Usa Today News

Austal USA has been investing mightily, more than $600 million to expand its repair and services business for both commercial and military customers; and in the opening of a state-of-the-art steel panel line in Mobile to complement its established aluminum shipbuilding operations. Rusty Murdaugh, President, Austal USA, discusses the rationale behind the investment as Austal USA drives quickly toward a $500m services model.Most of our readers know the Austal USA brand, but can you give a “by the numbers” look at Austal USA today?Austal is about 3…

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd’s $3.5 billion in cash on hand will be enough to bankroll the company for “at least 18 months” without any new revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic that has halted voyages, Chief Executive Frank Del Rio said on Thursday.“That’s enough to cover our cash burn under a zero-revenue environment for at least 18 months, not 12, 18 months,” Del Rio told Reuters in a phone interview.Norwegian’s shares, which have lost almost 80% of their market value this year…

Sea ice extent in both the northern and southern hemisphere was at record low levels for the month of January 2017. Last month set a record for the lowest sea-ice extent for the month, falling below the record set last year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a Colorado-based research outfit. Arctic sea ice this January averaged 5.17 million square miles, the lowest for the month in the 38-year sea ice record. "Greenhouse gases emitted through human activities and the resulting increase in global mean temperatures are the most likely underlying cause of the sea ice decline," the snow and ice data center said. Sea ice extent was also tracking at record low levels for the month of January in the Antarctic, which is currently still in summer.

Recent expansion of the Panama Canal should lower shipping costs, say market observers. Shipping geeks will delight at this engineering marvel that revolutionized global maritime trade. As a major Latin American hub of finance, commerce and transportation, the Panamanian capital is a growing destination for business travellers, says NZ Herald. For anyone looking to duck out of a convention centre for a few hours, fill a gap between meetings or even if you've just got a long layover at the airport, a visit to Panama City's No.1 attraction and its newly expanded locks makes the perfect side excursion. “This new transit route is the tip of the iceberg in making Panama once again the logistic center of the Americas,” the Guardian quoted Jorge Luis Quijano, canal administrator, as saying.

The United States Navy is prepared to intercept Iranian ships in Yemeni waters using the USS Theodore Roosevelt and other ships, reports the AP. According to this report, the Iranian ships are believed to be transporting weapons to the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. There are nine U.S. ships in total in the area. The deployment brings to nine the number of U.S. warships in the area. The Iranian convoy is comprised of nine ships, including two patrol boats, a senior U.S. defense official reportedly told AFP, saying its exact destination was unknown. However, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren denied reports the U.S. warships have orders to intercept the Iranian vessels. Navy officials said Monday that the Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea.

A report in the USA Today says that the U.S. ports are busy deepening harbors and building bigger terminals to draw the bigger ships. Across the USA, public ports and their private sector partners will spend more than $46 billion in port-related improvements through 2016, according to the American Association of Port Authorities. States are seeking to spend billions of dollars to build bigger ports to accommodate the massive ships that will soon be traveling through the canal. The Panama Canal expansion has sparked the competitive imagination of East Coast and Gulf Coast (EC/GC) port authorities, who hope to capture some of the 70% of U.S. imports currently controlled by West Coast (WC) ports.

Multiple sources reported that Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise vessel, has encountered difficulties with its propulsion system, impeding full speed capabilities. The ship is reported to be functional, but sailing at reduced speeds. Because of the propulsion issue, the 1,187-foot vessel and its passengers of the ship’s past two Eastern Caribbean sailings were forced to experience shorter port calls to compensate for longer sailing times. USA Today reported that Royal Caribbean is currently looking into the issue and searching for means to fix it.

