Bremerton 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…

Bremerton, Wash. boatbuilder SAFE Boats International (SBI) announced it is teaming up with U.K.-based electric powertrains provider Vita Power to develop a 100% electric, emissions-free patrol boat.Under a new memorandum of understanding to bring electrification to the patrol boat market, the partners have adapted one of SAFE Boats’ most proven hull designs - the 23’ Center Console - to be propelled by Vita Power’s V300 electric motor and battery package. Dubbed the “223e”, this concept provides a zero-emission solution for operators who are working long hours at lower speeds…

Bremerton, Wash. based boatbuilder SAFE Boats International announced that retired Vice Admiral William “Dean” Lee and Tom Norton have joined its board of directors.Vice Admiral Lee served in the U. S. Coast Guard for more than 36-years, most recently serving as the Commander, Atlantic Area (LANTAREA), responsible for all Coast Guard operations from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf. During his service to the Nation, he served in numerous command and staff positions specializing in search and rescue and small boat operations.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility employees and ship’s force worked together to repair the anchor windlass on USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in about a third of the time it took previously.The anchor windlass is comprised of motors, gears and other parts responsible for the controlled lowering and raising of the chain and anchor, which can weigh up to 200,000 pounds on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It's a difficult job that requires much planning and complicated execution.According to Shawn Carragher and Zac Malone…

Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs. They are procured and managed by two Naval Sea Systems Command program offices—PMS 300 and PMS 325.Compared to warships and auxiliaries…

A fuel contamination issue led to the grounding of a Washington State Ferries (WSF) vessel in April, the operator said in a recent update.The 440-foot double-ended Jumbo Class ferry Walla Walla was traveling from Bremerton, Wash. to Seattle with 596 passengers and 15 crew members on board when it ran aground in Rich Passage, just off Bainbridge Island, Wash., at approximately 4:30 p.m. on April 15. No injuries, pollution or damage to the vessel was reported.At the time of the incident…

A Washington State Ferries (WSF) passenger vessel has been refloated after running aground this weekend in Rich Passage, just off Bainbridge Island, Wash.The 440-foot double-ended Jumbo Class ferry Walla Walla returned to Bremerton on Sunday, after grounding at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, while traveling to Seattle from Bremerton.There were 596 passengers and 15 crew members on board at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported, according to WSF.Passengers were transferred onto Kitsap Transit vessels and taken to Bremerton…

SAFE Boats International, a boatbuilder with yards in Bremerton and Tacoma, Wash., announced it completed a transaction that transfers 100% of the company’s ownership to its employees.The SAFE Boats International Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) has acquired the company, completing the final milestone in a journey that started in late 2022. An ESOP is an employee retirement plan that allows employees to own shares in the business and benefit from the shares’ growth in value over time.SAFE Boats…

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returned to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, on Thursday, following an extended seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle.While in dry dock, the crew and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs.The engineering department oversaw 76 work items including major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders, and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage, and water tanks.

Bremerton, Wash. shipbuilder SAFE Boats International announced a production partnership with West Palm Beach, Fla.-based autonomous maritime technology provider Mythos AI. SAFE Boats has delivered a purpose-built Porter 78S workboat to Mythos AI. The aluminum-hull, outboard-driven Porter 78S survey boat, built under an exclusive license agreement with Stormer Work Boats of the Netherlands, is specifically designed for the integration of Mythos AI’s self-driving and autonomous hydrographic survey control system.Mythos AI’s first autonomous SAFE Porter 78S hydrographic survey vessel…

Portland, Ore. based shipbuilding and repair company Vigor Marine has been awarded a $131,151,747 firm-fixed-price contract action to accomplish the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) 2C1 dry-docking selected restricted availability (DSRA).The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $131,826,808.Work will be performed in Seattle (77%) and Everett, Wash. (23%), and is expected to be completed by February 2024.This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3).

