Smit Americas News

The U.S. Navy has begun the process to remove the island from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) as part of an ongoing inactivation availability for the warship that was destroyed by a major fire in 2020.Salvage contractor Smit Americas started the removal process Tuesday, the Navy said. Workers will reduce the island's height down to just above the flight deck to improve the ship’s structural integrity and readiness for tow.The Navy announced at the end of 2020 it would scrap the…

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has concluded a good third quarter. Revenue and earnings, adjusted to reflect the deconsolidation of SAAM SMIT Towage, are in line with the first two quarters of 2014. At Dredging the possible settlement of a number of old projects mentioned during the presentation of the half-year numbers has taken place. This contributed substantially to third quarter earnings. Overall market conditions remain challenging. Despite this the order book has risen slightly, compared to the mid-2014 level, to EUR 3.3 billion, which is on par with the level at the start of the year. Based on current insights the second half of the year is expected to be good.

When Raymond Lord was named President of Donjon-SMIT, LLC just over one year ago, the native Houstonian brought with him more than 30 years of experience within the marine salvage industry, and he joins industry heavyweights John Witte and Douglas Martin at the joint-venture, casualty response and compliance group. Coming from his previous position as Vice President and Operations Manager for SMIT Americas in Houston, Lord now heads up one of the largest, and arguably the most visible nationwide marine service providers.

Raymond Lord has been named President of Donjon-SMIT, LLC, effective November 8.        A native of Houston, Texas, Mr. Lord has more than 30 years of experience within the marine salvage industry, most recently serving as Vice President and Operations Manager for SMIT Americas in Houston. “We are very happy to welcome Raymond Lord to Donjon-SMIT,” said John A. Witte, Jr., Director, