Mobile Facility News

Shipbuilder Austal USA announced it is planning to boost capacity at its Mobile, Ala. shipyard with the addition of a new manufacturing facility.The infrastructure expansion, which will be to the south of Austal USA’s current waterfront facility, will include a new assembly building, waterfront improvements, and a new Pearlson-designed shiplift system. Start of construction on the project is planned for summer 2024.The construction of this new building and waterfront support area continues the expansion Austal USA began in March 2021 with the groundbreaking of the steel panel line.

The Alabama Port Authority completed its 400-foot container dock extension at the APM Terminals Mobile facility on March 20, and three days later, the terminal for the first time simultaneously handled two containerships at the newly expanded berth.Part of Alabama’s seaport modernization program to accommodate larger vessels, the berth extension enables two x 8,000-10,000 TEU be handled simultaneously. The quay extension was part of a $50 million Phase 3 expansion that increased…

BAE Systems launches the first of four platform supply vessels it’s building for Jackson Offshore Operators, LLC., January 29, 2014. The vessels, being built in Jacksonville, Fla., will support drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico and reflects the company’s continued growth in U.S. commercial shipbuilding and its support to the offshore oil and gas industry. BAE Systems Ship Repair is one of the many entities that make up BAE Systems U.S. subsidiary. Although BAE Systems Ship Repair devotes much of its production capability to naval customers…

Timing, they say, is everything. Cliché, for sure, but BAE System’s strategic decision a few years ago to buy, invest and reinvigorate newbuild and repair operations in Mobile, Alabama, seems poised to pay off handsomely as the U.S. maritime market faces a historic rebound. As the energy profile of the United States changes, so too do the prospects for it commercial shipbuilding and repair sector, which virtually overnight has enjoyed an influx of new construction orders and general maritime business.

Aker Solutions signed a contract with ExxonMobil for the supply of subsea umbilicals for the Erha North phase two development in Nigeria. The Erha North phase two development is an extension of the existing Erha subsea system and infrastructure located approximately 97 kilometers offshore Nigeria in water depths between 1,000 and 1,200 meters. Aker Solutions' scope of work includes the delivery of two dynamic and two static steel tube umbilicals, at a total length of 16.5 kilometers. The umbilicals will be delivered in 2014.

US-based Smiths Detection wins contract from U. S. Navy for METMF(R) NEXGEN additional mobile weather information systems. Smiths Detection announce a US$7.6-million contract to supply the U.S. Navy with additional mobile weather information systems to support mission planning and military operations for the Marine Corps. Manufactured in Smiths Detection’s Edgewood, Md. plant, the systems are due for delivery by July 2013. The Meteorological Mobile Facility (Replacement) Next…

W&O, supplier of marine valves, pipes, fittings, engineered products and valve automation solutions, announced that its Mobile, Ala. operations have relocated to a new 40,000 square-foot facility to meet the immediate and long-term needs of its rapidly growing business in the region. The new facility more than doubles available space from the previous location and provides increased efficiency for customers. Mobile’s strong economic climate combined with W&O’s industry expertise and innovative maritime solutions has helped the company increase its customer base and grow its revenue by more than 30 percent in the Mobile area, facilitating the expansion and relocation of Mobile operations.

As head of the United States Merchant Marine Academy's (USMMA), engineering department, Professor Jose Femenia noted 1995 as the year in which the Academy's shipyard management program was loosely formatted. It was through his efforts the program became a reality one year later. Beginning with a focus on ship maintenance and repair, several elective courses had been developed - such as ship maintenance and repair, and shipyard design and operations - but were not yet part of a fully formalized agenda. In turn, these electives led to the birth of the Academy's shipyard management program. This blend of marine engineering, industrial engineering and engineering management…