Power providers are excellent bellwethers of the market at large, and according to Mikael Lindner, President, Scania USA, there are positive signs on the marine industry horizon. Scania USA today finds itself in an interesting position in the United States. While the parent company is a global powerhouse, with more than 40,000 employees worldwide and an enviable base of technological prowess and business success across many industries, in the U.S. workboat market Scania USA is in some regards still are relatively new but up and coming brand.” According to Mikael Lindner…

The recently announced promotion of Craig Perciavalle to President, Austal USA was a logical one. At Austal since 2007, he moves up after serving as Senior Vice President of Operations. Significantly, he oversaw Austal’s transition from a conventional commercial shipyard to an efficient, modular manufacturer that has improved its metrics and economy of scale with each new hull. Eventually, that could mean commercial, series build contracts – something Austal USA has already proven it can do. In a domestic shipbuilding market that is fraught with worries about sequester, reduced defense spending and other federal budgetary concerns, Perciavalle takes the helm at a time when Austal’s risk must be managed and bets hedged against any eventuality.

Cruise Ship Emergency Kits launched by Get Ready Room in response to the escalation of cruise disasters. According to USA Today, over 10 million Americans every year vacation on a cruise. A cruise ship creates the image of a floating city, but in many ways it's a machine like an airplane or a car. In the past, cruise ship disasters have been caused by icebergs, coral reefs, pirates, storms and fires resulting in over 2350 deaths, over 750 cases of injury or illness, and an additional 4 – 8 days of unplanned time at sea. US-owned Get Ready Room has just announced the release of its latest product, 'The Cruise Ship Emergency Kit' . Company officials said that with the recent cruise ship fire and general lack of on-board emergency provisions, a maritime preparedness kit was long overdue.

The R/V 'Cape Hatteras' is for sale after 31 years service to Duke-University of North Carolina Oceanographic Consortium (DUNCOC). Currently on the market with an asking price of $1.25 million, the ship's future owner will acquire a legendary craft highly respected by the international scientific community. The 135-foot R/V Cape Hatteras is perhaps best known for work in 2010 after the deadly Deepwater Horizon accident jetted oil and natural gas into the Gulf of Mexico. During cleanup efforts…

Austal USA today finds itself plowing into 2013 with the proverbial bone in its teeth, powered by an enviably hefty U.S. government backorder book, possibly the most modern and efficient manufacturing infrastructure in U.S. shipbuilding and the leadership of a new President who, over the past five years, helped to make it all happen. Nevertheless, domestic shipbuilders all know that DoD and DHS belt tightening is a the new reality. Determining the depth of government cuts and positioning accordingly is the tricky part, yet hardly new to companies operating in defense circles. In fact Austal may be as well positioned to ride out the storm as anyone…

Three Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) currently under construction. On November 8, 2011, Austal held a keel-laying ceremony for its second Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), Choctaw County (JHSV 2), one of seven Austal-designed 103-meter U.S. Navy Joint High Speed Vessels under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Captain Henry W. Stevens, III (USN), Strategic and Theater Sealift Program Manager, PMS 385, served as the Authenticator for today’s ceremony. He was assisted by Brandon Mims. Brandon is an “A” Class welder that has been part of the Austal team since June of 2007.

According to an August 30 report from USA Today, a growing Hurricane Earl has already forced a half dozen cruise ships carrying more than 20,000 vacationers to switch course as it barrels toward some of the Caribbean's most popular islands, and more itinerary changes could be coming. Affected cruise vessels include Carnival Victory, Carnival Pride, Carnival Dream, Norwegian Epic, Enchantment of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and the Norwegian Dawn. (Source: USA Today)

According to a USA Today report, five U.S. Patent and Trade Office patent applications, made public on July 9, propose slowing hurricanes by pumping cold, deep-ocean water in their paths from barges. If issued, the patents offer 18 years of legal rights to the idea for Bill Gates and co-inventors, including climate scientist Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. (Source: USA Today)

Agreements concluded with America's Dominion energy company have secured Statoil a fourfold increase in its access to liquefied natural gas capacity in the US market. This will be achieved by expanding the Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland and associated pipeline transportation capacity on the American east coast. "These agreements give us unique market access to the north-eastern USA, where gas demand is high and the market robust and liquid," says Peter Mellbye, executive vice president for Natural Gas in Statoil. The deals give Statoil access to terminal, storage and pipeline transportation totalling about 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year (1.05 billion cubic feet per day).

