas, and Oklahoma with a March 31, 2019, performance completion date. Using customer is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy of Fort Belvoir, Va. (Source: DoD 03/11/19)

South MS coastal ‘Secret’ unveiled

GULFPORT, Miss. - Hundreds of people gathered at Jones Park on March 11 to hear the announcement of the new tourism slogan for South Mississippi that was a year in the making. “Coastal Mississippi: The Secret Coast” is the new phrase and it rolls out across the Gulf South on March 12. “It’s time that we accept that not too many people know about us,” Milton Segarra, executive director of what was Visit MS Gulf Coast, and now will do business as Coastal Mississippi, told the Sun Herald. “Why not maximize that?” Advertisements will show people enjoying the non-crowded beaches and bayous, and casinos. Tourism has ticked up 1 to 2 percent over the last several years. But Segarra said the goal now is to reach double-digit growth in three years. As part of the nearly $1M campaign, 40 billboards across Louisiana, north Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle will target markets within a five-hour drive. Other advertising will be directed around air packages with Delta and American and airline hubs such as Atlanta and Charlotte that have easy flights to the coast. Coastal Mississippi doesn’t tell travelers to “visit”, “meet” or “discover” like many destinations do, he said. Instead the new slogan rolls like waves from the Gulf of Mexico, offering images of sand, boating and, of course, seafood. (Source: Sun Herald 03/11/19)

MSU senior: Makes ‘New Faces’ of '19

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Over four years at Mississippi State University, senior civil engineering major Phong Ly of Brandon, Miss., has attained numerous awards, honors and recognition. The newest award is being named to the New Faces of Civil Engineering for 2019 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is one of 10 U.S. college students selected. New Faces highlights a select group of civil engineering leaders and recognizes their academic or professional accomplishments, and community involvement. Among his other accomplishments, Ly was one of seven engineering students to be elected to the 2019 class of MSU’s James Worth Bagley College of Engineering Student Hall of Fame; and one of 50 nationwide students to earn a merit-based scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation in 2018. Ly has been involved in Mississippi State’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders and worked with the university’s Watersheds and Water Quality Research Lab and the Sustainable Bioproducts Department. The environmental engineering concentration major also interned with Gulf Power Company in NW Florida to monitor water quality and biological conditions near coal-fired and natural gas power plants. (Source: Mississippi State 03/08/19)

AF Secretary Wilson to resign

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, one of the first officials to join the Trump administration at the Pentagon, said May 8 she had informed President Trump she will resign, after the University of Texas System announced she was a sole finalist to become president of its El Paso campus. Wilson submitted a resignation letter and released a statement in which she said it was a privilege to serve alongside U.S. airmen over the two previous years and that she is “proud of the progress we have made to restore our nation’s defense," according to the Washington Post. Wilson, a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico, said in her letter that she expects the Texas board will take a final vote on her candidacy in 21 days, as Texas state law dictates. She plans to remain as Air Force secretary until May 31. (Source: Washington Post 03/08/19)

St. Rita sinks on Miss.; 5 rescued

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard and good Samaritans responded to the sinking of the towing vessel St. Rita on the Mississippi River near Laplace, La., in the afternoon of May 7. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report that the St. Rita, owned and operated by Marquette Transportation Company, sank on the bank on the Mississippi River. Five crewmembers were rescued by the Good Samaritan towing vessel, Rod C, and transported to shore. There were no reported injuries. The CG is working with federal, state and local partners, and Marquette Transportation, to oversee salvage and clean-up operations with minimum impact to the transportation system and environment, according to Cmdr. Zachary Ford, chief of the CG sector’s response department. The St. Rita is estimated to have some 13,000 gallons of diesel on board. A CG MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew reported a visible sheen from mile markers 132 to 117. CGS New Orleans’ Incident Management Team was deployed and conducted a visual shoreline assessment with the company and confirmed a silvery, rainbow colored non-recoverable sheen on the river. There was no reported impact to vessel traffic, and the river remained open. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Source: Coast Guard 03/07/19) Marquette Transportation Company HQ is in Paducah, Ky.; Gulf-Inland Division offices: Harahan, La; and Off Shore Division offices in LaRose, La.

