Keel Laying

NASSCO Lays Keel of Sixth T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics held a keel-laying ceremony for the sixth ship in the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program. The Navy announced yesterday (May 29) that the ship will be named USNS Amelia Earhart, in honor of the first woman to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A keel-laying ceremony is a shipbuilding tradition that signifies an important milestone as full-scale production begins. In recognition of that milestone, event honoree, Darlene Costello, welded her initials into the keel. Costello is the deputy director for Naval Warfare in the office of under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. The Amelia Earhart is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) in the fall of 2008. The ship will be 689-feet long and displace about 41,000 metric tons when fully loaded. Amelia Earhart's primary mission will be to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea.

This Day in Naval History – Feb. 4

1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard 1959 - Keel laying of USS Enterprise, first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, Newport News, VA (Source: Navy News Service)

Austal Marks Start LCS Construction

The AP has reported that Austal USA marked the start of a warship project with a keel-laying ceremony at its Mobile shipyard. A massive aluminum keel — the spine on which the ship will be built — was already in place when guests including government officials and most of Austal's 430 employees arrived. Austal is the shipbuilder for a team led by Maine-based Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp., which in October won the $223 million contract to build a version of the

VT Halter Celebrates Keel Laying

VT Halter Marine Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems Inc., held a keel laying ceremony today for the double-ended ferry that it is building for the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship Authority (SSA). SSA representatives were present for the traditional celebration, which is symbolic of laying down the foundation - the backbone and strength of a ship. The keel laying ceremony officially commences the construction of ‘Island Home’ a 254-ft.

Keel-Laying Ceremony Held for Green Bay LPD 20

Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy today commemorated the keel-laying for Green Bay (LPD 20), the fourth of 12 ships being built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. The ceremony took place at the sector's Avondale Operations in New Orleans, La. Former secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig assigned the name Green Bay to honor the nation's Midwest "city by the bay." Danzig stated in 2000 that, "Green Bay is well known for its commitment to

This Day in U.S. Naval History – February 4

1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard 1959 - Keel laying of USS Enterprise, first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, Newport News, VA (Source: Navy News Service)  

Albwardy Awarded Tug Contract

Nakilat-SvitzerWijsmuller (the joint venture company set-up by SvitzerWijsmuller and Qatar Gas Transport Company - Nakilat), has awarded UAE's Albwardy Marine Engineering a contract to build five tugboats. A keel-laying ceremony for the building of the five boats was held at the Dubai Ship Dockyard in Al Jaddaf. Source: AMEinfo

This Day in Naval History - Sept. 26

From the Navy News Service 1781 - French fleet defeats British at Yorktown, Va. 1910 - First recorded reference to provision for aviation in Navy Department organization. 1918 - USS Tampa lost with 118. 1931 - Keel laying at Newport News, Va., of USS Ranger (CV 4), first ship designed and constructed as an aircraft carrier. 1963 - First steam-eject launch of Polaris missile at sea off Cape Canaveral, Fla., (now Cape Kennedy) from USS Observation Island (EAG 154)

Grandweld, New Shipbuilding Contracts

According to a June 23 report from Seatrade, Grandweld recently held keel laying ceremonies for two 118 ft utility vessels and one 134.5 ft crewboat for repeat customer Humaid Badir Marine Shipping Est., a UAE based fleet operator. The three vessel order is said to signal a strong 2009/10 order book for the Dubai based shipbuilding, ship repair and conversion yard, part of GMMOS Group. (Source: Seatrade)

LNG-powered Cruise Ferry Keel Laid

Keel-laying at STX Finland Yard for Viking Lines New 'Viking Grace'  The RoRo cruise ferry M/S Viking Grace vaunted to be the most environmentally friendly large cruise ferry ever, will be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG),  and incorporates a host of environmentally friendly features in the design. Delivery is scheduled for early next year.