Portland Oregon News

Funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle and private equity firm Stellex Capital Management announced they have completed the sale of Titan Acquisition Holdings, a bi-coastal leader in ship repair services and marine and heavy complex fabrication, to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds. The initial definitive agreement of the sale was announced in February 2023 and the final close took place on June 15, 2023.Titan is comprised of Vigor Industrial LLC, an infrastructure, defense…

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc., supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets, announced on Tuesday that its Board of Directors appointed President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Lorie Tekorius, as the company's next CEO and President, effective March 1, 2022. On the same date, Greenbrier's co-founder, Chairman and CEO William A. Furman will assume the newly created role of Executive Chair until his retirement in September 2022. Furman 's current Board term continues until January 2024.Furman said…

Greenbrier Marine, a division of The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. announced the delivery of OSG 205, a 204,000-barrel capacity oil and chemical tank barge for dual-mode ITB service pursuant to U.S. Coast Guard NVIC 2-81, Change 1. The barge was delivered to Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG), a  provider of energy transportation services delivering crude oil and petroleum products throughout the U.S. and internationally. OSG 205 was paired with existing tug OSG Courageous.The new tank barge is the second that Greenbrier Marine has delivered to OSG this year…

One the United States' largest fleet service and ship repair sites is changing hands.Ship repair and commercial- and defense-related fabrication services provider Titan Acquisition Holdings announced on Wednesday it has reached a deal to acquire San Diego Shipyard from Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions.The San Diego Shipyard, formerly Continental Maritime of San Diego…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Monday announced more than $7.5 million in grants to nine Marine Highway projects. The funding, provided by MARAD’s America’s Marine Highway Program, will go toward enhancing existing services in Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington“This $7.5 million investment will improve our country’s vital fuel-efficient waterway transportation system, which makes an important contribution to exports and economic growth,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L.

In one a dramatic U.S. shipbuilding and repair move it was announced today that The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) and private equity firm Stellex Capital Management signed a definitive agreement to acquire and merge Vigor Industrial LLC, an infrastructure, defense, and maritime services company based in Portland, Oregon, and MHI Holdings LLC, a ship repair, maintenance, and other ship husbandry services company based in Norfolk, Virginia.The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions…

The newest articulated barge Gunderson Marine is building for Overseas Shipholding Group will be the first in the world to be dual certified as meeting EPA Tier 3 and IMO III emission standards. The barge is reaching this monumental milestone because of the Volvo Penta engines Gunderson and Pacific Power Group recommended for auxiliary engines that power the cargo pumps and the ship’s service generator sets.The 575-foot-long barge will be flagged as a U.S. vessel and will operate in both U.S. and international waters, which requires the engines meet the stringent emission standards.

Initial reports show that the towing industry is adjusting well to the new normal on inland rivers. In fact, it is business as usual for most.July 20, 2018 was a critical date for tow boat operators. That was the deadline for all U.S.-flag towing vessels – over 26 feet, or less if used to assist with transport of oil or hazardous materials – to be in compliance with Subchapter M, the U.S. Coast Guard’s towing vessel safety regulations. It’s been a long time coming. As a regulatory program…

Diverse Newbuild & Repair Business Buoys 2018The year 2018 is off to good start at Vigor. The Harbor Island facility welcomed a new drydock christened the Evolution. The $20 million Evolution is the third drydock at Vigor’s Seattle facility and largest in the Puget Sound region, measuring 640 x 115.5 ft. with a lift capacity of 22,000 LT.Other investments in Seattle include a buildout of a dedicated aluminum production facility which greatly expands Vigor’s fabrication capabilities and capacity for workboats…

Portland, Oregon-based Vanport Marine, Inc. has been awarded the contract to perform the Dockside Repair of the USCGC Bluebell. The scope of the contract includes upgrades to the Allied buoy and cargo crane, deck preservation, repairs to the weather tight doors, renewal of the sewage shore tie valve, and repair of the remote fuel cutoff valve and deck box. The work will be completed at the vessel’s home pier at 676 N. Basin Ave, Portland, OR. The performance period will begin on June 12, 2018 and end July 18, 2018. The cutter Bluebell is an inland buoy tender built by the Birchfield Boiler Co. in Tacoma, Wash., and was commissioned April 4, 1945.

The Navy will commission its newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS Portland (LPD 27), during a 10 a.m. PDT ceremony Saturday, April 21, at the Port of Portland, Marine Terminal 2 in Portland, Oregon. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Bonnie Amos, wife of the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps, retired Gen. James F. Amos, serves as the ship's sponsor. "USS Portland enters service in a period of dynamic security challenges, and I am confident this ship and crew will conquer these and future challenges because of the strength and talent of the Sailors and Marines who will serve aboard this ship," said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer.

Vigor Marine LLC, Portland, Oregon, is being awarded a $35,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract to prepare for and accomplish repair and alteration requirements in support of upcoming dry-docking selected restricted availabilities (DSRA) for DDG 51-class destroyers. This contract will support the dry-docking and facility support requirements for a DSRA and includes dry-docking support, office spaces, warehousing, lay-down, security, crane support, utilities, galley services and other ship’s force support. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by September 2020.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) said that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division was awarded a $1.43 billion, fixed-price incentive contract for the detail design and construction of LPD 29, the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. Ingalls has built and delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships. The 11th, Portland (LPD 27), will be commissioned on April 21 in Portland, Oregon. The 12th, Fort Lauderdale, is under construction and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2020. Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year.

