Angus King News

Bath, Maine shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer, the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124). The ship is named for Col. Harvey C. Barnum, Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism on the battlefield during Operation Harvest Moon in the Que Son Valley during the Vietnam War.The ceremony's speakers included Gov. Janet Mills, Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Angus King and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who was the principal speaker. Martha E.

Philly Shipyard held a keel laying ceremony on Monday for the third vessel in a series of new purpose-built, state-of-the-art training ships for America’s state maritime academies.The newbuild is the third of five new National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) being built under a program for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), which owns and operates training ships for the nation's state maritime academies. The third NSMV is scheduled to be delivered to Maine Maritime Academy in 2024.MARAD's NSMV program is designed to provide a purpose-built…

The push to rebuild the U.S. Navy received a boost today when U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would make it the policy of the United States to achieve the Navy’s requirement of 355 ships. Under the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act,” the fleet would be comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding levels subject to annual appropriations. Currently, 276 ships are in the battle fleet.

On April 1, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works christened the U.S. Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, Thomas Hudner (DDG 116). The ship is named for Capt. Thomas Hudner Jr., who intentionally crash landed his plane in an effort to save Ensign Jesse Brown, the nation’s first African-American Navy pilot, during the Korean War’s Chosin Reservoir campaign. The Saturday morning christening ceremony took place at Bath Iron Works’ shipyard and was attended by Capt. Hudner as well as several members of his family and the family of Ensign Brown. Speakers included Sen. Susan Collins, Sen.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Don Young (R-Alaska). H.R.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Bill Enyart (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), David Jolly (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC), Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Don Young (R-AK). H.R.

In February, the U.S. Coast Guard chose three finalists to design its new Offshore Patrol Cutters, with awards to Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla. and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Maine. Each company was awarded a Phase I design contract valued at between $21 million and $22 million. At the end of the 18-month Preliminary and Contract Design Phase I, the Coast Guard will choose one company’s team for a Phase II Detailed Design and Construction contract for the lead OPC.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins, a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have announced that Bath Iron Works (BIW) has been awarded a preliminary design contract for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) worth more than $21 million. BIW is now one of three shipyards in contention for the final contract. “With its skilled workforce and an outstanding record of designing, building…