Operations Command News

Austal Limited announced Thursday that USNS Newport (EPF 12) has been delivered to the United States Navy from Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile, Ala.USNS Newport is the 12th Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ship to be delivered to the U.S. Navy – and brings the total number of ships delivered to the Navy by Austal USA to 24 in 10 years, including three this year. USS Oakland (LCS 24) was delivered in June, following the future USS Kansas City (LCS 22) handed over in .Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said…

Shipbuilder Austal has informed that the U.S. Navy's fast-transport ship USNS Newport (EPF 12) has completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico. USNS Newport is the 12th Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ship built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, for the United States Navy (USN) in less than 8 years.Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said: "Austal’s EPF high-speed catamaran is a true success story, proving to be an invaluable addition to the US Navy’s…

Barry Dreyfus Jr., CEO of United States Marine Inc. (USMI), doesn’t keep the recipe to his company’s success a secret. In fact, it’s displayed plainly for all to see on the homepage of USMI’s website: family, integrity and quality. These have been cornerstones of the 36-year-old firm, today regarded as one of the nation’s premier military small craft builders.Headquartered in Gulfport, Miss., with a maintenance/repair facility in Chesapeake, Va., USMI is a fully integrated manufacturer of military, patrol and special warfare boats available in lengths from 21 feet to 90 feet.

United States Marine, Inc. (USMI) has been awarded a $108 million contract to produce vessels for the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).The Gulfport, Miss. based shipbuilder will use the five-year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contact to build combatant craft assault vessels to support the USSOCOM missions around the world.USMI Chief Executive Office Barry Dreyfus, Jr., indicated the contract would allow the company to retain and possibly expand its workforce.“USMI looks forward to continuing our work on behalf of the warfighter and we appreciate the confidence the United States Special Operations Command continues to have in us. We are also proud to work with the tremendous members and Staff of the Mississippi delegation.

Austal USA was awarded a $261.8 million contract for the 13th and 14th Expeditionary Fast Transport ships (EPF) by the U.S. Navy, bringing the total value of the 14-ship deal to slightly more than $2 billionThe EPF’s large, open-mission deck and large habitability spaces provide the opportunity to conduct a wide range of missions from engagement and humanitarian assistance to disaster relief, and from maritime security support operations, to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

The Ferry’s second season this year presents permanent possibilities.The Cross Bay Ferry from Tampa’s Florida Aquarium dock to the dock at the North Yacht Basin in St. Petersburg, Florida is off to a rollicking start, with 3,000 more passengers in it’s debut month of November 2018 than its strongest month during the 2016/2017 test period, and with continued support from Tampa Bay area leadership.“We are very encouraged by the numbers we are seeing so far,” St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said.

A 479-foot asphalt tanker was towed into New York Harbor after an engine room fire left the vessel disabled off the U.S. East Coast.Early on October 5, U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders in Woods Hole, Mass. received a report that the Hong Kong-flagged tanker Feng Huang AO loaded with asphalt and bound for New York Harbor suffered a fire in its engine room while transiting 57 miles southeast of Nantucket Island.The flames were extinguished using the ship’s installed carbon dioxide fire suppression system.

Environmental compliance challenges are nothing new to the cruise industry. Initiatives to enhance environmental compliance, from clean technologies to improved processes and procedures, have significantly reduced the impact cruise vessels have on the environment and improved the quality of discharge. These onboard initiatives address what is in the vessel’s control, but cannot simplify the increasingly complex regulatory environment in which cruise lines operate. Enforcement of environmental regulations is on the rise as international…

Diversification is the key at Oregon-based North River Boats. Listening closely to the customer’s needs recently won the day on a multi-hull U.S. Navy contract, but that’s not all that’s happening in Oregon. Roseburg, Ore.-based North River Boats has, over time, thrived by delivering one of the most diverse vessel portfolios in North America. Those offerings include both domestic and foreign deliveries, as well as recreational, commercial and military hulls. And, if that formula has taught them just one thing, then that metric would be that different customers need different features. And, for a firm known initially for cranking out a well-known brand of nearly identical recreational craft, it has also learned that flexibility in design and offerings can also win the day.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to provide Lithium-ion Fault Tolerant (LiFT) battery systems for use on U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) new Dry Combat Submersible (DCS), a long endurance delivery vehicle capable of transporting divers in a dry environment. The GA-EMS LiFT battery system will power the DCS propulsion and internal support systems. “Our unique solution provides the energy needed to safely propel and power the DCS at the distances and depths required to deliver personnel to their mission destination,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. LiFT battery systems are high energy density solutions for both manned and unmanned underwater vehicles.

Austal USA said it was awarded a $326 million contract to built the 11th and 12th Expeditionary Fast Transport ships (EPF) for the U.S. Navy. This new contract adds upon a 2008 fully-funded EPF 10-ship block-buy agreement and brings Austal’s current build to a 12 ship program valued at $1.9 billion, and thereby extending the shipbuilder’s production under contract into 2022. Austal USA’s EPF program has seen seven ships delivered so far, with three more under construction at its headquarters and ship manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala.

