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Bender Shipbuilding News

11 Jun 2014

Defective Marine Engine Leads to US$46-Million Legal Settlement

A week before the start of a scheduled three week jury trial, the law firm of Cunningham Bounds, LLC apprises it obtained a $46,000,000 settlement for its clients, Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company, Inc. and an international ship operator, in a product liability lawsuit filed against Caterpillar, Inc. for an explosion and fire caused by a defective engine onboard the M/V Sherman, a ship that was under construction at the time. In October 2005, Bender Shipbuilding entered into a contract with the ship operator for the construction of a series of state-of-the-art vessels, including the M/V Sherman. The contract price for the M/V Sherman was almost $27 million.

29 May 2014

Streamlined Service for the Offshore Sector

In a business where time is money, Signal Ship Repair’s niche ‘high blocking’ repair methods have significantly reduced repair times and increased shipyard efficiencies. If Signal Ship Repair’s (SSR) primary business can generically be described simply as ship repair and conversion, then it can also be said that its practice of ‘high blocking’ to facilitate faster, and more efficient in-house Z drive repairs is its signature service. Utilizing a simple but highly effective shipyard technique, SSR has taken a routine practice originally used to facilitate naval ship drydockings, and turned it into a signature service that helps offshore clients with drop down thrusters, z-drives, pods and keel coolers get repairs done rapidly.

05 Jan 2012

Signal Announces Executive Promotions

Signal Internationalpromoted Michael R. Cook to Vice President of Contracts and Technical Support, Signal International and Andrew P. Veith to Vice President of Engineering, Signal International. “Our ongoing growth can be attributed to the efforts of a dedicated team of people,” stated Dick Marler, CEO and President. In this new position, Mr. Cook will be responsible for the Company’s award-winning safety program, their quality management program and contracts management, including pre-contract review, negotiation and contract administration. Mr. Cook is an industry veteran with over 32 years of technical and management experience in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry.

08 Jul 2011

MarAd Approves $210.9M in Title XI Loan Guarantees

The Maritime Administration today announced the approval of a $210.9 million Title XI loan guarantee supporting the recent construction of two articulated tug-barge units that are currently in service on Delaware Bay.   Construction of the barge units involved five American shipyards, including Bender Shipbuilding & Repair, Inc., in Mobile, Alabama, and Tampa, Florida; VT Halter Marine; Atlantic Marine; Tampa Ship; and International Ship Repair.  The federal loan guarantee is for OSG Delaware Lightering, LLC, a subsidiary of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.  MARAD’s Title XI program promotes the growth and modernization of America’s merchant marine industry while enabling owners of eligible vessels or eligible shipyards to obtain suitable long-term financing.

30 Jun 2010

Five Minutes with Richard Marler, Chairman, President & CEO, Signal International

Richard Marler

In the June 2010 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News (www.marinelink.com), we had the opportunity to meet with Richard Marler, Chairman, President and CEO of Signal International, on the sidelines of OTC to discuss his company’s rapid growth and promising future. What is the primary focus of Signal International? RM     Our principal focus is offshore drilling rig and ship overhaul, repair, upgrade and conversion. Additionally, we provide services to the general marine and heavy fabrication markets and are moving into shipbuilding. When and why did you start Signal?

03 Jun 2010

Wegener Signal International VP, Strategic Planning

Carl Wegener (Photo courtesy Graphique, Inc.)

Signal International, Inc., an integrated company providing global services to the offshore, marine and naval industries, has named Carl F. Wegener as Vice President of Strategic Planning, and Joe Mayhall as Director of Sales and Marketing for their Signal Ship Repair division. Both will be based at the corporate office in Mobile, Ala. Wegener has over 20 years experience in the marine industry and will oversee the company’s efforts towards future growth and diversification. Before joining Signal…

20 Jan 2010

Signal Acquires Bender Shipbuilding

Signal International Inc. announced the purchase of the Bender Shipbuilding & Repair assets through a bankruptcy auction. Signal was the winning bidder of the Mobile, Ala. shipyard for $31.2m which is contingent upon approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Alabama. “This purchase is consistent with diversifying the company while continuing the focus on our core competency in the overhaul, repair and upgrade of offshore drilling rigs,” said Dick Marler, Signal’s president and chief executive officer. According to  Marler, Signal plans to make an additional investment of about $5m on upgrades and repairs, and  increase employment to 400 to 500 within 18 months.

17 Dec 2009

Roberts Re-Elected NSRP Panel Vice Chair

Photo courtesy ShipConstructor

Patrick Roberts, Director of Operations for ShipConstructor USA, has been re-elected Vice Chairman of the Business Process Technologies Panel for the United States National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP). The upcoming year will be Roberts’ second year in the role of Vice Chairman. The NSRP Business Process Technologies Panel advises the NSRP Executive Control Board on research projects involving technology to improve procedures and practices within the shipbuilding industry.

05 Nov 2009

Bender Secures Loan, Sells Assets

According to a Nov. 4 report from www.al.com, attorneys for Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. reached an agreement Tuesday with creditors that will allow the bankrupt Mobile, Ala. company to borrow up to $6m while it tries to sell assets. (Source: www.al.com)

04 Nov 2009

Byrd Appointed SVP Operations, Grand Bahama

Reuben Byrd, a 28 year maritime industry veteran has been appointed Senior Vice President Operations of the Grand Bahama Shipyard Ltd., effective September 14, 2009. Byrd joined the team at the yard in time for the start of this year’s cruise season. In his capacity as SVP Operations, Byrd will report to the Chairman and CEO, Calle Rotkirch, oversee the day to day operations of the shipyard and develop the yard for future expansion. Before assuming his role at Grand Bahama Shipyard Ltd., Byrd served in several executive positions, most recently as Vice President of Repair and Conversion Operations for Bender shipbuilding in Mobile Alabama. He previously was with Tampa shipbuilding and repair as VP of Production until the sale of the yard.

01 Jul 2009

Is it the End for Bender Shipbuilding?

Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. agreed to seek protection from its creditors, filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition to reorganize. The company announced in a prepared statement that it intended to cut its workforce to about 300 to keep operations, including a ship repair job, running. “I regret very much the impact this decision has on our employees and vendors, and the community,” said Tom Bender, President and CEO, pledging to “devote every waking minute” to getting the company through the process and back to business as usual as quickly as possible. Monday, according to a blog on AL.com (http://blog.al.com) a U.S. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge reportedly ruled that Seacor Marine was due to collect a $5 million guarantee from Bender…

11 Jun 2009

Bender Fights Bankruptcy

Bender Shipbuilding & Repair, based in Mobile, Alabama, said that a petition has been filed to put the company into involutary bankruptcy. The company had yet to be served, but it did say that it is in contractual disputes with two of the three creditors who filed the petition, including GulfMark Offshore Inc. Bender disputes GulfMark's claims and believes that the petition is invalid. "It is unfortunate that GulfMark has chosen to go this route," said Tom Bender, president and CEO of Bender, in a prepared release. "I am optimistic that the involutary petition will be dismissed quickly."

26 May 2009

New Ship Design Courses for U.S. Shipbuilding

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Modern Shipbuilding Design project team has completed and delivered five continuing education marine design courses: Basics of Electrical System Design, Basics of HVAC Design, Basics of Pipe System Modeling, Basics of Structural Modeling, and Design for Production. Funded by the Navy and industry through the NSRP collaboration, the project was planned and facilitated by a 17-member team led by Bender Shipbuilding and Repair with significant support from the University of South Alabama and the University of Wisconsin—Marinette. Designed for on-line or in-class presentation as part of the continuing education programs at those universities now…

24 Mar 2009

New On-Line Sharing Site for Ship Design

ShipConstructor Software Inc. (SSI), in collaboration with its US-based subsidiary ShipConstructor Software USA, Inc., the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), and several US shipyards including Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (NGSB), has reached another milestone in the effort to create further cost savings for their clients. With the introduction of its online sharing site SC4D (http://SC4D.ShipConstructor.com), SSI is now providing the means to create and share 4D outfitting CAD models via the Internet.

20 Jan 2009

Chouest Purchases Tampa Shipyard

On November 18, 2008, Edison Chouest Offshore officials appeared before the Tampa Port Authority in an effort to secure the assignment of Tampa Bay Shipbuilding and Repair’s long-term lease agreement with the port. The authority had no objection to the transfer and, on that date, Tampa Ship, LLC was born. Chouest assumed management and operation of the yard in early December. The Tampa shipyard is a full service conversion, overhaul and repair facility that was previously owned by a group associated with Mobile, AL-based Bender Shipbuilding and Repair.