Agreements concluded with America's Dominion energy company have secured Statoil (OSE: STL, NYSE: STO) a fourfold increase in its access to liquefied natural gas capacity in the US market. This will be achieved by expanding the Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland and associated pipeline transportation capacity on the American east coast. "These agreements give us unique market access to the north-eastern USA, where gas demand is high and the market robust and liquid," says Peter Mellbye, executive vice president for Natural Gas in Statoil. The deals give Statoil access to terminal, storage and pipeline transportation totalling about 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year (1.05 billion cubic feet per day).

Former chairman and founder of Containership Agency, Inc., Rolf D. Hartmann, died on Sunday, March 17, 2002, at his home in Manesota Key, Fla. He was 68 years old. Originally from Bremen, Germany, Hartmann descends from long line of family ship owners and operators. His father was founder and director of F.W. Hartmann & Co., Inc., which provided steamship agency and related services, and his grandfather was Managing Director of Hansa Line of Germany. Rolf Hartmann graduated from Phillips Exeter and Harvard University. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard as a commissioned officer, he spent his entire career in the U.S. shipping industry. Founder of Containership Agency, Inc., an agent for foreign steamship companies, he served as its president and CEO beginning in 1971.

The one constant about the management of offshore vessel operating companies is the domination of family members of the founder. Except for the largest of these companies, Tidewater, Inc., that is a public NYSE-listed firm, most of the companies in this category, large and small, are run by the descendents of the founder. Many of these companies still bear the founder's name and most of the vessels are named after family members. In 1948, Abdon Callais converted a shrimp trawler into an offshore service vessel and that began a company that is in its third generation of providing transportation of fluids and cargo to offshore oil and gas rigs. Abdon's sons Harold and Ronald became involved with offshore oil buisness.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), chairwoman of a Senate Coast Guard subcommittee, is among several officials that are pushing to speed up a 20- to 25-year, multibillion-dollar program to replace the Coast Guard's "deepwater" fleet, the 88 large ships and 186 aircraft capable of operating many miles offshore. This is particularly important now that homeland security has been added to the Coast Guard's responsibilities. But some of the Coast Guard's ships are more than 50 years old, well beyond the recommended age for replacement. The Bush administration wants to increase the amount of time it will take to replace the fleet to 25 years, presumably as a cost-cutting measure. But Senator Snow wants to replace the deepwater fleet over 10 to 15 years.

Reports indicate that at least a dozen ships originally scheduled to sail in the Western Caribbean have switched course and are heading eastward to avoid Hurricane Dean. The storm has been making a B-line for the most popular Western Caribbean ports. It was reported that it brushed past Jamaica. Now it's heading for the Grand Caymans and Cozumel, two more major stopovers. Cruise lines have canceled most calls on the islands for the rest of the week. The line most affected is Carnival, which has made changes to the itineraries of a dozen ships carrying more than 20,000 vacationers: the Destiny, Miracle, Triumph, Holiday, Imagination, Inspiration, Legend, Valor, Conquest, Fantasy, Fascination and Ecstasy.

Burger Boat's President David Ross announced the formation of a strategic alliance between Burger Boat Company and SAFE (Strategically Armored and Fortified Environments). SAFE is an authority on effective high-end residential and superyacht security. "For over 35 years SAFE has designed control systems and security solutions for Governments, businesses and notable individuals worldwide. SAFE's flawless record is unsurpassed and a testament to the effectiveness of its designs." Corbi's designs and concepts have been featured on more than twenty publications and shows in the U.S., including The Today Show, World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC, NBC, CNN, Extra, Eye on L.A., PBS and USA Today, along with coverage on five continents worldwide.

Senators who want to open new areas of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas production heralded came to a compromise. The agreement was supported by a key Florida senator, Republican Mel Martinez, who previously had vowed to block anything he perceived as a threat to the state's multimillion-dollar beach-related tourism industry. The deal, promoted by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and several Gulf Coast lawmakers, would open an 8 million-acre segment of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to production while barring drilling within 125 miles of the Florida coastline. Drilling proponents say the new area that would be open to production contains more than 1 billion barrels of oil and more than 5 million cubic feet of natural gas.