Virginia-class Submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) Launched
HII announced that Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) was recently launched into the James River at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division.Shipbuilders transferred the submarine from a construction facility to the floating dry dock, where it was later submerged and moved by tugboats to a submarine pier at the shipyard for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“Following the christening of this mighty submarine in May, witnessing Massachusetts launch into the river is a source of immense pride for our shipbuilding team…
Newport News Begins Topside EMALS Testing on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79)
HII announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division (NNS) recently began topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).EMALS, first integrated into USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), replaces the existing steam catapults currently in use on the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.Following successful “no-load” testing on catapults one and two, known as the ‘bow cats,’ the NNS team, alongside the John F. Kennedy crew, has now started “dead-load” testing.
HII Dry Dock Gate to Become Part of Sustainable Fish Reef
HII announced its Newport News Shipbuilding division partnered with the Virginia Marine Resource Commission (VMRC) to donate and sink a former dry dock caisson gate offshore, giving it new life as part of an artificial reef.Caisson gates are used at the harbor end of a dry dock, with pipes inside allowing for water from the James River to enter when NNS needs to flood the dry dock. This particular gate, originally put into service at NNS in 1967, was part of a dry dock no longer in use at the shipyard.NNS crews worked to prepare the caisson gate…
Suggestions for Making America’s Marine Highway Program More Effective
The America’s Marine Highways Program is one of several grant programs administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to promote more effective use of the nation’s navigable waterways. This particular program was established by Congress in 2007 to provide grants for projects that would promote water-borne alternatives to available landside transportation services, especially for freight carried by trucks.Consistent with this specific goal, the program’s statutory authority…
HII Launches Virginia-class Submarine New Jersey
HII announced that Virginia-class submarine New Jersey (SSN 796) was recently launched into the James River at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division.The 7,800-ton submarine, which had been in a floating dry dock since being transferred from a construction facility in March, was submerged and moved by tugboats to the shipyard’s submarine pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“Achieving this construction milestone is a very rewarding event to our shipbuilding team,” said Jason Ward, Newport News’ vice president of Virginia-class submarine construction.
MARAD Awards $12.6 Million in Grants for US Marine Highways
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $12.6 million in grants to nine marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The funding will help address supply chain disruptions, enhance the movement of goods along our navigable waterways, and expand existing waterborne freight services in Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.“These investments through the America’s Marine Highway Program will help us move more goods…
Inland Waterways: A Crucible of Issues
As 2022 appears on the not-so-distant horizon, we asked inland waterways executives to reflect on the major issues impacting their industry. Just how those issues evolve – and whether they present as challenges or opportunities – is, of course, unknown. Answers to some future questions will be relatively straightforward, confidently based on industry knowledge and experience. Other outcomes remain hazier, and next steps could be influenced by forces and players completely removed from the business of barges…
MARAD to Provide $11.8 Million in Marine Highway Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Friday announced the availability of $10,819,000 in grant funding for the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP), which aims to encourage the use of America’s 25,000 miles of navigable waterways."The America’s Marine Highway Program increases the use of environmentally sustainable practices to move freight across our transportation system.” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “These investments…
Newport News Launches US Navy Submarine Montana
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said on Wednesday that the Virginia-class submarine Montana (SSN 794) was launched into the James River at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division in Virginia.The 7,800-ton submarine, which had been in a floating dry dock since being transferred from a construction facility in October, was submerged and moved by tugboats to the shipyard’s submarine pier, for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“For our shipbuilders, launching Montana signifies five years of hard work…
MARAD Awards Marine Highways Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Monday announced more than $7.5 million in grants to nine Marine Highway projects. The funding, provided by MARAD’s America’s Marine Highway Program, will go toward enhancing existing services in Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington“This $7.5 million investment will improve our country’s vital fuel-efficient waterway transportation system, which makes an important contribution to exports and economic growth,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L.
Aircraft Carrier John F. Kennedy Launched
The U.S. Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was launched Monday at Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia.Following the launch, the Ford Class aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), was guided with help from six tugboats down the James River about a mile from Newport News Shipbuilding’s Dry Dock 12, where it has been under construction, to the shipyard’s Pier 3. There, the ship will undergo additional outfitting and begin…
Aircraft Carrier John F. Kennedy Christened
The U.S. Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) was christened Saturday during a ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division.The second aircraft carrier in the Ford Class, John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is also the second aircraft carrier built by Newport News Shipbuilding named for JFK. Like its forerunner CVN 78, Kennedy is a truly electric aircraft carrier, with many of the systems powered by steam on Nimitz-class carriers now powered by electricity.
SHORTSEA SHIPPING: All the Right Moves (Finally)
Marine Highways Gain Traction in the Intermodal Supply Chain.In the United States, landside infrastructure is at a crisis point. Congestion at the big hub ports, exacerbated by imperfect intermodal interfaces with surface transport serving cargo hinterlands is at the heart of the matter. As politicians bicker over a possible infrastructure package, the Highway Trust Fund, funded by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, has continued its downward journey towards further deficits (now $144 billion). And, where countless U.S.