05 Nov 2008

NSRP Shipbuilding Workshop

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) held its second “Shipbuilding Opportunities in Marine Highways” workshop at Advanced Technology Institute on October 21-23, 2008. Funded by the Navy and industry through NSRP, the workshop was planned and facilitated by a team led by Bender Shipbuilding & Repair of Mobile, AL. A principal workshop goal was to find ways to decrease ship construction costs by accelerating the shipbuilding opportunities associated with potential Marine Highway operations. Marine Highway operations are an alternative form of transportation that utilizes inland and coastal waterways to move commercial freight between domestic ports in lieu of road or rail. Workshop participants endeavored to leverage partnerships between U.S.

23 Apr 2001

Bush Administration Deems Jones Act ‘Essential’

In its first public statement on the Jones Act, the Bush Administration has declared the law must be maintained as “an essential element of U.S. maritime policy that provides important economic and national security benefits to the nation, such as support of the U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta made the statement in response to a written question following his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. The Jones Act requires that cargo moving between U.S. ports be carried in vessels that are U.S.-owned, -built and -crewed. Similar U.S. cabotage laws reserve the movement of passengers and the performance of marine services such as dredging, towing and salvage to U.S.-owned, -built and -crewed vessels.

12 Oct 2001

Repower: Bringing New Life To Older Vessels

The decision to repower a vessel is a multi-faceted one, and it can be safely assumed that no two decisions in this arena are exactly the same. Whether it's a crewboat that needs new power units to accommodate a new scope of operation; extending the life of an old, but otherwise stable boat; a rip and refit to replace under performing engines; or as a simple factor in the overall vessel conversion equation - the decision to install new engines on a vessel entails a significant financial investment for the owner. This year has seen a number of significant and unique marine repowerings. The vessels covered in this report are unique in that they range from a 149-passenger tour boat to an 846-ft. long military freighter powered by gas turbine engines.

12 Oct 2001

Repower: Bringing New Life To Older Vessels

The decision to repower a vessel is a multi-faceted one, and it can be safely assumed that no two decisions in this arena are exactly the same. Whether it's a crewboat that needs new power units to accommodate a new scope of operation; extending the life of an old, but otherwise stable boat; a rip and refit to replace under performing engines; or as a simple factor in the overall vessel conversion equation - the decision to install new engines on a vessel entails a significant financial investment for the owner. This year has seen a number of significant and unique marine repowerings. The vessels covered in this report are unique in that they range from a 149-passenger tour boat to an 846-ft. long military freighter powered by gas turbine engines.

19 Aug 2003

Seven Shipbuilding R&D Projects get Greenlight

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) selected seven new research projects as part of the Navy/Industry co-funded portfolio. The seven new projects, valued at approximately $20 million including industry cost share, were in response to the latest NSRP ASE solicitation released in February and continue the successful implementation of the Program’s Strategic Investment Plan. Common Parts Catalog (CPC) Implementation: This project will provide full scale testing…

25 Sep 2003

ARL to Develop Investment as 3D Product Model Design Software

Albacore Research Ltd (ARL) has announced that its ShipConstructor software has been named design software-of-choice under the Second-Tier Shipyard Design Enhancement Program, which was recently granted funding under the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise initiative. The NSRP Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise is a collaborative program aimed at boosting productivity among U.S. first- and second-tier shipbuilding and repair yards. Recent project awards included $1.25 million for the development of standard shared CAD software for commonality of designs of critical components such as HVAC and piping systems and creation of a common parts catalogue.

09 Sep 2003

Guido Perla: Colombian Born, American Made

Guido Perla has always had a love of the sea. Perla, who was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, came to the U.S. in 1971 to pursue his dream of using the "tools" he was given to become a naval architect. His story is one that is marked by innovation, relationships and hard work. — By Regina P. Guido Perla’s philosophy on naval architecture and marine engineering — on life — is easily summed up: "I always follow what my father used to say," Perla said. "It is better to be wrong than to be average." Perla is not shy to admit that he's not always perfect, but that does not mean that he will not try and try again until he achieves perfection. "You don't learn anything from sitting around and doing nothing," Perla quips. "You learn from making a move and taking risks.

25 Aug 2003

Coffin World Water Systems to Supply for Rigdon OSV

Coffin World Water Systems has contracted to supply Heli-Sep Oily Water Separators for Rigdon Marine’s fleet of offshore supply vessels (OSVs). The first ten vessels are currently under construction at Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company in Mobile, Ala., with deliveries scheduled to begin March 2004. HELI-SEP oily water separators reduce oil discharge to less than 15ppm. The separators are equipped with a self-cleaning polishing pack and permanent coalescing matrix that eliminates the need to replace filters. Each unit is shipped pre-pied and pre-wired to simplify installation.