Mcdonnell News

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk (WPB 1322) was decommissioned Thursday during a ceremony held at Air Station Port Angeles that was presided over by Capt. Mark McDonnell, 13th Coast Guard District Chief of Response.Cuttyhunk was one of the Coast Guard's 37 remaining 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. The fleet of Island-class cutters is being replaced by 154-foot Sentinel-class cutters built by Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards.Built by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La.

New Zealand Port Nelson said that continued growth in cargo volume has contributed to the port's delivering an operating profit of $30.5 million for the 2018/2019 financial year.This is an increase of $3.4 million compared to the $27.1 million reported in 2018. Net Profit After Tax, including a $2.6 million increase in the valuation of investment property, was $15.3 million.In consideration of the steady growth of the region’s exports through the port and the promising returns on investments, Port Nelson’s Chair, Phil Lough, announced an additional $800,000 dividend payment would be made to shareholders, this is on top of the full-year…

Transportation electrification (TE) is starting to impact California like no other state, maybe unlike any other place in the world. Essentially, and eventually, TE depends on replacing gasoline and diesel engines with renewably generated electric power. This could include just about every car, truck, fork lift, drayage vehicle, train and ship in California. For the freight industry, including the maritime sector, TE presents complex challenges. In recent months, CA has started wrestling with “heavy-duty” freight transportation electrification.

1847 - An Army-Navy force begins the siege of Veracruz, Mexico. Approximately 12,000 U.S. troops land on the beaches, along with their horses, mules, artillery, and supplies. Veracruz surrenders March 29, and the forces make their way to Mexico City. 1862 - In the first battle between ironclads, USS Monitor and CSS Virginia engage in close combat in Hampton Roads, Va. Neither side could claim victory, but it eventually ends the era of wooden ships. 1919 - The first flight from a battleship platform is made by Lt. Cmdr. Edward O. McDonnell in a Sopwith Camel from turret No.

Naval forces and liaisons from India, Japan and United States begin Exercise Malabar 2015, Oct. 16, through air defense collaboration. The featured cooperation consists of aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Carrier Airwing (CVW) 1, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) and Indian frigate INS Shivalik (F 47). Exercise Malabar is an annual event designed to enhance naval cooperation through engagement with India and Japan while demonstrating U.S. Naval presence in the Indo-Asia region. "We launched aircraft from TR to simulate scenarios to exercise the Indian's self-defense," said Lt. Sean McDonnell, Normandy's air defense officer.

A Sao Tome and Principe court won a key victory against illegal fishing by organized syndicates on Monday when it convicted the captain of a vessel and two crew members on a number of charges, an Interpol official said. Globally, illegal fishing cost at least an estimated $23 billion each year, with one in four fish thought to be caught illegally in Africa with its bountiful marine life. Alistair McDonnell, a criminal intelligence officer at Interpol's fisheries unit, told Reuters that the FV Thunder was part of a fleet of six ships identified as some of the ocean's worst poachers. "This is a great result for transnational organized crime (fighting) cooperation because these guys have been doing this for 10 to 15 years," he said. "We are cutting away at the model.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it medevaced an injured cruise ship passenger off the coast of Toms River, N.J. Thursday after watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia received notification from the cruise ship Carnival Splendor of an 84-year-old Canadian female who fell, injured her hip, and was in need of medical attention. A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City arrived on scene, hoisted the woman and transferred her to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. “This case is a great example of how Coast Guard training has a real-world impact,” said Lt.

Huntington Ingalls Industries has announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has officially opened its new Apprentice School, located at 3101 Washington Ave. in downtown Newport News. Apprentices, faculty and staff were joined by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott and Rob Wittman, Virginia Delegate Chris Jones, Newport News Mayor McKinley Price, HII President and CEO Mike Petters, NNS President Matt Mulherin, Armada Hoffler Holding Co. President and CEO Lou Haddad…

Willard Marine, Inc. announced Rolf Engstrom as the most recent addition to their engineering team, joining their ranks as an electrical engineer. Engstrom last worked as a Senior Test Engineer for Fisker Automotive, Inc., while having previously been with McDonnell-Douglas Information Systems Group, Verigone, Inc. (formerly a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard) and Exadigm, Inc., where he established and managed all engineering activities as Senior V.P. of Engineering. willardmarine.com

The Navy set to commission the newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, 'Arlington'. The ship is named for the county of Arlington and honors the first responders and the 184 victims who died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon Sept. 11, 2001. "This ship and her proud name symbolize what is exceptional about the United States," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "For the next several decades, Arlington will take Marines and their equipment wherever they are needed, whether to provide humanitarian assistance or lethal combat capability. Gen. James F.

The federal government cleared the way for Virginia to seek a research lease in its Atlantic coastal areas to help speed up development. The move would allow for greater study of wind, waves and wildlife in a 130-square-mile set aside for wind development. The announcement by U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management was welcomed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, energy companies and proponents of clean energy, reports Associated Press. Bidding is expected later this year by up to 10 energy companies interested in building wind farms in the federally designated leasing area 27 miles off Virginia Beach. The companies include Energy Management Inc.…

Intelsat’s Board of Directors elected Dave McGlade, currently Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2013. Mr. McGlade has served as the Company's Chief Executive Officer for eight years. Mr. McGlade has appointed Stephen Spengler to the position of President and Chief Commercial Officer, effective March 18, 2013, a new role for the Company. Mr. Spengler has been with Intelsat in various executive positions since 2003, most recently serving as Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Strategy. Mr.