The Portland Merchant's Exchange reported a total of 16 grain ships at Portland, Oregon. Six ships were loading and 10 were waiting to load.     (Reporting by Michael Hirtzer)

Marine News looks back at the past 12 months and showcases the best of North America’s workboat design shop and shipyard output. In a year where some stakeholders might not rank 2016 as the best of years in the shipyard or on the waterfront, we might disagree. And, there is plenty to write about. New contracts, deliveries and designs all combine to show that the collective workboat waterfront is moving forward, with technology, the environment and replacement tonnage requirements as the main drivers.

The latest addition to the Harley Marine fleet is now completing sea trials and preparing to enter service. The “M/V Earl W. Redd” will be operated under the flag of the Olympic Tug & Barge unit of Harley. The 120 foot tractor tug, built by Diversified Marine Inc. in Portland, Oregon, and named after the father of Diversified President Kurt Redd, is slated to enter service providing unrestricted coastal towing along the West Coast of the United States. Tier IV-compliant CAT engines coupled to Rolls-Royce “Z-drives” power the tug, delivering an expected bollard pull capability of 75 tons. Harley Marine once again selected Markey Machinery to supply the deck equipment for this vessel.

Vigor Marine LLC, Portland, Oregon, is being awarded a $10,268,877 firm-fixed-price contract for a 45-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry docking of USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9). Work will include clean and gas-free tanks, voids, cofferdams and spaces, deckhouse preservation, main generator maintenance and cleaning, high voltage switchboard and emergency switchboard cleaning, shell and deck steel replacement, dry-docking and undocking, propeller shaft and stern tube inspect, forward and aft stern tube seal inspection and overhaul, underwater hull cleaning and painting, freeboard cleaning and painting,  sea valve replacements, renew flight deck nonskid, and reverse osmosis unit sea-chest installation.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to build dozens of new warships in one of the biggest peace-time expansions of the U.S. Navy. But interviews with ship-builders, unions and a review of public and internal documents show major obstacles to that plan. The initiative could cost nearly $700 billion in government funding, take 30 years to complete and require hiring tens of thousands of skilled shipyard workers - many of whom don't exist yet because they still need to be hired and trained, according to the interviews and the documents reviewed. Trump has vowed a huge build-up of the U.S. military to project American power in the face of an emboldened China and Russia. That includes expanding the Navy to 350 warships from 275 today.

On the way to Tier IV compliance, it turns out that experience counts. In late February, the nation’s first Tier IV, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) tugboat was christened. That’s probably not earthshaking news all by itself – after all, SCR isn’t all that new – but the event likely ushers in a new era of powerful domestic workboats that also come with a greener environmental footprint. How all of that comes together is a bigger story, and one which will play out again and again in the coming year or two. At the heart of it all is Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime Consultants, who today lead the design field with no less than seven Tier IV, SCR versions in development. Digging deeper, it isn’t hard to see why. The new Tier IV hull comes with a silver lining.

Just two weeks after accepting the U.S. Coast Guard’s congratulations on a military career spanning almost three decades, Rob Nakama drove from Washington D.C. to Seattle to join Foss Maritime as the company’s Manager of Contingency Planning and Emergency Response. “I’ve been in the military for the majority of my life; the transition has been surreal,” he said. Nakama was born in Hawaii, growing up on the island of Maui as the son of a taro farmer who worked for the Aloha Poi Factory.

As the maritime world increasingly turns to unmanned and autonomous systems to carry out difficult and dangerous work, one drone innovator has received certification from a leading classification society to this end. Cyberhawk Innovations reports that it has been certified as an External Specialist by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in providing inspections for internal tanks using UAVs. Achieving ABS recognition means that the data captured by Cyberhawk’s UAVs can now be…

Marine News showcases the best of North America’s 2017 workboat deliveries. There is something for everyone. Notwithstanding the lingering offshore energy downturn, there were plenty of bright spots for North American shipyards in 2017. If a hull was delivered in 2017, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For starters, it is always exciting when a domestic yard delivers a vessel – or multiple vessels, for that matter – to foreign buyers. We can compete in a foreign arena; on price, quality and on-time delivery. This year was no different. No less important is the environmental footprint of a vessel, and there was plenty to report on from that angle in the past 12 months. The domestic waterfront is indeed getting greener and cleaner.

Vigor Marine LLC, Portland, Oregon, is being awarded a $19,629,518 firm-fixed-price contract to prepare for and accomplish repair and alteration requirements for USS Kidd (DDG 100) Chief of Naval Operations scheduled, selected restricted availability (SRA) in support of the DDG-51-class destroyer ship repair program. For U.S. Naval Surface Combatants – typical repair and maintenance work to be performed in SRA includes modernization ship alterations; blasting, painting and surface preparation for complete or touch-up preservation, freeboard, struts, rudders, running gear, ground tackle, and sea-chest; hull, mechanical and electrical; various interior tanks. Work will be performed in Everett, Washington, and is expected to be completed by September, 2018.