Gulfport sailors earn USFF honors

NORFOLK, Va. - U.S. Fleet Forces Command announced its 2018 USFF Fleet Sea and Shore Sailors of the Year (SOY) during a breakfast here March 7. Builder 1st Class Luke G. Johnson of the Gulfport, Miss.-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 was named Sea Sailor of the Year. Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Steffi M. Gutierrezlara of Naval Surface Squadron 14 was Shore Sailor of the Year. “What an honorable experience this has been,” said Johnson. “To my fellow finalists, we have forged such amazing relationships, and to my sailors - I want to say thank you - as you are the reason for my success. They are amazing and their success makes me so proud.” During the ceremony, all 12 SOY finalists were recognized for their work and awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. Among Gulf Coast-based finalists for Sea SoY was BU1 Luke G. Johnson of NMCB 1 in Gulfport. Shore SoY finalist included Aerographer’s Mate 1st Class Leigh A. Windham of the Gulfport-based Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Professional Development Center. (Source: US Fleet Forces Command 03/07/19)

CoE abandons jobs to open Tenn-Tom

Okaloosa County, Fla., officials were scrambling for answers March 7 when word filtered down that a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted dredge, believed to have been on the way to Destin’s East Pass, has been diverted to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The CoE confirmed to U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in a memo that the waterway was completely blocked in one area hindering barge traffic in northern Alabama and Tennessee. Okaloosa had finally nailed down a solid agreement with the COE after the Condo Alliance of Okaloosa Island temporarily set aside a legal challenge that had been preventing the dredging. Three weeks ago, the county was at the CoE obtaining permits, however, the CoE laid out its case for delaying the Destin project in the memo to Gaetz. The dredge destined for Destin was the lone dredge under contract with CoE for use, and that the Corps made a higher-priority change to reopen Tombigbee for traffic affecting multiple industries. CoE stopped a dredge job at Perdido Pass, Ala., because of the critical need in north Alabama. Depending on what type of equipment/bids the CoE gets, it would be “three to four months at best before a dredge could mobilize for the East Pass work,” the memo read. (Source: NW Florida Daily News 03/07/19)

Metal Shark lands $20.6M mod pact

Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC, doing business as Metal Shark of Jeanerette, La., is awarded a $20,628,477 delivery order to previously awarded, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, firm-fixed price contract N00024-17-D-2209 for 12, 40-foot patrol boats, complete with basic boat equipment, shipping, long term preservation, boat familiarization, and crew original equipment manufacturer and water-jet training. Work under this delivery order will be performed in Jeanerette, and is expected to be complete by August 2022. FY 2019 Navy procurement (Overseas Contingency Operations), and FY-19 other Navy funding in the amount of $20,628,477 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 03/07/19)

PC sharing the love with STEMinar

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Nine students from Patronis Elementary School showed off their FIRST Lego League robot designs to Navy scientists and engineers March 6 during Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City’s (NSWCPC) inaugural STEMinar event. NSWCPC hosts STEMinar to encourage staff to get engaged with the various local outreach programs, according to Paige George, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach program manager. NSWCPC has one of the highest concentrations of advanced degrees in science and technology in NW Florida, and volunteering is a “great way to give back to the community and share their love of science and engineering,” she said. In addition to the FIRST Lego League demonstration, the STEMinar hosted presentations from SeaPerch, Marine Advanced Technology Education, STEM in a Box, Scientist@School, Invention Convention, Sub Club, STEM Camp, and Science Squad. NSWCPC established its STEM Outreach Office specifically to address the decline in American students earning science and engineering degrees. (Source: NSWCPC 03/07/19)

CG cutter hits Algiers ferry dock

The Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.-based Coast Guard Cutter Cypress hit a New Orleans area ferry dock March 4 while transporting the king, queen and krewe of the Zulu Mardi Gras association. Lt. Lora Ratliff, spokesman for Coast Guard Eighth District HQ in the Crescent City, said there were no injuries or waterways closed due to the collision. The Zulu Mardi Gras association, also known as the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, has taken part in New Orleans Mardi Gras for 110 years. The cutter sounded its emergency horn while officers forced those onboard away from the side rail. The boat’s starboard side then crashed into a cement barrier in Algiers near Woldenberg Park, according to NOLA.com. There was some damage to the cutter's bow, but Ratliff didn’t know the extent. The CG is investigating. The Cypress left Pensacola early March 4 for a day trip to New Orleans. Ratliff didn’t know when the cutter was scheduled to return to Pensacola. The Cypress is one of three CG cutters at NASP. The medium endurance cutters Decisive and Dauntless are also based at the Navy base. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 03/05/19)

