Contract: Northrop, $18.6M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded an $18,604,845 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise options for the accomplishment of follow yard class services for the DDG 51 class AEGIS Destroyer Program and will provide expert design, planning and material support services for both DDG 51 ship construction and modernization. Work will be performed in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by August 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/10/09)

Coastal resource center ceremony slated

A grand opening ceremony will be held Monday in Jackson County, Miss., for the new $9 million, 20,000-square-foot Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center. It serves as headquarters for the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in the Pecan community of southeast Jackson County. The building includes a public interpretative area, office space, laboratories, classrooms and a dormitory and will be shared by the reserve and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The dedication coincides with the 10th anniversary of the reserve, which includes more than 18,000 acres of estuarine and upland habitat for purposes of scientific research and observation, education and stewardship. (Source: Mississippi Press, 12/05/09)

Cost looms too large in LCS competition?

Three members of the Alabama congressional delegation said in a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus that the service is putting price ahead of quality and performance in preparing a winner-take-all showdown to buy up to 10 littoral combat ships. A draft bid request released last month is structured “to buy the cheapest ship without consideration of any other factor,” wrote Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Jeff Sessions, and Rep. Jo Bonner. The Navy is dramatically changing its approach to procuring the littoral combat ships. Instead of continuing with two hull designs, one built by General Dynamics and the other by Lockheed Martin, the Navy will choose a single structure. Austal USA, in Mobile, Ala., is part of the General Dynamics team. (Sources: Mobile Press-Register, Aviation Week, 12/04/09).

MSU picks research VP

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A veteran Mississippi State faculty member and research scientist has been chosen as vice president for research and economic development at MSU. David R. Shaw assumes his new duties Jan. 1, pending approval by the board of trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning. He succeeds Kirk Schulz, who left MSU to become president of Kansas State University. Shaw played a key role in the creation of several cross-disciplinary research centers that focus on the applications of remote sensing technology to resource management. Most recently, Shaw spearheaded formation of the NOAA-funded Northern Gulf Institute, a collaborative effort with Louisiana State and Florida State universities, University of Southern Mississippi, and the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory in Alabama. NGI's program office is at Stennis Space Center. It focuses its research efforts on ecosystem management, coastal hazards and mitigation, and climate assessment and modeling. (Source: Starkville Daily News, 12/02/09)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $170.7M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a letter contract with a not-to-exceed amount of $170,700,000 for long lead time material in support of construction of DDG 113 under the DDG 51 Class destroyer program. This contract provides propulsion gas turbines, generators, controllable pitch propeller and other components to support construction of DDG 113. Work is anticipated to be performed in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana., Mississippi, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Work is expected to be completed by January 2013. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/02/09)

Workers OK contract extension

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Union members voted to accept an offer by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding to extend their work contract by two years. The vote was about 2,300 for an 275 against, according to the Sun Herald. The extension provides for a $1,000 bonus, a maximum 55-cent raise in January and another in early 2011. Workers keep the same health care coverage costs they negotiated in 2007. The contract will now run until March 2012. (Source: Sun Herald, 12/01/09)

Unions vote today on contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Members of unions at the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Ingalls yard will begin voting today on extending the contract. Union leadership endorsed the move, saying it benefits both the workers and the company. If ratified, the contract will not end until March 2012 and will include two raises of 55 cents each for journeymen, less for other workers, and a $1,000 bonus in mid-December that would take the place of a cost-of-living raise set for early next year. (Source: Sun Herald, 12/01/09)

New artificial reef in place

The 176-foot-long Great Wicomico is now an artificial reef about 13 miles south of Mississippi's Horn Island in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship entered service in 1945 and became part of the Omega Protein fishing fleet in 1960. Omega Protein, which operates a pogy fishing fleet out of Moss Point, Miss., donated the ship for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Artificial Reef Bureau. Artificial reefs create habitats for sea life. Mississippi's artificial reef program began in 1999. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/25/09)

Dewey arrives in San Diego

SAN DIEGO - The Navy’s newest destroyer has arrived at its new homeport of San Diego. Dewey conducted training and readiness drills on its way from the Northrop Grumman Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The ship also made a port visit to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where crew members did community service projects. Dewey is the 55th ship in the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers. Dewey’s commissioning is scheduled for March 6 at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station. (Source: Navy Times, 11/24/09)

Two die in shipyard blast

MOSS POINT, Miss. – Two people died and four were injured late Friday after an apparent flash fire in a tank on a 120-foot tugboat at VT Halter Marine in Moss Point. A crew was cleaning the tank and getting it ready to paint when there was an explosion. The cause is not yet known. The company has 200 workers at its Escatawpa site. VT Halter Marine builds small naval ships, research ships, tug-barge combinations and oilfield support vessels. (Sources: Sun Herald, 11/20/09, Mississippi Press, 11/21/09)