A little-known annual American commemoration is coming up again on May 22 - National Maritime Day. It was declared by Congress in 1933 to call attention to America’s proud maritime heritage and to honor the men and women who serve and have served as U.S. merchant mariners. It’s also a day to recognize and reflect on the rewards that America’s ports bring the country in terms of jobs, economic development, goods movement and international competitiveness. For the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas—National Maritime Day offers the nation’s ports a great opportunity to showcase the value of their facilities, operations and personnel to their respective communities.

Host of U.S. A little-known annual American commemoration is coming up again on May 22: National Maritime Day, declared by Congress in 1933 to call attention to America’s maritime heritage and to honor the men and women who serve and have served as U.S. merchant mariners. It’s also a day to recognize and reflect on the rewards that America’s ports bring the country in terms of jobs, economic development, goods movement and international competitiveness. For the American Association…

Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition – AeroVironment, Inc. has announced the United States Navy plans to deploy its “Blackwing,” a small, tube-launched unmanned aircraft system that deploys from under the surface of the sea, on manned submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles. Blackwing builds on AeroVironment’s extensive operational experience with small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and its Switchblade Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) to provide the Navy with a low cost, submarine launched unmanned aircraft system optimized for Anti-Access/Aerial Denial (A2/AD) environments. AeroVironment developed the Blackwing…

HMAS Darwin’s boarding team has uncovered and seized a large weapons cache, following a boarding of a fishing vessel during their deployment to the Middle East Region as part of Operation MANITOU. Operating under Combined Task Force 150, responsible for counter-terrorism operations within the Middle East Region, Darwin intercepted the fishing vessel approximately 170 nautical miles (313 kilometres) off the coast of Oman to conduct a flag verification boarding. After assessing the vessel to be stateless, 1989 AK-47 assault rifles, 100 rocket propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM general purpose machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 60mm mortar tubes were seized from the vessel that was headed towards the Somalia coast.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), the company’s 30th Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer, on Saturday. Ingalls has built and delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. There are currently four more under construction at Ingalls, including Ralph Johnson, which is scheduled to be christened in the spring of 2016. John Finn (DDG 113) was christened in May and is expected to undergo sea trials in 2016.

HMAS Melbourne recently seized 151 kilograms of heroin worth an estimated $AUD44.5 million from a dhow off the east coast of Africa. The drug haul is the second for HMAS Melbourne’s current deployment to the Middle East region, bringing the total weight of heroin seized to more 578 kilograms in two months. Commander Joint Operations Command, Vice Admiral David Johnston said the haul raised the Royal Australian Navy’s 2015 drug seizures in the Middle East region to almost $600 million. HMAS Melbourne’s Commanding Officer Commander Bill Waters said the ship’s crew boarded a suspicious fishing vessel following surveillance which suggested the dhow might be engaged in illegal activity.

Compromising the cyber integrity of the network threatens every user and every system on your ship or in your building. Violating security best practices, circumventing security policies, carelessness and falling victim to social networking exploits opens the door to cyber adversaries who can exploit vulnerabilities which may directly impact our Navy's warfighting capability and potentially threaten our lives. Cyber foes are no longer just recreational hackers in pursuit of bragging rights. They are cyber-criminals, cyber-terrorists and nation-states who are in constant pursuit of access to our systems. They can corrupt our Navy's data…

Captain Jeffrey P. Novotny is Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center in Martinsburg, WV. He is responsible for all activities related to professional credentialing, training and assessments of the nation’s 215,000 merchant mariners. He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. Prior to commanding the NMC, he was the Deputy Commander at the Coast Guard’s Deployable Operations Group. His duties included the oversight and responsibility for all personnel…

More than 33,000 U.S. and Australian personnel will participate in the biennial military training exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 in Australia July 4-19. Talisman Sabre, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and Australian Defence Force Headquarters Joint Operations Command, will incorporate U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force as well as other government agencies from each country. Featuring 21 ships, including the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) and more than 200 aircraft and three submarines, this sixth iteration of the exercise will focus on joint training of a combined task force of U.S.

Spearhead-class joint high speed vessel USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) is conducting proof-of-concept testing during Exercise Bold Alligator 2014 as an afloat forward staging base style platform. Bold Alligator 2014 is underway in multiple states and along the Eastern Seaboard. In addition to 18 other U.S. Navy and coalition ships, one of the Navy's newest platforms is getting an opportunity to test itself. "That includes the communications portion, launching of small boats and also helicopter operations," said Choctaw County's Chief's Mate Patrick Mullaney. In the last week, Choctaw County hosted members of Special Boat Team 20 (SBT 20) and critical skills operators from U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command to conduct scenario training.

As the U.S. Navy remains ever vigilant, taking the fight to the enemy, recent media reports have highlighted potential risk from information carelessly or inadvertently shared on social media. There has also been a steady stream of reporting on criminal and other malevolent cyber actors who seek information using hoax emails, also known as phishing, to gain access to finances or other sensitive information. Safety and security are always the highest priority for the Navy and therefore the recent reports on social media risks and new or recycled phishing scams do not necessarily mean there is an increased threat. The Navy, however, can never let its guard down.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division today authenticated the keel for the company's 30th Aegis guided missile destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). To make it official, Georgeann McRaven, ship sponsor and wife of retired Adm. William McRaven, former commander, U.S. "We have a long history of building surface combatants, and the DDG 51 destroyers have become the backbone of the U.S. Navy's fleet," said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. "These are complex vessels built by experienced shipbuilders. Mrs.