Maritime News and Comment
July 2007
AUSTRALIAN
LNG PROJECT TO USE US-FLAG SHIPS.
The Maritime Administration has revealed that Woodside
Natural Gas has committed to using two US-flag ships, with US crews, for its
project to bring LNG to the planned Oceanway terminal offshore Los Angeles. Read
the announcement
here.
Is this not counter to the Administration's commitment to free trade? And
what exactly is it that makes US-flag ships with US crews in some magical way
safer than any others?
July
31, 2007.
BARGE
SINKS IN QUINCY.
A tank barge has sunk at its berth in the former
Quincy shipyard, spilling an indeterminate amount of diesel oil. Read the
Coast Guard's announcement
here.
July
31, 2007.
1776
EARMARKS IN DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL.
Will they never learn? There are no fewer than
1776 congressional earmarks in the FY-08 Defense Appropriations bill. Read
the list here.
July
30, 2007.
ENGINE
MISHAP AT NASSCO.
A marine diesel being delivered to NASSCO slid off its
trailer today and damaged some cars and San Diego's infrastructure. It
probably didn't do itself much good, either. Read about it
here.
July
26, 2007.
HOUSE
APPROPRIATIONS BOOSTS SHIPBUILDING BUDGET.
Jack Murtha's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee has
voted out a bill that boosts the shipbuilding account for FY-08 to $17.2
billion, over $3.0 billion more than the Administration had requested. It
would provide funding, in whole or in part, for the first of the new CVNs, an
SSN, two of the new DDGs, the first of the new LHAs, two LPDs, an LCS and no
fewer than four T-AKEs. But will it make it into law? Read the press
release here.
July
25, 2007.
HORNBECK
BUYS SEAMAR FLEET.
Hornbeck Offshore Services has agreed to pay $186
million for the 20-boat SeaMar offshore supply fleet from Nabors Industries.
Read Hornbeck's announcement
here. Presumably this scotches the plan announced by Seacor and Nabors
only last month under which Seacor would take over management of the SeaMar
fleet. Smart work by Hornbeck. July
24, 2007.
GAO
SLAMS NAVAL SHIPBUILDING.
The GAO has published the statement of Paul L.
Francis, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management Team, given to the
Seapower Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee today. Strong
stuff. Read it here. July
24, 2007.
TRANSOCEAN
AND GSF TO MERGE.
Two of the largest offshore drilling contractors,
Transocean and GlobalSantaFe, have agreed to merge. Read Transocean's
announcement
here. The combined fleet numbers 146 rigs. July
23, 2007.
NASSCO
GETS DOWN PAYMENT ON AKE 10.
The Navy has exercised an option on its contract with
NASSCO that gives the yard $100 million for long-lead-time material for the
tenth of the "Lewis and Clark" class of T-AKEs. Read the DefenseLink
announcement
here. July
20, 2007.
NORTHROP
COO GETS LEADERSHIP AWARD!
Northrop Grumman's President and COO, Wes Bush, (no
relation), has been awarded the Leadership Excellence Award by the Stockdale
Center for Ethical Leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy and the Harvard Business
Review. Read the announcement
here. Note the quote from Ron Sugar: "During his 20 years
at the company, he has distinguished himself as an exceptional leader through
the delivery of outstanding results, his development of people, his commitment
to strong core values and his continued pursuit of the highest ethical
standards." Doesn't it make you want to throw up?
Maybe Mr. Bush could show some of that leadership by firing some of his shipyard
managers. July
20, 2007.
DDG
1000 LEAD SHIP TO BE BUILT BY BIW?
Defense News is reporting that discussions are under
way that might lead to a shift of construction of the lead ship of the "Zumwalt"
class of DDGs from NGSS to BIW. Read the article
here.
If this comes to pass, it would not only be a triumph for BIW, which has
historically been the world leader in destroyer construction and built the lead
ship of the current "Burke" class. Since its acquisition by GD, BIW has
reduced the gap in productivity between the two yards and increased the gap in
quality. Yet another major embarrassment for NG, of course: doesn't anyone
ever get fired anymore? July
19, 2007.
$99MM
HANDOUT FOR NGSS.
The Navy has awarded a contract to NGSS that
essentially gives them almost $100 million to repair Katrina damage. Read
the DefenseLink announcement
here. Nice work if you can get it. Note that 61% of the funds
are designated for NGSS' composite manufacturing facility in Gulfport: these
poor misguided folks are still pushing their crappy composite boats. Note
also that only 13% of the funds go to Avondale: another indication that it will
soon be "Goodbye Avondale". (An additional indication is the huge
difference in quality between LPD 19, which was built in Pascagoula, and the
LPDs built at Avondale.) And note further that the remaining 26% of the
funds, which go to the Pascagoula yard, are for a new panel line.