U.S. maritime jobs up 30 percent

Following news of 304,000 American maritime jobs created in January 2019, the Transportation Institute, a maritime association which advocates and works for sound national maritime policy in the U.S., announced a 30 percent increase in domestic maritime job creation enabled by the Jones Act. The industry now employs nearly 650,000 Americans across all 50 states and contributes $154B to the nation’s annual economic growth. (Source: Work Boat 03/05/19)

River flood warning through NOLA

A flood warning was issued March 4 for the section of the Mississippi River passing through New Orleans. The river is forecast to reach 17 feet, or official flood stage, on March 9, according to the National Weather Service. The warning will be in effect until March 23. The river was at 16.5 feet Monday at the Carrollton Gage. Floodwalls protect the city of New Orleans to a water level of 20 feet. At 17 feet, the water level will still make ship docking and navigation difficult. On Feb. 27, an oil tanker’s mast hit the Huey P. Long Bridge, closing it to traffic for three hours for damage inspections. There were none. The Army Corps of Engineers began opening bays in the Bonnet Carre Spillway on Feb. 27 to funnel the river’s flow into Lake Pontchartrain to help keep the flow below 1.25M cubic feet per second. The forecast indicates only 170 of 300 bays will need to be opened. It was the 13th time the spillway has been opened since being built after the 1927 Mississippi River flood. It was the third time in the last four years. Inspectors have identified at least 164 sites along the river that require monitoring. There were 68 locations with seepage, including 22 in the New Orleans area. Officials would not identify exact locations due to security concerns. (Source: NOLA.com 03/04/19)

Sailors-to-Merchant Marines

President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) entitled “Supporting the Transition of Active Duty Service Members and Military Veterans into the Merchant Marine” on March 4 that allows experienced service members to get merchant marine credentials. The president indicated that by signing the order it will help veterans land at-sea blue collar jobs that will also strengthen national security. The order is designed to allow Navy, Coast Guard, and Army Watercraft Systems personnel leaving active duty to apply training and experience to land future careers in the maritime industry. “It makes it easier for sea service veterans to get high-paying, high-skilled jobs as mariners by waiving government-issued licensing fees and by crediting military training in the National Maritime Center credentialing system,” said Peter Navarro, director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. The EO makes it easier for enlisted sailors and officers to qualify as “mates and engineers” under the Coast Guard’s civilian mariner licensing rule, he continued. Previously, service members had to start over by enrolling in basic maritime classes, often paying $25,000 to meet requirements. The Trump EO is is designed to allow service members on active duty to simultaneous earn qualifications at sea while also netting equivalent civilian licenses. Those already separated from service could be fast-tracked to getting licensed. Before this becomes real, the Navy first must work with the Coast Guard to get schools, qualifications, and experiences certified for civilian licensing. (Source: Navy Times 03/04/19)

La. recruit collapses, dies at GL

A 20-year-old Navy recruit from Monroe, La., collapsed and later died one week before she was to graduate from boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill. Seaman Recruit Kierra Evans, a 2017 graduate from Neville High School in north Louisiana, was taking part in the Navy's Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) at the Recruit Training Command on Feb. 22 when she collapsed. Evans, who was on course to graduate March 1, died several hours later at the Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. Her death has only now been disclosed by officials, reports Military.com. The Navy and RTC are investigating. The cause of the 20-year-old’s death is unclear. A spokesperson from the Lake County Coroner’s Office told Navy Times that autopsy results won’t be available for as long as three months. According to her obituary, Evans had graduated from Neville High in May 18, 2017, and was an a member of the school’s Navy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps for four years before joining the Navy on Jan. 2, 2019. Evans is the second person to die at Great Lakes since October 2018, according to Military.com. (Source: Newsweek 03/05/19)

Navy issues draft RFP for FFG(X)

The Navy issued a draft Request For Proposal (RFP) on March 1 to design and build its class of 20 next-generation guided-missile frigates (FFG(X)). The detailed design and construction draft RFP is to serve as a dry run for shipbuilders to pitch designs for the small surface combatants that are to be follow-ons to two separate classes of Littoral Combat Ships still in production at Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., and Marinette (Wis.) Marine. The document lays out a schedule to produce 10 ships. The lead ship would be delivered in 72 months after the contract award – with options for nine more. Later in 2019, the Navy plans to issue a final detailed design and construction RFP with the contract to be awarded in 2020. In 2018, the Navy awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Miss.; Austal USA, Lockheed Martin, Fincantieri Marine and General Dynamics Bath (Maine) Iron Works developmental contracts. The five were each awarded $15M to refine their own frigate designs. However, competition for the upcoming FFG(X) detail design and construction contract will be open to all competitors that meet requirements based on a mature parent-design, the Navy said earlier this year. (Source: USNI News 03/02/19)

