COMMERCIAL SHIP REPAIR

NORSHIPCO to Purchase Dry Dock

United Defense Industries announced that NORSHIPCO has signed an agreement to to purchase Metro Machine Corp's 14,000-ton dry dock known as "Old Dominion." The dock, expected to be operational by the end of May, will be relocated to NORSHIPCO and placed in an area previously occupied by a similar size dock, which was retired two years ago. The agreement provides additional opportunities for the exchange of work and dry dock utilization. The acquisition of the dock positions NORSHIPCO as a stronger competitor in the U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command (MSC), and commercial ship repair markets. The added dry dock capacity affords NORSHIPCO the opportunity to pursue additional areas of work, which could lead to more level-loading of the yard's skilled workforce. NORSHIPCO's workers specialize in the repair and modernization of Naval vessels and various cruise and commercial cargo fleets. The addition of Old Dominion to NORSHIPCO's existing dry docking capabilities, including the 950-ft. TITAN dock, with displacement capacity of 52,000 tons, also allows the company to service nearly all of the U.S. Navy's non-nuclear ships and a significant number of the world's commercially operated vessels.

Camacho Returns to His Roots

December 7, 1941, "A day that will live in infamy," is undoubtedly a defining moment in U.S. history. The day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor is again in the public eye with the recent release of Touchstone Pictures' epic Pearl Harbor this past Memorial Day weekend. While the movie provides an interpreted portrayal of those events, no rendition could possibly compare it to a first-hand account. Having lived through the attack as an eight-year-old boy, Retired Admiral Dick Camacho

NNS Earnings Per Share Up 26%

Newport News Shipbuilding reported net earnings of $20 million, or $.58 per diluted share for the third quarter of 1999. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the quarter were $47 million, up nine percent from EBIT of $43 million in the same period last year. "This was another excellent quarter for Newport News. We were able to deliver solid earnings gains, exceed our cash flow target and negotiate a new five-year labor agreement," said William P. Fricks, chairman and CEO

Repair Job Underway at Victoria Shipyard

The Times Colonist reported that repairs started at Victoria Shipyards on a platform used to propel commercial satellites into orbit. The Odyssey Launch Platform is undergoing repairs after a failed mission damaged the vessel in January after 20 consecutive successful launches. The platform, which is 436.6 ft. long or almost one and a half football fields in length, is owned by Sea Launch, an international partnership of four American, Russian, Ukrainian and Norwegian businesses

Grumman Awarded $102M for Sub Modernization

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract option valued at $102.7m from the U.S. Navy for work on Los Angeles-class, Seawolf-class, Virginia-class and Ohio-class submarines, special mission submersible interfaces, submarine support facilities and related programs. The company's Shipbuilding sector in Newport News, Va. is the prime contractor and will provide engineering, design, configuration management, integrated logistic support

G&C: New Agreement with BAE Systems Ship Repair

  Gibbs & Cox won a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with BAE Systems Ship Repair. The new PSA will allow any of the BAE Systems shipyards to contract directly with Gibbs & Cox for engineering services in support of their repair, fabrication and new construction work. BAE Systems Ship Repair is a leading provider of non-nuclear ship repair, modernization, conversion, overhaul, fabrication and new construction for commercial and government customers

Northrop Grumman $25M for Submarine Maintenance

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a fixed price contract valued at $25m from the U.S. Navy for the preparation and completion of a dry dock continuous maintenance availability of USS Albany (SSN 753).   The company's Shipbuilding sector in Newport News is the prime contractor and will provide advance planning, design, engineering, procurement, ship-checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard work as well as all necessary alterations, repairs, maintenance

Rolls-Royce, Great Lakes Shipyard Sign Services Agreement

Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine Inc. has teamed up with Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, Cleveland, OH to create a state-of-the-art marine service center to improve and grow their respective vessel repair and overhaul businesses in the Great Lakes Region. The long-term agreement, effective June 1, 2011 is the latest stage in the development of a global Marine Service Center network, which brings the expertise of Rolls-Royce engineers to customers around the

Susan Mortgu Joins ZF Marine

ZF Marine welcomes Susan Mortgu as the newest addition to its team. Mortgu is the new account manager for the Northeast US and Atlantic Canada. She will be reporting to David Santos, Commercial Craft Segment Manager. A graduate of Kings Point (USMMA) and additional studies at University of Delaware’s school of Marine Policy, Mortgu comes to ZF Marine LLC with a wealth of experience in the industry.  She is a certified project manager with over 10 years experience in shipyard

Five Minutes with Bill Clifford, President, BAE Systems Ship Repair

We recently spent some time with Bill Clifford, President, BAE Systems Ship Repair, to discuss his views How did you come to your current position? Clifford    I currently serve as the president of BAE Systems Ship Repair and have been in this position since 2008. In this role, I lead our six full service shipyards and our 5,000 highly skilled employees. Prior to assuming my current role, I was the vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair