Dave News

Austal USA earlier this month celebrated the start of construction on the first of three LCU 1710 Landing Craft Utility vessels for the U.S. Navy at the company’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard.Austal USA, a subsidiary if the Australian shipbuilding group Austal, was awarded a US$91.5 million (A$143.4 million) contract in September 2023 that includes three LCU 1710 vessels and associated support efforts.Austal CEO Paddy Gregg said the start of construction on Austal USA’s latest steel…

Seventeen people were injured when a Bulgarian cruise ship crashed into a concrete wall in a sluice on the River Danube in the northern Austrian town of Aschach an der Donau, local police said on Saturday.Some 160 passengers were aboard the ship traveling from Bavaria in Germany to the Austrian city of Linz, a spokesperson for police in the nearby town of Eferding said.Eleven of the injured were taken to hospital and the ship was able to continue onwards after the accident, the spokesperson said.It was not immediately clear how serious the injuries were, the spokesperson said.Local media said

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have launched an 18-month initiative to gather extensive weather, ocean, and wildlife data near the sites of active offshore wind farms and lease areas off the coast of the Northeast United States.This effort, which is part of the third phase of the Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP3), seeks to gather high-quality data to improve the design and operation of offshore wind turbines and wind farms.

Last week, on January 31, the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) returned pier side after successfully completing acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico for the U.S. Navy, Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA announced.During acceptance trials, comprehensive testing is conducted on the ship’s major systems and equipment in order to demonstrate their successful operation and mission readiness. The U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey participates throughout the trials to validate…

Wind power production outpaced gas plants in Europe for the first time last year as fossil fuel electricity generation plummeted, cutting the region's carbon emissions, data from think-tank Ember showed.Europe is ramping up its renewable electricity generation as part of efforts to wean the bloc off Russian fuels and to help meet its climate goal of net zero emissions by 2050.Europe's fossil fuel power generation fell by a record 19% year-on-year in 2023, with gas-fired electricity production down 15% and coal electricity production down 26% the report by Ember showed.At the same time wind pow

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance and repair industry, announced its new Board of Directors leadership and the incoming chairs of the SCA Partners Committee. The announcements kicked off the Association’s Annual Meeting on May 17 in Washington, D.C.Brad Moyer, Vice President of BAE Systems Ship Repair, is ascending from his Vice Chairman post to  Chairman of the Board, assuming the position from Ben Bordelon…

bp's search for a new chief executive is set to extend into the first quarter of 2024, three sources told Reuters, while the board's probe into whether previous CEO Bernard Looney breached the code of conduct in his undisclosed personal relationships with staff drags on.The oil company has been in turmoil since Looney's resignation in September, company sources told Reuters, and the share price has underperformed rival Shell since then amid investor uncertainty over bp's future strategy.bp's shares have dropped 9% since Looney's departure, while Shell's have gained 2% over the same period.

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA held a keel laying ceremony for USNS Billy Frank, Jr., marking the official start of construction on the U.S. Navy’s eleventh Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 11).Ship sponsor Peggen Frank and her husband, William Frank III, authenticated the keel by welding their initials into a keel plate that will be welded to the hull of the ship. They were assisted by Brandon Auld, a four-year Austal USA veteran A-class structural fitter.Local community leaders…

HII announced David Horne has been promoted to vice president of trades at its Newport News Shipbuilding division.Horne’s promotion comes following the restructuring of trades and human resources and administration from one large organization into two standalone organizations. Xavier Beale will continue as vice president of human resources and administration. Both Horne and Beale will report directly to NNS President Jennifer Boykin.“Each part of this organization is critical to our success,” Boykin said.

Hornblower Energy LLC, in partnership with the Port of San Franciso, the U.S. Department of Energy and six corporate partners, including Air Liquide and Glosten, is leading a project to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of using hydrogen (H2) as a maritime fuel.The project is located at Pier 68 in San Francisco. DOE selected the project for funding in 2020. It’s supposed to be completed in 2025 but there are important decision dates before then. So far, project activities have concentrated on planning and modeling.

Mobile, Ala. based Austal USA received an order for the manufacture and outfitting of three electronic deck modules for the U.S. Navy's Virginia-class submarine program. The order, valued at $10.6 million, was issued by prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat. Construction will begin in fall 2023 and the modules are scheduled to be delivered to Electric Boat by the middle of 2025.The construction of these modules is the result of the strategic partnership formed in 2022 between Austal USA and Electric Boat, supported by the U.S.

Dave Lee recently joined Louisiana-based maritime leasing and financing company Maritime Partners as its new vice president of technology and innovation. A well-known figure in the U.S. maritime sector, Lee has previously held leadership positions at ABB, American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and Jeffboat. His next task: help guide one of the nation’s leading maritime companies through the next chapter of technological advancement.“Right now, every marine company around the globe…

Shipbuilder Austal USA was awarded a $91,535,551 fixed-price incentive and firm-fixed-price type modification to definitize a previously awarded contract for the detail design and construction of three Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 1700 class craft.The contract also includes options for nine additional craft and associated support efforts."Austal USA is honored to be able to build this important connector for the U.S. Navy,” commented Dave Growden, vice president of new construction projects.

Tech company Leidos was recently awarded a new task order by Naval Sea Systems Command to manage, operate and maintain the U.S. Navy’s Overlord and medium unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The single-award task order has a one-year base period of performance and two one-year options. The task order has a maximum value of approximately $95 million if all options are exercised.“Leidos is leading a new era of naval operations,” said Gerry Fasano, Leidos Defense Group president. “The Leidos team has unmatched experience and expertise in autonomous vessel design and operations…

Volvo Penta announced it has entered into a new partnership with SVF Panama, part of the SVF Group, to support its customers with marine services in Panama and Costa Rica.In recent years, Volvo Penta has steadily expanded its service and support network, partnering with companies that specialize in marine operations to provide technical support, field service, maintenance operations and parts supply for its customer base across the marine leisure and commercial sectors.“SVF is an ideal partner for Volvo Penta…

Dave Lee has joined Louisiana-based maritime leasing and financing company Maritime Partners as its new vice president of technology and innovation.Lee joins Maritime Partners from ABB, where he was most recently vice president of sales for the workboat sector. A 20-year maritime industry veteran, Lee has previously held leadership positions at American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and Jeffboat.

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their…

It's nearly 45 years since the tragedy on the ANCO Duke where seven crew died at the bottom of the tank they were cleaning. “I was working on chemical tankers then. All the crew felt this terrible loss of life and took on tank entries with a heightened safety focus,” says Captain Dave Watkins, Deputy Director of the confidential near-miss reporting service CHIRP Maritime. Since then, enclosed space deaths still occur, although not in the number they did.Watkins has years of experience on chemical and VLCC tankers as an officer and master…

“Not only does the top of the river move, but the bottom of the river also moves.” - James Bodron, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Regional Business Director.Dredging was the Herculean act that allowed much of the U.S. economy to keep chugging along as usual, at least for Midwest and Central states, as drought conditions threatened to shut down river traffic on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, during fall and winter 2022 and early 2023.The full scope of these U.S.

San Diego shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO announced it has been awarded a $736 million modification to the existing T-AO contract for construction of a ninth ship (T-AO 213) in the John Lewis-class fleet oiler program. Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025.In 2016, the U.S. Navy awarded NASSCO with a contract to design and build the first six ships in the next generation of fleet oilers, the John Lewis-class (T-AO 205), previously known as the TAO(X).The latest exercised option comes in addition to the earlier awarded eight ships…

The U.S. Department of Transportation has formed a new advisory council to help drive improvements at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), a service academy in Kings Point, N.Y.According to the DOT, establishment of the USMMA Advisory Council fulfills a key recommendation from the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) November 2021 report entitled “Organizational Assessment of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: A Path Forward.” Specifically, NAPA’s report recommended…

When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines, and wind farms, are incredibly vulnerable to anyone who wants to attack these sources in wartime…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, announced the receipt of several major dredging awards totaling $138.8 million.The awarded work includes Trujillo Alto Design and Build for the Lago Loiza (Carraízo) Dredging Project (Maintenance, Puerto Rico, $93.1 million); Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet Project (Coastal Protection, New Jersey, $28.8 million); Palm Beach Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project (Maintenance, Florida…