REEL part of $99.9M crane pact

REEL (USA) COH Inc. of Mobile, Ala. (W9128F-19-D-0019); PaR Systems of Shoreview, Minn. (W9128F-19-D-0020); Knight Construction & Supply Inc. of Deer Park, Wash. (W9128F-19-D-0021); Crane Technologies of Rochester Hills, Minn. (W9128F-19-D-0022); and Garco WEMCO JV of Spokane, Wash. (W9128F-19-D-0023) will compete for each order of the $99,900,000 contract for crane rehabilitation and replacement. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with an estimated completion date of March 3, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Omaha, Neb., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/04/19)

CG foundation tribute March 15

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit group designed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and families, will hold its 26th annual ‘Tribute to the Eighth Coast Guard District’ on March 15 at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The foundation will recognize CG Station Panama City for its regional response to Hurricane Michael. CGS Panama City is a unit operating under the Eighth Coast Guard District’s headquarters in New Orleans. The event will feature an address by the Coast Guard’s Vice Commandant, Adm. Charles Ray. In the aftermath of Michael, the foundation assisted 90 Coast Guard families in the Panama City area with $245,500 of support to help them recover and to rebuild their own homes and personal spaces. (Source: Work Boat 02/28/19)

5K witness LCS 18 commissioning

CHARLESTON, S.C. - As clouds passed overhead, the crew of USS Charleston (LCS 18) ran aboard to “man their ship” and bring it to life March 2. More than 5,000 guests attended the commissioning ceremony of the Navy’s newest Littoral Combat Ship into the fleet. LCS-18 is the 16th LCS to enter the fleet and the ninth of Independence variant, which are all built at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala. Cmdr. Christopher K. Busca, the ship’s commanding officer, gave Cmdr. James H. Hoey, the executive officer, orders to hoist the ship’s colors and commissioning pennant. Next, the traditional setting of the first watch was ordered by former Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. – one of the nation’s longest serving mayors. The former mayor’s wife Charlotte Riley served as the ship’s sponsor. She had christened Charleston on Aug. 26, 2017, during a ceremony at the Austal shipyard in Mobile. Falling in line with his pride as leader, Cmdr. Busca added a surprise element to the ceremony by calling up Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jeremiah Hughey of Biloxi, Miss., and meritoriously promoting him to the rank of first-class petty officer. (Source: LCS Squadron One 03/03/19)

Graves joins climate change panel

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) was named top Republican to a special House committee on climate change Feb. 28. Graves, who is serving a third term of the Baton Rouge area’s 6th Congressional District, says he hopes to broaden the focus on climate change. Protecting the environment is crucial, he told The Associated Press, but lawmakers should also focus on employment opportunities and improving America’s competitiveness in the global economy. “Energy production and consumption, mitigation and adaptation, and shared responsibility must be discussed if we’re truly going to be global in this important conversation,” he said, in explaining his approach favors an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. Graves, 47, formerly chaired Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority under Gov. Bobby Jindal. He was among six Republicans named to the climate panel, which is led by Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla. (Source: The Associated Press 03/02/19)

NSWCPC joins innovation lab journey

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City (NSWCPC) has begun a journey to establish a Center For Innovation (CFI) to foster a culture of creativity that will give staff an outlet to learn techniques and understand war-fighters’ needs in a designed solution safe zone, according to Unmanned and Surface Combatants Science and Technology Mine Warfare director Holly Gardner. CFI will be a collection of spaces and capabilities to foster innovation at all levels, and give employees an outlet where they can brainstorm, network and work through problems before putting that innovation into practice at the fleet level, according to Sheila Schnoering, NSWCPC engineer for mine warfare prototyping. Reaping beneficial knowledge, even through failures, stimulates alternative routes to success and a “plethora of creative ideas” that lead to light bulb moments, says Technical Product Manager Rick Hurst. Two buildings are being configured to support the innovation lab concept. Throughout FY 2019, efforts will be dedicated to defining its business model, continued input from users, conveyance of capabilities with respective training arenas, and the completion of spaces. (Source: NSWCPC 02/28/19) NSWCPC conducts research, development, test and evaluation, and in-service support in Mine Warfare, Naval Special Warfare, Diving and Life Support, and Amphibious and Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare Systems and other missions in the Littoral Battlespace. Columbus AFB, Miss., was among the first in the Air Force to begin creative hubs. CAFB began its ‘Spark Cell’ creative hub last November to find solutions from 3D printing to flying patters for its T-6 Texan II. Today, CAFB has shared information on set-ups and collaborated with officials at Keesler AFB, Miss., and Tinker AFB, Okla.