SHORTSEA CRANE OPERATIONS: Lifting a Port to Prosperity
A Liebherr LHM 420 Crane is at the heart of a rapidly expanding shortsea shipping success story. Reliability is the key for a port that’s turned the corner, with nowhere to go but ‘up.’Way back in January of 1996, I moved to Richmond, Virginia from Houston, Texas. Still very much in the maritime business as a cargo surveyor and ship expeditor, the Port of Richmond intrigued me, every time I drove past it on I-95. Eventually, I got a tour of the struggling port, courtesy of then port director and retired USCG Captain Marty Moynihan. Moynihan, an energetic executive, was keen to expand the port’s horizons.Back then, as much as half of the port’s meager business was tobacco shipping to and from Philip Morris, just across the street.
MARAD Awards $6.7m in Marine Highway Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced $6,790,000 in grants to three Marine Highway projects. The funding, provided by MARAD’s Marine Highway Program, will go towards enhancing existing services in Louisiana and Virginia as well as supporting the development of a new project in New York.“These grants will expand the use of our country’s waterways, which are essential to our economic growth and vitality,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
Huntington Ingalls Rolls-out Virginia Class Submarine Delaware
American Fortune 500 shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has launched the recently christened Virginia-class submarine Delaware (SSN 791) into the water for the first time at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division.During a three-day process that began last Wednesday, the 7,800-ton submarine was moved out of a construction facility and into a floating dry dock using a transfer car system. The floating dry dock was submerged, and the submarine was launched into the James River. Once in the water, the boat then was moved to the shipyard’s submarine pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“Successfully…
VT Halter Launches New Ferry for Virginia
Mississippi shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. has launched a new ferry, Powhatam, for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).In November 2016, VT Halter Marine was awarded the contract for the design, construction and delivery of the new 499-passenger/70-vehicle ferry that will replace the current vessel, the Virginia, which was built in 1936. The new ferry Powhatam, measuring 270ft x 65ft x 15ft, is capable of holding up to 70 passenger vehicles, or 14 trucks/buses…
MarAd Awards $4.8 Mln for Marine Highway Projects
Nearly $5 million in grant funding awarded this week will help enhance existing marine highways serving ports in Louisiana, Virginia, New York and Connecticut, and support the development of new container-on-barge services in Kentucky and Rhode Island.On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced $4,872,000 in grants for six projects through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Marine Highway program, works with public and private stakeholders to support the expanded use of navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion…
4 Recovered after Boat Collision near James River Bridge
Good Samaritans rescued four people from the water Saturday morning, after a collision between a recreational boat, with six people aboard, and an oyster barge being pushed by a tug which was headed for an oyster bed near the James River Bridge. The two people went missing after a collision took place between a recreational boat, with six people aboard. First responders from multiple agencies are working together by boat and air to search for the two other people that were aboard the 19-foot center console boat when the incident occurred. The waterway is closed between the James River Bridge and the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel for safety of life.
Suisun Bay Vessel Removal Project Completed
Maritime Administration Executive Director Joel Szabat joined federal, state and local officials and environmental groups to mark the completion of an agreement to remove 57 non-retention vessels from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) by September 30, 2017. The departure of the Cape Borda for recycling reaches the milestone two months ahead of schedule. “Our progress in Suisun Bay is the result of hard work and smart collaboration,” said the Maritime Administration’s Executive Director Joel Szabat. “There is perhaps no greater symbol of the maritime industry’s environmental progress than what has been accomplished here. In 2009, MARAD entered an agreement with local officials and environmental groups to expedite disposal of 57 non-retention SBRF vessels…
Virginia-Class Submarine Indiana Launched
The Virginia-class submarine Indiana (SSN 789) was launched into the James River at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division, the shipbuilder announced. The boat was moved to the shipyard’s submarine pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification. “Launch is a true testament to our shipbuilders’ roughly four years of hard work,” said Matt Needy, Newport News’ vice president of submarines and fleet support. “Over the next several months, we will work closely with the Indiana crew to bring this great ship to life.
Video: US Navy Tests Autonomous Swarmboats
The U.S. Navy is examining new possibilities for autonomy in future naval missions, putting autonomous unmanned vessels to the test in a recent demonstration in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Officials from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), together with partners from industry, academia and other government organizations, leveraged a combination of high-tech software, radar and other sensors to get a “swarm” of rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and other small vessels – “swarmboats” – to collectively perform autonomous patrol missions with only remote human supervision.
US Awards $4.85 Mln for Waterways Projects
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced $4.85 million in grants to six Marine Highway projects along the waterways of 17 states and the District of Columbia. The goal of the Maritime Administration’s Marine Highway Program is to expand the use of U.S. navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion, reduce air emissions and generate other public benefits by increasing the efficiency of the surface transportation system. “These grants will help us take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits of one of America’s most crucial transportation assets – our coastal and inland waterways,” Foxx said. The grants will help expand existing marine highway operations across New York Harbor…