Richard H Vortmann News

of General Dynamics, has delivered the M. V. North Star to Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE). The North Star is the second of two new Orca-class trailerships built by NASSCO for TOTE’s service from Tacoma, Wash., to Anchorage, Alaska. Her sister ship, the M. V. Midnight Sun, was delivered to TOTE in April. highway trailers as large as 53 feet in length. Cargo decks total 360,000 square feet and are able to carry up to 600 cargo trailers and 220 autos as well as oversized freight.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, has joined with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army to launch the USNS Soderman (T-AKR 317), the eighth and final Strategic Sealift ship to be built for the Navy by NASSCO. At a length of 950 ft. and with a beam of 105 ft., the strategic sealift ships are the largest ships ever launched down a sliding ways in the United States and the largest ships that can fit through the Panama Canal. The nighttime launch of the Soderman took place at 9:20 p.m., as the ship was released from its inclined building ways into San Diego Bay, accompanied by a cheering crowd of NASSCO employees and spectators and a fireworks display.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) has joined with Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE) to christen the M. V. Midnight Sun, the first commercial dry cargo vessel to be built in the United States in 10 years. The Midnight Sun is the first of two new Orca-class trailerships being built by NASSCO for TOTE's service from Tacoma, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska. Lynn Garvey, wife of Mike Garvey, Chairman of the Board of TOTE's parent company, Saltchuk Resources, Inc., and Lily Stevens, the daughter of Senator Ted Stevens (R- Alaska), were the ship's sponsors, christening the M. V. Midnight Sun with ceremonial bottles of champagne. Senator Stevens, who is serving in his seventh term in the U.S. Senate, was the keynote speaker at the event. The M.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company has been awarded a seven-year contract for the continuous maintenance and repair of four LSD-41/49 class ships and four LPD-4 class ships for the U.S. Navy. The contract includes one drydocking and 12 non- docking availabilities and has an estimated total value of $200 million over the seven-year period. All eight ships are scheduled to be home-ported in San Diego during the contract period. They are the USS GERMANTOWN (LSD 42), USS COMSTOCK (LSD 45), USS RUSHMORE (LSD 47) and USS PEARL HARBOR (LSD 52); and the USS OGDEN (LPD 5), USS CLEVELAND (LPD 7), USS DUBUQUE (LPD 8) and USS DENVER (LPD 9).

The board of directors of General Dynamics elected two new vice presidents of the corporation: Frederick J. Harris, 60, who will succeed Richard H. Vortmann as president of subsidiary National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO); and Chris Marzilli, 46, who will succeed Mark A. Fried as president of business unit General Dynamics C4 Systems. Harris and Marzilli will assume their new positions and become vice presidents of the corporation on January 1. Harris started with General Dynamics Electric Boat in 1973 as a senior engineer in the Trident ballistic-missile submarine program. He held positions of increasing responsibility, including Program Manager - Advanced Propulsion Plant Technology Program for the Virginia-Class Submarine…

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, has joined with Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE) to christen the M. V. North Star. The North Star is the second of two new Orca-class trailerships being built by NASSCO for TOTE's service from Tacoma, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska. Lu Young, wife of Alaska Congressman Don Young (R- Alaska), and Marie Magee, wife of Robert P. Magee Jr., president and CEO of TOTE , were the ship's sponsors. Congressman Young, who is serving in his 16th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, was the keynote speaker at the event. The M. V. North Star, and her sister ship, the M.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, announced that effective January 1, 2006, Frederick J. Harris, 60, will become president of NASSCO, succeeding Richard H. Vortmann, 61. Vortmann will become chairman of the board of NASSCO. “The 23-year span of Dick Vortmann’s leadership as president of NASSCO encompasses dramatic changes in both the company and the shipbuilding industry, and he has kept a steady hand on the organization’s helm throughout his tenure,” said Michael W. Toner, General Dynamics executive vice president and group executive for Marine Systems. “Fred Harris, who has served the Electric Boat subsidiary of General Dynamics and its customers with an intense focus on quality…