The National Association of Marine Surveyors (NAMS) announced the dates for its 2022 New England Fall Conference in Newport, R.I. and North 2022 Pacific Fall Conference in Bremerton, Wash.The New England Fall Conference, to be held October 27 and 28, 2022, will include a roundtable and reception at the IYRS School of Technology & Trades. IYRS is a non-profit, post-secondary experiential learning institution and is the premier marine trades and modern manufacturing school in the United States. IYRS offers education and training programs for people with a passion for thinking and working through their hands.NAMS-accredited marine surveyors…

The U.S. Coast Guard announced it has selected Inventech Marine Solutions of Bremerton, Wash., to build the next generation of over the horizon (OTH V) cutter boats. The first delivery order for four OTH Vs was placed August 3 with a value of $1.973 million. These four OTH Vs will be used for operational test and evaluation before the program moves to full production. The 10-year contract supports delivery of up to 200 boats with a total value of approximately $103 million.Beyond the similarities of speed and weight between the OTH V and the OTH IV it is replacing…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 24 small shipyards in 19 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program.The funds will help awardees—many of which being family-run businesses—modernize, increase productivity and expand local employment opportunities while competing in the global marketplace, MARAD said.“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, and small shipyards play a critical role in America’s maritime industry, helping us get the goods we depend on every day,” said U.S.

Despite all of the challenges that COVID-19 has wrought upon the marine industry, SAFE Boats International has managed to keep building and delivering boats to its customers. A snapshot of the last six months has seen the Bremerton, Wash. boatbuilder deliver more 30 boats, and it has a healthy backlog to keep busy for the next year and beyond. Its range of boats and customers runs from small to large, and deliveries stretch across the globe.Below are highlights of vessels SAFE…

My first visit in 2007 to the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) was an eye-opener. Having built a naval architecture career with frigates, destroyers and other large naval and commercial ships, I was eager to learn of the smaller craft used by the U.S. Navy and other government and military bodies. As my flight into Norfolk, Va. descended over Chesapeake Bay, I gazed in amazement as a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) raced toward Virginia Beach, slowed, glided up the beach and into its shore base.

It’s a common story in the U.S. shipbuilding industry today. A piece of equipment that used to be available for delivery on short notice—maybe in one or two weeks—now must be ordered months or more in advance, and it costs double. Add to this rising steel prices and the labor issues that have pervaded nearly all industrial sectors since the early days of the pandemic, and it’s clear that business is far from usual for American shipyards.Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO, Ben Bordelon…

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded $45.3 million in grant funding to help buy, repair, and modernize ferry boats and terminals.The fiscal year 2021 grants have been awarded to projects in 11 states and territories, providing funds for capital projects that support existing passenger ferry service, establish new ferry service, and upgrade ferry boats, terminals and related facilities and equipment. The grants also help transit agencies and ferry companies offset the considerable cost of introducing new…

Sea Change - America’s first hydrogen powered ferrySWITCH Maritime’s new 70-foot passenger ferry Sea Change is navigating uncharted waters as the United States’ first zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered, electric-drive ferry.The pioneering aluminum newbuild, constructed by Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine, Inc. (AAM), has been completed and was launched this summer, though permitting of hydrogen fuel systems for maritime vessels is still being worked out with the U.S. Coast Guard.“Legislation and laws for passenger safety did not exist yet for this type of vessel.

Bremerton, Wash. boat builder SAFE Boats International has been awarded an $89,717,984 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for design, construction, outfitting, reactivation and training for six Mk VI Patrol Boats with an option for two additional vessels.This contract will provide Mk VI Patrol Boats to Ukraine via a U.S. State Department-approved agreement utilizing Building Partner Capacity (BPC) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds. Work will…

Shipbuilder Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) said it has delivered the second of two 255-passenger-only ferries to Kitsap Transit of Bremerton, Wash. Like the first-in-class-vessel the Enetai, the Commander outperformed design expectations during vessel trials, delivering to Kitsap Transit a lighter, faster, and smoother riding vessel, the builder said. Kitsap Transit awarded a design and construction contract to Nichols Brothers Boat Builders for two new ferries in December 2018.

Bremerton, Wash. ferry operator Kitsap Transit said it has purchased the secondhand passenger vessel Solano for approximately $1 million from the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA),The sale closed last Friday following approval by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The federal government has an interest in the 125-foot high-speed ferry that dates back to 2004, when the City of Vallejo, Calif., used a federal grant to buy the 320-passenger catamaran for $11,165,604 from Anacortes, Wash.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Technical Solutions division was awarded a contract last week to provide maintenance, training and planning support for U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract includes a five-year ordering term, with a total potential value of $175 million.“We are very pleased the U.S. Navy has entrusted us to support the readiness of one of our nation’s most important power projection platforms,” said Garry Schwartz, president of Technical Solutions’ Defense and Federal Solutions business group.