Shipbuilding News, February 2016

Bullish on subs, Electric Boat to hire 4,000 workers

General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) expects to hire nearly 4,000 people in the coming years as it ramps up production of new Navy submarines.

The shipyard is projecting a positive outlook for 2016 for revenue and employment, saying 1,800 more workers will be hired at its facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island this year.

Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp., employs 14,100 people, mainly in Connecticut. By 2030, EB is projecting that number will grow to 18,000.

Right now, the company has a backlog of 16 Virginia-class attack submarines under contract — worth $21 billion. It expects that the U.S. Navy will order more of them, and then hire EB to build replacements for Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines.

EB builds nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines in partnership with Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Two other contracts are in the engineering and design phase and are important for the long-term prospects of Electric Boat, keeping the company busy into 2033.

Detyens wins $11.5 million contract to overhaul MSC replenishment oiler

Detyens Shipyards of Charleston, S.C., is being awarded an $11,455,931 firm-fixed-price contract for 71-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry-docking of USNS Laramie (T-AO 203).  

Work will include general services; cleaning and de-gassing tanks; ballast tank blasting and painting; cargo tank blasting and painting; main mast preservation; expansion joint structural steel replacement; port and starboard main engine 72,000-hour overhaul; starboard main engine coupling replacement; lifeboat hook replacement; dry-docking; underwater hull blasting and painting; propeller maintenance and repair; and underway replenishment blocks and sheaves.  

The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $11,672,328.  Work will be performed in Charleston and is expected to be completed by May 31.  

Fiscal 2016 operations and maintenance contract funds in the amount of $11,455,931 are being obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The Navy's Military Sealift Command, based at Norfolk, Va., is the contracting agency.

BAE San Diego awarded $25.5 million Navy contract

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair in San Diego has been awarded a $25,589,923 modification to the previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee/incentive-fee contract (N00024-10-C-4407) for USS Anchorage (LPD-23). 

The contract includes the planning and execution of maintenance, alterations and modifications that will update and improve the ship's military and technical capabilities.  

The work will be performed in San Diego and should be completed by October 2016. The Navy’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in San Diego is the contracting agency.

Boston Ship Repair awarded a $12.5 million Navy contract

Boston Ship Repair LLC, of Boston, is being awarded a $12,505,219 firm-fixed-price contract for 58-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry-docking of USNS Grumman (T-AO 195).

The work will include general services for the ship; cleaning and de-gassing tanks and cofferdams; cargo tanks preservation; potable water tanks preservation; tank deck overhead preservation; non-skid preservation; port main engine 12,000-hour overhaul; cargo system wire replacement; cargo console system installation and mechanical support; No. 4 ship service diesel generator 50,000-hour overhaul; aqueous foam-forming film piping; No. 3 and 4 ship service diesel generator turbocharger overhauls; annual lifeboat davit inspections; underwater hull and freeboard preservation; sea valve overhaul; controllable-pitch propeller system checks and 15-year tail shaft inspection; stern tube seal maintenance; and ultrasonic thickness readings/hull survey.

The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $12,843,198. The work will be performed in Boston and is scheduled to be completed by April 15.

The Navy’s Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, Va, is the contracting agency.

Vane takes delivery of first in a new series of tugs

Vane Brothers Co., of Baltimore, has taken delivery of Elizabeth Anne, the first in a series of eight 4,200-hp tugboats.

All eight Elizabeth Anne-class towing vessels are on order at St. John’s Ship Building in Palatka, Fla., with the second in the series, Hudson, scheduled for delivery from the shipyard this spring.

Designed by Frank Basile of Entech Designs LLC, the Elizabeth Anne-class tugboat is a close cousin to Vane's Basile-designed Patapsco-class tugboats, 15 of which were produced between 2004 and 2009.

Measuring 100 feet long and 34 feet wide with a draft of 15 feet, Elizabeth Anne has two Caterpillar 3516 Tier 3 engines, each generating 2,100 hp at 1,600 rpm coupled to Reintjes marine gears supplied by Karl Senner LLC of Kenner, La.

Two John Deere PowerTech 4045 99-kW generators deliver service power to the boat, while a third John Deere 4045, teamed with an Allison transmission, drives the chain-driven Intercon DD200 towing winch.

Elizabeth Anne features the latest in solid-state Simrad electronics and has handsomely appointed mahogany upper and lower pilothouses, along with spacious accommodations for up to seven crewmembers.

Jensen to design two new Tier 4 escort tugs for McAllister

Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime Corp.'s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering company, is to provide detailed design services including stability, structure and systems design for two 100-foot-long, 40-foot-wide escort tugs for McAllister Towing.

The 12-knot, 6,770-hp tugs will be constructed at Horizon Shipbuilding Inc., in Bayou LaBatre, Ala., and are scheduled for delivery from the shipyard in 2017.

Brian A. McAllister and Rosemary McAllister will be the 31st and 32nd oceangoing escort/rescue tugboats in the McAllister fleet, but will be the first built to meet Tier 4 standards.

The tugs will be powered by 3516E Tier 4 Caterpillar engines with Schottel SRP4000FP z-drive propulsion units producing 6,770 hp and an approximate bollard pull of 90 short tons, making them suitable for offshore service, ship assist, escort, maneuvering and docking.

Both tugs will be load lined and classed by ABS as +A1, Towing, Escort, +AMS and FFV-1.

SAFE Boats delivers 50-knot interceptors to Bahamas police

Aluminum boat manufacturer SAFE Boats International LLC, of Bremerton, Wash., recently delivered two new 41-foot Center Console-Offshore Interceptors to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, adding to the agency's growing fleet of SAFE Boats.

The 41-foot Center Console-Offshore Interceptor vessel's primary mission is counter-narcotics and human trafficking interdiction within the waters of the Bahamas. 

The vessels were delivered late in December and acquired through a joint effort between the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

The design is an integrated offshore mission-specific vessel that can achieve pursuit speeds well in excess of 50 knots in the most extreme rough water conditions.

It features SAFE Boats’ patented hull and collar designs and SHOXS seats, which are known for their shock mitigation capabilities. The ergonomic helm seat design has throttle controls integrated to the seat, allowing the coxswain and the controls to be in full shock mitigation while operating at high speeds.

The boats are outfitted with a Garmin navigation suite, multiple radios and a FLIR M-Series thermal-imaging camera, which integrates into three multifunction display screens conveniently located for the entire crew to view and operate in low light conditions.

The vessels are powered by four Mercury 300-hp Verado engines, which have proven to be extremely efficient and reliable, allowing for a range that exceeds 400 nm.

By Professional Mariner Staff