Uss Iowa

USS IOWA Prepares for Final Transit

USS IOWA Takes on Iowa Coins, Regains its Mast, Prepares for its Final Journey; The Battleship of Presidents will open as an interactive naval museum in Los Angeles.   The time-honored tradition of adding coins to the mast of a ship for good luck took place as two Iowans stood atop a 205-foot-tall platform and dropped Iowa state quarters into the mast of the USS IOWA as it hung from a barge crane. Former Iowa legislator Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny and Becky Beach of Des Moines released a handful of coins into the mast shortly before eight welders reattached it to the historic battleship. Lamberti and Beach have played key roles in the effort to save the USS IOWA and transform the historic ship into an interactive naval museum.   The mast, which is 50 feet tall and weighs 52,000 pounds, had to be reattached because the Navy had removed it more than 10 years ago so the ship would fit under bridges along its tow route. The Pacific Battleship Center, the nonprofit group bringing the USS IOWA back to life, has been refurbishing the ship to prepare for its move to the Port of Los Angeles Berth 87. This process includes the re-stepping of the original mast, a time-honored ritual in the maritime world that is thought to have originated in ancient Rome.   One theory is that the Romans placed coins under the mast so the crew would have the funds needed to pay to cross the River Styx to the afterlife if the ship were sunk

This Day in Naval History - May 25

From Navy News Service 1952 - USS Iowa (BB 61) bombards Chongjin, Korea. 1973 - Launch of Skylab 2 mission, which was first U.S. manned orbiting space station. It had an all Navy crew of Capt. Charles Conrad Jr. (commanding), Cmdr. Joseph P. Kerwin, and Cmdr. Paul J. Weitz.

Cold Spell Halts Mississippi River Barge Traffic

Barge traffic on the upper and mid-Mississippi River was slowing this week as a cold snap in the U.S. Midwest created ice on the Mississippi at Guttenberg, Iowa, and northward, shipping officials said on Wednesday. "It's very likely the last tow to move through Lock and Dam Number 10 near Guttenberg will be Thursday because of a build-up of ice," said a U.S. Army Corps official. A tow consisting of six barges was moving south from Clayton, Iowa

Managerial Appointments at MOL (America)

MOL (America) Inc. announced the appointment of Mr. Thomas Smart to the position of Midwest Regional Import Sales Manager, and the promotion of Mr. Larry Flading to the position of Midwest Regional Export Sales Manager. Mr. Smart assumes his new position having served as MOL (America) Inc.’s Midwest Regional Export Sales Manager since joining MOL in September 2002. Mr. Smart, who brings two decades of industry knowledge and experience to his new position

Navy Names Five New Ships

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next five Navy ships; three Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers, the USS John Finn, the USS Ralph Johnson, and the USS Rafael Peralta, and two littoral combat ships (LCS), the USS Sioux City and the USS Omaha. Mabus named the three destroyers after Navy and Marine Corps heroes whose actions occurred during different conflicts which spanned several decades, but were united in their uncommon valor

Battleship on Voyage to New Home

Transferred to ownership of the Pacific Battleship Center, historic battleshilp USS Iowa sails for preservation in new homeport Following years of aging in the San Francisco Bay area’s ghost fleet, the 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill, Stalin and Chiang Kai Shek is coming to life once again as it is being prepared for what is most likely its final voyage.

Deere Power Systems Inducts Distributors

Deere Power Systems Group, the engine and drive components division of Deere & Company, inducted four distributors into is prestigious 1998 John Deere Engine Distributor Manager's Club. Annually, the company inducts one distributor from each of its three U.S. divisions and Canada. The Manager's Club inductees are Diesel-Bec, Inc., from Boisbrand, Que.; Bell Power Systems, in Essex, Conn.; Superior Diesel, in Rhinelander, Wis.; and Northstar Power, in Ankeny, Iowa.

Navy Scores a Hit on Non-Functioning Satellite

As a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) launches from the U.S. Navy AEGIS cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70), successfully impacting a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean, as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph. President George W. Bush decided to bring down the satellite because of the likelihood that the satellite could release hydrazine fuel upon impact

New Navy Contracts

Austal USA, Mobile Ala., was awarded a $99,557,548 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-2217) on Jun. 17, 2009, for long lead time material (LLTM) for Ships 2 and 3 of the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) Program.  This contract provides LLTM for main propulsion engines, aluminum, waterjets, reduction gears, generators, and other components to support construction of JHSV Ships 2 and 3, commencing in June 2010

Food Aid Creates Revenue for Maritime & Other Industries

The United States' principal international food aid program, Food for Peace, helped create and sustain 866 jobs which resulted in $37m in earnings in the state of Louisiana in 2009. By delivering food aid to foreign countries, the maritime industry employs 11,500 in deep sea freight transportation and sustains more than 97,000 jobs in other parts of the U.S. economy, in occupations dealing with the handling, processing and transporting of commodities from farmers to U.S