Bender News

The Pentagon last Friday announced that nine companies have been awarded contracts for repair, maintenance and modernization of U.S. Navy’s non-nuclear surface ships homeported or visiting the Northwest United States.The total value of the multiple award contract is a combined $944 million. The scope of work is for continuous maintenance, emergent maintenance, and Chief of Naval Operations availabilities, which are short-term or less than 10-months in duration.The nine companies are East Coast Repair & Fabrication…

The American shipbuilding scene, filled with participants constructing all manner of vessels, has been navigating through stormy times (lately, yards along the Gulf Coast have literally been dealing with storms). The orders for newbuild, repair and conversion projects continue to flow in—albeit at a reduced pace—and the boats and ships go down the ways into the water, but the overall panorama has seen tremendous sea changes as the business has shifted.Maritime businesses worldwide have been grappling with currents both internal and external.

The first of the U.S. Navy's new YT-808 tugs being built by Dakota Creek Industries (DCI) has been outfitted with a sophisticated marine electronics package from Furuno. Mackay Marine selected and installed a comprehensive suite of electronics that will assist YT-808 in fulfilling its ship-handling duties for the full range of U.S. Navy surface warships, barges and submarines. The helm aboard the new vessel includes a 12kW FAR2218BB Radar, DS80 Doppler Speed Log, GP330B GPS Receiver, FA170 AIS, and RD33 Data organizer.

Okay it’s not that little – it can bend up to 220 metric tons (240 US tons).But in the larger scheme of the U.S. economy, security and infrastructure; or of the country’s maritime competitiveness; or even the financial health of the Dakota Creek Industries shipyard and its 300 production jobs; this little bender has the potential to make a mighty big difference.Dakota Creek recently installed the Stierli-Bieger 2200 SE CNC horizontal ram bender in its Anacortes, Wash. shipyard.

Commercial workboat philanthropy on display on PT-305: WWII Museum’s PT-305 sails again after a far reaching donor-funded restoration. In March, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans launched its reconstructed PT-305, built locally by Higgins Industries in 1943. The museum acquired the boat known as the USS Sudden Jerk in 2007, restoration began in 2009, and it now sails Lake Pontchartrain as an interactive exhibit. PT-305, with a fifteen-man crew, belonged to a 12-ship squadron operating in the Mediterranean from 1944 until the war ended in 1945.

Capturing complex bends on pipes is an art form members of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Pipe Group have harnessed for many years. Now entering a more modern era with a new dual-head pipe bending machine, NNSY is able to create more precise bends in a fraction of the time, thanks to modern, automated controls. Originally, pipe benders would have to work on a semiautomatic machine where everything would have to be measured exactly and each bend would have to be checked with a protractor to guarantee the needed dimensions were captured. It was tedious work and there was a risk of wasted material should the measurements not equate to what was needed.

The Department of the Navy recognized more than 50 acquisition professionals for exceptional efforts in the acquisition field during a Pentagon ceremony Nov. 17. Hosted by Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) Sean Stackley, the 2016 Acquisition Excellence Awards celebrated individuals and teams for upholding key tenets of acquisition including competition, affordability, technical expertise, innovative techniques and professional acumen. "Today, we recognize those who have distinguished themselves amongst the tens of thousands who are equally committed to ensuring that our Navy and Marine Corps is the most capable fighting force in the world," said Stackley. Undersecretary of the Navy, Dr.

Ancora Marina in Neustadt, Germany, took delivery of a new Marine Travelift 75 BFMII mobile boat hoist, Marine Travelift Inc. announced today. Ancora Marina is located on the Bay of Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein, northeast of Hamburg and southeast of Kiel. The new 75 BFMII is the marina’s fourth mobile boat hoist from Marine Travelift, and it replaces a 1988 Marine Travelift 70 BFM and a 1992 70 BFM. According to Michael Wippern from Dr. Ing. Bender & Wippern GmbH, Marine Travelift’s local dealer…

Unison has commissioned what is believed to be the largest all-electric tube bending machine ever produced. The machine has started operations at Newport News Shipbuilding, supplier of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines to the US Navy. The machine is capable of generating over 265,000 lb-ft (360,000 Nm) of torque and can bend piping up to 8 inches NPS - with an outside diameter of 8.625 inches or 219.1 mm - with Schedule 80 wall thicknesses of 0.5 inch (12.7 mm). The availability of all-electric, servomotor-controlled bending machines for pipes of this size brings significant productivity benefits to the fabrication of a ship's pipework compared with conventional hydraulically-powered machinery.