Curiously, this facility has been under construction for over three months and
NGSS told its workers that the equipment for it was on order back in March.
It seems that NGSS was going to build this facility anyway, without any help
from the U.S. taxpayers. So why do we have to pay for it now? Is
that a rip-off or what? July
14, 2007, expanded July 17.
FUEL
OIL TO SINGAPORE?
The tanker "White Sea" grounded in the Ambrose
Channel yesterday and is being lightered. Read the Coast Guard's announcement here.
The Panamax vessel was headed from Bayonne to Singapore with a cargo of fuel
oil. What? Hold it right there. We're exporting fuel oil to
Singapore? OK, OK, I know, it's a bunch of brokers arbitraging the
differences in the price of fuel oil in world markets, but it's still crazy.
The ship was refloated on Sunday: read the Coast Guard's later announcement
here.
July
13, 2007, updated July 16.
FERRIES
COLLIDE IN BOSTON HARBOR.
The ferries "Massachusetts" (built by Gulf Craft in
1988) and "Laura" (built by Steiner in 1990) collided in Boston harbor
yesterday. Read the Coast Guard's two announcements
here and
here.
July
11, 2007.
MORE
BAD PRESS FOR LPD 17 (CONTINUED).
Read the latest from Navy Times
here.
July
11, 2007.
DON'T
SELL YOUR ENERGY INDUSTRY STOCK.
The IEA's latest Oil Market Report confirms that
demand is going to continue to rise faster than supply, at least through 2012.
Of particular concern is the decline in production in non-OPEC nations.
This can only be good news for the shipbuilding industry, the tanker industry,
the offshore drilling industry and the offshore service industry. Buy more
stock now. Read the New York Times' report
here. Buy the full IEA report
here.
July
10, 2007.
OSG
JOINS THE JONES ACT FIGHT.
Another Jones Act lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard
will be filed on Monday, with OSG joining Crowley and the Shipbuilders Council
in disputing the Coast Guard's "Seabulk Trader" ruling. Read the
filing here.
July
7/11, 2007.
NAVY
TO CHARTER TWO USS NEWBUILDS.
The Navy will time-charter two of the series of
product carriers to be built by NASSCO for US Shipping Partners. Read the
DefenseLink announcement
here. The total value of the 59-month charter period (assuming that
all options are exercised) is $220 million, equivalent to a time-charter rate of
about $61,000 per ship per day.
July
7, 2007, corrected July 10.
NEWPORT
NEWS DESIGNING A BETTER SUB.
The R. & D. budget at Newport News Shipbuilding is
being used, appropriately, to develop new submarine technologies.
Fascinating stuff. Read the Virginia Pilot's story
here.
July
7, 2007.
FIVE
MORE FOR EASTERN.
Florida Marine Transporters has reportedly extended
its series of towboats at Eastern Shipbuilding from 25 to 30. Good for
Eastern. Here's one yard that's really pumping out steel.
July
5, 2007.
DEAL
FOR MANITOWOC MARINE FALLS THROUGH.
Sources say that a deal in which Manitowoc Corporation
would sell its Marine Group - Marinette Marine, Bay Shipbuilding and Cleveland
Ship Repair - to J. F. Lehman & Partners has fallen apart. The primary
cause is said to be the uncertain future of Marinette's LCS contract.
July
5, 2007.
THREE
VERY INTERESTING PRODUCT CARRIERS.
AHL Shipping has announced its intention to build
three new 49,000-dwt, shallow-draft, product carriers, for long-term charter to
Shell. Read Shell's announcement
here. No costs, prices or rates mentioned. Deliveries in 2009
and 2010. The interesting thing about this project, which has been in the
works for some time, is that AHL will be its own prime contractor, relieving the
shipbuilder, Atlantic Marine Alabama, of any responsibility beyond building the
hull according to the spec. The roles of the other participants, notably
R. & R. Marine Shipbuilding, of Port Arthur TX, are not spelled out.
Master shipbuilder Al Nierenberg will be in charge of this exercise in virtual
shipbuilding: he's going to have aged ten years by the time it's done.
Shades of the T-5 program and of Ole Skaarup's U.S. Shipbuilding Consortium!
July
4, 2007.
NASSCO
DELIVERS T-AKE 3.
NASSCO delivered the third T-AKE, USNS "Alan Shepard",
last week. Read their announcement
here. Only 74
weeks from keel-laying to delivery, compared to 113 for #1 and 90 for #2: these
guys are getting good.
July
4, 2007.
MORE
BAD PRESS FOR LPD 17.
Yesterday's Virginia Pilot has yet another scathing
report on the LPD 17 fiasco. Read it
here.
Someone please pass this to U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor: he needs to start worrying
about something important.
July
1, 2007.
For links to comment on earlier maritime news, please go to News and Comment
If you have comments or questions, suggestions or complaints, please e-mail me.