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that William R. Bennett, III has joined the Firm as Of Counsel in the International and Maritime Litigation and ADR group. Mr. Bennett is based in the Firm’s New York office. Mr. Bennett joins Blank Rome from Bennett, Giuliano, McDonnell & Perrone LLP where he was a Partner. He has extensive experience litigating and arbitrating all types of marine and shore based disputes throughout the United States involving personal injury, wrongful death…

Blank Rome LLP announce that William R. Bennett, III has joined the Firm as Of Counsel in the International & Maritime Litigation and ADR group. Mr. Bennett joins Blank Rome from Bennett, Giuliano, McDonnell & Perrone LLP where he was a Partner. He has extensive experience litigating and arbitrating all types of marine and shore based disputes throughout the United States involving personal injury, wrongful death, contract disputes, charter party disputes, insurance coverage issues, groundings, collisions, sinkings, strandings, salvage, fire, and cargo disputes.

Fugro Atlantic to undertake a geological and geophysical survey for the Virginia Wind Energy Area for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The survey area covers over 45,000ha in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf and is seen to be a key step forward in developing offshore energy supplies in the region. Fugro Atlantic vice president Tom McNeilan, indicated that the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf has never been developed for energy purposes and there is little record of how installed structures have performed and only basic knowledge of the character of the seafloor and sub-surface is available. Fugro’s successful execution of detailed geotechnical and geophysical investigations for the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound…

Victoria D. Harker joins Huntington Ingalls Industries board of directors. She is currently the chief financial officer for Gannett, an international media and marketing solutions company, having recently joined the company on July 23. She previously served as CFO and president of global business services of the AES Corp., a multinational power company. "We are very pleased to welcome Victoria to the board of HII," said Thomas B. Fargo, chairman of the board. "Her corporate financial background…

Huntington Ingalls Industries announce that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division broke ground on the shipyard's new Apprentice School campus. Apprentice School students, faculty and staff were joined by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, U.S. Reps. Scott Rigell, Bobby Scott and Rob Wittman, Newport News Mayor McKinley Price, HII leadership and other business and community leaders  at the construction site for a ceremonial ground-breaking event. Armada Hoffler, the City of Newport News…

The U.S. lags behind Europe in the development of offshore wind (OSW) projects in part due to the lack of a mandatory national renewable energy standard and other tax incentives. But, the Obama Administration has set its own voluntary goal of producing 80% of the nation’s electricity from clean sources by 2035. And, various federal agencies have worked diligently to promote new sources of energy, including OSW and tidal and wave energy. This year, we anticipate the first new commercial leases for wind off the Atlantic Seaboard (since Cape Wind)…

Conservation groups have sued the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard for authorizing toxic oil dispersants without ensuring that these chemicals would not harm endangered species or their habitats. The groups want the EPA to immediately study the effects of dispersants on endangered and threatened species in all U.S. waters, including threatened and endangered whales, sea turtles, salmon and seabirds in the Pacific and polar bears and walruses in the Arctic. “If chemical dispersants are going to be used after an oil spill, we have to know whether they’ll hurt or kill whales, sea turtles and other wildlife.

Maersk Line will switch to low-sulfur fuel while at berth for all of its containerships calling the Port of Virginia starting in February. This fuel switch program will help improve air quality in the greater Hampton Roads area by significantly reducing emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Maersk Line is the lead shipping line to participate in the fuel switch program sponsored by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ), as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Gamesa Technology Corp., a global wind energy company, and the shipbuilding operations of Northrop Grumman Corp., America's largest shipbuilder, launched the Offshore Wind Technology Center to jointly develop the next generation of offshore wind systems that will be deployed in the United States and around the world. Plans call for the development of North America's first offshore wind turbines by late next year. "Virginia is pleased to be the nexus where two industry leaders will join forces in the name of offshore wind innovation," said Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. "The Commonwealth offers all the attributes needed to provide an optimal location for offshore wind energy production, and to become the East Coast epicenter for the offshore wind supply chain.

Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that the Bay Coast Railroad Car Barge will resume service next week as a result of a partnership between the Commonwealth, area localities, and the Bay Coast Railroad. The barge, which was removed from service last year, provides connecting service between the Virginia’s Eastern Shore and Norfolk/Virginia Beach. Last year, the Bay Coast Railroad suspended service on the barge when it identified $1 million in structural deficiencies critical to the barges safety. In order to restore service, the Commonwealth of Virginia provided a grant through the Shortline Railway Preservation Fund, which included $700,000 in state funds and a $300,000 match provided by Accomack and Northampton counties, as well as Bay Coast Railroad.

Military Sealift Command oceanographic survey ship USNS John McDonnell was delivered to the Navy Inactive Ships Program in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for deactivation Aug. 25. Following the deactivation, MSC retains six Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ships capable of surveying coastal regions and performing full ocean surveys. Construction of a new, more-capable survey ship, T-AGS 66, will start in October. McDonnell's deactivation comes as part of the effort to streamline survey operations. Unlike the Pathfinder class, which is capable of conducting both deep- and shallow-water scans, McDonnell was only equipped with the sensors to conduct shallow-water surveys.