CHOUEST SEES NO RECESSION

Edison Chouest is investing $150 million or more in a third offshore supply base at Port Fourchon.  Read the story in Houma Today here.  December 29, 2008.

US SHIPPING ITB ARRESTED

Further indication that the end is near for US Shipping is provided by yesterday's arrest in Corpus Christi of their "ITB  New York".   Read the story here.  December 25, 2008.

WORDS OF WISDOM

That wise old guru of the maritime industry, Martin Stopford, hit the proverbial nail right on its bean last week, when he said "This is the 22nd shipping recession since 1741 and somewhere out there is the 23rd boom."  Every industry experiences business cycles: it is the maritime industry's special burden that ours are so exaggerated.  December 24, 2008.

CVN 77 TOWED TO NORFOLK FOR PREMATURE COMMISSIONING

The incomplete carrier had to be towed from the shipyard in Newport News to Norfolk Naval Station yesterday, so that it can be commissioned there on January 10.  Read the Virginian-Pilot's story and see a video clip here.  How embarrassing for the Navy and everyone involved with her construction.  Maybe they should have arranged for the commissioning to be held in the shipyard, so that nobody would realize that the new ship can't swim.  December 24, 2008.

RECESSION KNOCKS OUT THE RIVERBARGE

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that RiverBarge Excursions is giving up.  Read the story here.  December 23, 2008.

SSN CONTRACTS AWARDED

The Navy has awarded a fixed-price-incentive contract to General Dynamics for the eight Block III "Virginia"-class SSNs, (SSNs 784 through 791).  The contract value is $14.0 billion, with the work to be shared with Newport News and completed by February 2020.  Read the DefenseLink announcement here.  This is in addition to the $1.9 billion already committed to the first of the eight and the balance of the appropriation that gets spent elsewhere: the total cost per boat is just about $2.8 billion.  Since nobody could possibly imagine that we actually need these boats in today's world, as opposed to a larger army or re-equipping the National Guard, to name but two priorities, does this constitute a bail-out for Electric Boat?  December 22, 2008.

CENAC REACTIVATING BERGERON SHIPYARD

According to the Demopolis Times, Cenac Towing Company, (CTCO), is in the process of reactivating the old Bergeron Industries barge yard in Demopolis AL, with a view to using it to build tank barges.  Read the article here.  I don't believe it.  No one could be that dumb.  Not that this wasn't a good yard: designed by Frank Rack, it was fine, but it was built in 1982, just in time for the last market collapse.  Will we never learn?  December 19, 2008.

LAHOOD FOR TRANSPORTATION

I like Ray LaHood.  Sensible guy (for a Republican).  Let's hope he can surround himself with really knowledgeable, capable, modal administrators, people who can work as a team, each on an equal footing, and not as competitors.  Graykowski  for MARAD!  December 18, 2008.

NGSB CONFIRMS THAT CVN 77 IS INCOMPLETE

The President of NGSB has confirmed our report - below - that the USS "George H. W. Bush", (CVN 77), which will be commissioned on January 10, is far from being complete, still at least a month away from being ready for Builders Trials.  Read the story in the Daily Press here.  This means that she's really two to three months away from delivery and, in a real world, three to four months away from being ready for commissioning.  But politics are politics: ready or not, she's going to be commissioned on January 10th.  December 18, 2008.

FIRST NASSCO TANKER FOR USS COMPLETES TRIALS

The "Golden State" completed trials this week and will be delivered in January.  December 17, 2008.

WHO EXACTLY IS BUILDING THE NSCs?

Click here to read the latest from the Coast Guard's Acquisition Directorate.  I love the way it's written.  All the way through, it sounds as though the Coast Guard itself were building the third NSC.  NGSB Pascagoula is only mentioned as the location of the USCG's Project Office.  For example:

The Coast Guard used 29 grand blocks, which are multiple units stacked together in large assembly halls away from the waterfront, to assemble Bertholf but expects to use only 14 grand blocks to assemble Stratton.  “Using 14 grand blocks instead of 29 will potentially reduce construction hours and make it more efficient to build out the units on the Stratton,” Schofield explained.  As Haycock put it, the reduction in the number of grand blocks “will allow us to put more modules together under one roof, in controlled circumstances and protected from the weather.”

Both the guys quoted here, Schofield and Haycock, are USCG officers, no doubt with decades of experience in modern shipbuilding methods.

Note also that there's not much discussion of the changes being made to the NSC's structural design.  When are we going to learn more about these changes and how is the Coast Guard planning to retrofit them on NSCs 1 and 2?  December 16, 2008.

LHD 8'S BUILDERS' TRIALS GO WELL

LHD 8 just returned from a week at sea and sources say that she performed well, despite horrible weather, with periods of 20-foot waves.  Both the propulsion system and the electrical distribution system broke down during one period of heavy weather but were quickly fixed and the ship achieved her designed top speed, even though fully ballasted down.  It's always nice to hear some good news about an Ingalls-built ship: there are still a lot of good shipbuilders there.  December 13, 2008.

NASSCO GETS 2+2 T-AKEs

The Navy has exercised the last two options on NASSCO's T-AKE contract and added two more.  The contract price for T-AKEs 11 and 12 is $940 million, with deliveries in February 2012 and January 2013.  Read the DefenseLink announcement here.  December 13, 2008.

SSN 779 CHRISTENED

The sixth of the "Virginia" class of attack submarines, the USS "New Mexico", (SSN 779), was christened this morning at Newport News Shipbuilding.  December 13, 2008.

CVN 77 TO BE COMMISSIONED INCOMPLETE

Sometimes one gets the impression that the Navy has gone totally insane.  Apparently CVN 77, the future USS "George H. W. Bush", is to be commissioned on January 10.  Excuse me, but this ship has not been delivered yet.  She hasn't even been on trials yet.  And they are going to commission her on January 10?  Oh, yes, of course, silly me, they want to do it while George the Incompetent is still Prez.  Responsible procurement procedures be damned.  By contrast, LHD 8, the future USS "Makin Island", is on Builders' Trials this week, with Acceptance Trials scheduled in February 2009, delivery in May 2009 and commissioning in October 2009.  Hey, Secretary Young, do you approve of this acceleration of regular procurement procedure for CVN 77?  December 6, 2008.

TOUGHER DOD ACQUISITION PROCEDURES

Defense News reports that Under Secretary John Young has approved new acquisition procedures designed to tighten things up a bit.  Read the story here.  Sounds good to me.  December 6, 2008.

NEW CONTAINER BARGE SERVICE

It's not exactly what many of us think of as short-sea shipping, but it all helps.  The quaintly named "64 Express" service, designed to relieve congestion on I-64, between Norfolk VA and Richmond VA, started this week, with a single 45-teu barge.  See their web site here.   December 6, 2008.

NAVY NAMES NEXT FOUR T-AKEs

The Navy has announced the names of T-AKEs 9 through 12.  Read the DefenseLink announcement here.  December 6, 2008.

WSF GOES WITH ONE FERRY AT TODD

Washington State Ferries has awarded a contract to Todd Shipyards for the design and construction of one 64-car ferry.  Read Todd's announcement here.  Read the Seattle Times' report here.  The contract value is $65.5 million, with delivery officially in "spring/summer of 2010".  In reality, delivery will probably be in the summer of 2011 and Todd's price includes the cost of the liquidated damages.  December 6, 2008.