EPF bow change pact for Austal

Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., is awarded a $13,586,012 fixed-priced-incentive undefinitized contract modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-2217) for the incorporation of a structural bow section engineering change proposal to the 11th and 12th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships (former Joint High Speed Vessel. The EPF provides high-speed, shallow-draft transportation capability to support the intra-theater maneuver of personnel, supplies and equipment for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. This modification is an undefinitized contract action for implementation of change to the bow structure on EPF 11 and EPF 12 on the DD&C Contract Line Item (CLIN) for each respective ship. Work will be performed in Mobile (56%); Pascagoula, Miss., (35%); Franklin, Mass. (7%); and Wilmer, Ala. (2%), and is expected to completed by July 2019. FY 2015-16 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $8,151,608 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 03/01/19)

GA-Tupelo EMALS pact: $11.7M

General Atomics of San Diego is awarded an $11,739,438 for ceiling-priced delivery order N00383-19-F-NA09 under previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00383-18-G-NA01) for the manufacture of 181 various line items for initial spares acquisition in support of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) used on aircraft carriers. Work will be performed in Tupelo, Miss., and work will be completed by January 2022. FY 2019 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $5,752,324 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One firm was solicited for this non-competitive, sole-source requirement in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, and one offer was received. Naval Supply Systems Command’s Weapon Systems Support of Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/01/19)

MK 110 gun mounts for LCS

Chemring Ordnance Inc., Perry, Fla., is awarded a $10,406,730 single year firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract, in response to solicitation number N00174-18-R-0031, for the manufacture, assembly, test, and delivery of 57mm High Explosive-Point Detonating cartridges. The 57mm HE-PD cartridge is a 57mm/70, electrically-primed cartridge designed to function in the 57mm MK 110 gun mount. The MK 110 GM is employed on Navy Littoral Combat Ships and the Coast Guard Legend-class National Security Cutters. This requirement is to develop and produce 57mm HE-PD cartridges intended for combating surface and ground targets. The cartridge consists of a high explosive projectile with the ability to point detonate, a brass cartridge case loaded with propellant charge, and an electric primer. Government First Article Testing will be required. Work will be performed in Perry, Fla., and is expected to be complete by February 2021. FY 2019, FY-18, 10`7 Procurement of Ammunition, and Navy and Marine Corps funds in the amount of $10,406,730 will be obligated at award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with three offers received via the Federal Business Opportunities website. Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Indian Head (Md.) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/01/19) Perry, Fla., is located about 150 miles east of Panama City.

CG rescues stranded boaters

NEW ORLEANS - Coast Guard crewman walks two people from of harm’s way from a grounded vessel in the marshes of Tiger Pass in Venice, La., on February 28. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at 4:20 p.m. Thursday of a grounded vessel with two people aboard. CG Station Venice launched a 24-Foot Special Purpose Craft and boat crew to assist and locate the duo. The boat crew located the vessel in low visibility at 7:57 p.m. by using sound signals. The CG craft was unable to reach the disabled vessel. A boat crew member, while wearing a life jacket and attached to the CG’s small boat with two heaving lines, walked to the vessel and escorted the two people safely back to the CG vessel. The boat crew transported the duo to CGS Venice in stable condition. (Source: Coast Guard 03/01/19)

NEW: La. drops clean-up proposals

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is overhauling the regulatory system it uses to determine the risk of hazardous wastes in soils and clean-up timelines. Environmentalists and lawyers representing landowners who are suing oil and gas companies claim the proposed changes will threaten hard-won standards aimed at protecting human health and the environment. A DEQ spokesman said the Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) regulations, in place since 2003, are overdue for upgrades and those proposed changes will make regulations more in line with recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment studies. A hearing on the RECAP regulations was to have been held today in Baton Rouge. (Source: NOLA.com 02/28/19) UPDATE: 03/10/19 - Proposed changes in the regulatory system used by the state Department of Environmental Quality to determine the risk of hazardous wastes in soils and when and how they should be cleaned up were withdrawn March 8. State officials indicated they needed more time to explain the changes to the public.