The tube bending machine innovator Unison said it is moving the technology forward again, with the completion of a groundbreaking all-electric machine that is capable of bending tubes and pipes up to 9 inches/225 mm in diameter. The availability of all-electric machines at this new size level brings the benefits of instant set-up and right-first-time precision bending to many new applications in sectors including shipbuilding, powergen and oil, gas and chemical processing. According to Unison…

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.

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.

Unison has received an order from Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), the supplier of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two shipbuilders of nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy, for an all-electric CNC machine capable of bending large-bore tubing and piping up to eight inches in diameter (219mm OD). The machine will be the first of its type ever built, extending the shipbuilder’s range of precision software-controlled bending facilities to include fabrication of larger diameter pipes that previously could only be bent on very high torque hydraulic machines.

The Coast Guard has identified a sunken fishing vessel missing since 1972. a remote operating vehicle (ROV) to investigate. The fishing vessel Katmai was discovered in 8,920 feet of water approximately 200 miles offshore. After receiving data of the discovery from BOEM, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigations National Center of Expertise initiated a cold case investigation, the result of which has now been published by the Coast Guard. Oskar Joos, his wife, eight-year-old child and deckhand Clinton Hollevoet departed Mobile for Anchorage, Alaska on the fishing vessel Katmai Feb. 18, 1972.

Siemens Subsea Products has chosen an all-electric tube bender from Unison to improve the quality and speed the production of the small-bore hydraulic tubes it uses on subsea hydraulic flying leads with Multiple Quick Connections (MQC), Cobra Heads and associated offshore oil and gas recovery equipment. The tubes feature complex bends of extremely high accuracy, and until now the company has either fabricated them manually or bought them in as pre-formed sub-assemblies. Siemens Subsea Products produces a wide range of subsea electric…

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.

A second state-of-the-art tube bending machine has been ordered by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions to support the construction of the UK's Astute class nuclear-powered submarines. The new tube bending machine is an all-electric model with precision software-controlled servomotor movement, for bending tube diameters up to 76 mm. It also features an advanced laser measurement system that monitors any deviations to the programmed bend caused by the tubing material's 'springback' characteristics, and then automatically adjusts the bend to produce the correct shape. These features equip BAE Systems to handle the very demanding workload of the Astute submarine program.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that its 26th Annual Pacific Area Awards Dinner in tribute to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) will take place on Wednesday, August 3, 2011. Held for the second consecutive year in San Diego, the gala will honor the bravery and courage of our guardians in the region who enforce maritime law, protect our homeland and preserve the environment. Awards will be presented to recognize specific acts of outstanding heroism, leadership and mission achievement. The Coast Guard Foundation has supported the USCG in the Pacific Area with more than $100,000 for morale projects and scholarships in 2010.

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.

1912- President Taft recommended abolishing Revenue Cutter Service. His actions led to the creation of the Coast Guard by merging the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915. 1933- Navy airship USS Akron crashed off the Barnegat Lightship. The search employed over 20 Coast Guard vessels under Navy supervision. 1972- On 4 April 1972 BMC (later BMCM) Thomas D. McAdams became the first Coast Guardsmen to receive the new Coxswain insignia. Then-Commandant ADM Chester Bender presented the insignia to Chief McAdams at a ceremony at the Coast Guard's Small Boat School in Ilwaco, WA, where McAdams was the OIC. 1977-The Coast Guard designated its first female Coast Guard aviator, Janna Lambine. She was Coast Guard Aviator #1812.

MarineNews spoke with Rick Biben, Chief Executive and President of Gibbs and Cox, Inc., about his background in the industry, the state of the naval design market, how his company is investing for the future and technological and design advancements in the field. What is your background in the industry? After college (Bryant University, 1972, BS Management) I went into the U.S. Peace Corps (Ecuador, 1972 – 1975) for about three years. I left the government and entered the contractor community in 1979. I was with Syscon Corporation from 1981 through late in 1999.

1971-Alaska Senator Mike Gravel criticized the punishment of 18 crewmen of CGC Confidence for showing support for Greenpeace and asked the Commandant, Admiral Chester Bender, to investigate. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

1926-An airways division, headed by a chief engineer, was set up as a part of the Lighthouse Service, its work covering the examination of airways and emergency landing fields and the erection and maintenance of aids to air navigation. 1943-Coast Guard-manned USS LST-203 was stranded in Southwest Pacific but there were no casualties. 1976- Coast Guard personnel were required to change to the new "Bender Blues" uniforms by this date. 1991- The CGC Storis became the oldest commissioned cutter in the Coast Guard when the CGC Fir was decommissioned. The Storis's crew painted her hull number "38" in gold in recognition of her status. 1996- Operation Frontier Shield commenced. It was the largest counter-narcotics operation in Coast Guard history to date.