Shipbuilder offers contract extension

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman wants to extend the current labor contract with workers by two years, and in doing so, has offered a December bonus, two raises and no increase in health care coverage for workers during the two years. The unions have endorsed the proposal. Workers on each shift are expected to receive handouts explaining the terms when they go to work Monday. Union workers at the Ingalls, Avondale and Gulfport yards will have the Thanksgiving holidays to consider the offer. A vote is planned for Dec. 1. The current three-year contract is set to end in March. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/20/09)

LCS completes acceptance trials

MOBILE, Ala. - The future USS Independence, LCS 2, successfully completed acceptance trials this week. Acceptance trials are the first opportunity to test the ship and its systems. During two days underway, the ship completed demonstrations of the combat systems suite, steering, anchoring and propulsion. The ship achieved a top speed of almost 45 knots during the full power demonstration. The ship is expected to be turned over to the Navy next month, with commissioning Jan. 16 in Mobile, Ala. The ship was built by Austal USA, and is a new breed vessel designed for littoral, or near shore, service. (Source: NNS, 11/19/09)

NMOC gets new commander

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command has a new commander. Rear Adm. Jonathan W. White relieved Rear Adm. David W. Titley in a change-of-command ceremony Friday. Titley, who served as NMOC commander since December 2007, was assigned to be the Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy in April. White was chosen in September as to replace Titley as head of NMOC. White most recently served as chief of staff. He’s been in the Navy for 26 years. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/16/09)

GCRL releases seatrout

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. – The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory released 16,000 tagged hatchery-raised seatrout this week into the wild at two Bay St. Louis locations. The Seatrout Population Enhancement Cooperative program is designed to enhance the seatrout population. The fish released Thursday are among the first to be raised in the new Marine Aquaculture Visitors' Pavilion at GCRL’s Cedar Point site. The laboratory is developing a similar program for red snapper. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/13/09)

LPD-17 class life-cycle awarded

TEWKSBURY, Mass. - Raytheon has been awarded a $197 million Navy contract for life-cycle engineering and support of the LPD 17 class, the Navy's new generation of amphibious warfare ships. As a member of the LPD alliance, Raytheon is the total ship electronics systems integrator for the LPD 17 class as well as the prime contractor for life-cycle engineering and support. Work on the LPD 17 program is performed in San Diego, Calif.; Portsmouth, R.I.; and by Raytheon Technical Services Company, New Orleans, La., and San Diego. (Source: Raytheon, 11/12/09) Gulf Coast note: The LPD-17 class is built by Northrop Grumman at its Gulf Coast shipyards.

Cutter turned over to CG

PASCAGOULA, Miss – The Coast Guard on Friday accepted delivery of the Waesche, the second of the new National Security Cutters built at Northrop Grumman’s Pascagoula shipyard. The ceremony held on the 418-foot Waesche’s flight deck signaled the transfer of ownership of the ship from Northrop Grumman Corp. to the Coast Guard. The Bertholf, the first of eight planned Legend-class cutters, was delivered to the Coast Guard in May 2008 at the Pascagoula shipyard. The third cutter, the Stratton, is about 30 percent complete in the Pascagoula shipyard. (Source: Mississippi Press, 11/07/09)

NOAA slates dedication, commissioning

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - NOAA officials will commission the Pisces, the agency’s newest and most advanced fisheries survey vessel, and dedicate the agency’s new fisheries laboratory Friday. The recently completed NOAA laboratory replaces the facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The ship and laboratory will support fisheries research in the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and Caribbean. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/03/09)

NOAA slates dedication, commissioning

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - NOAA officials will commission the Pisces, the agency’s newest and most advanced fisheries survey vessel on Friday. It will also dedicate the agency’s new fisheries laboratory on the same day. The recently completed NOAA laboratory replaces the facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The ship and laboratory will support fisheries research in the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and Caribbean. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/03/09)

Signal gets $50M contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Signal International will construct components to be used in a drillship reliability upgrade program for Noble Corp., an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The $50 million contract was announced Monday. The work will be performed at shipyards in Pascagoula and Orange, Texas. (Source: Mississippi Press via AP, 11/03/09)

USS New York in NYC

NEW YORK - The Northrop Grumman-built USS New York, LPD 21, arrived in New York Monday to the cheers of well-wishers who lined the waterfront. The ship, built in New Orleans, left its homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Oct. 29 to make the voyage to its namesake for a 10-day long celebration and a commissioning ceremony scheduled Nov. 7. More than seven tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center was used for the ship’s hull. (Source: NNS, 11/02/09)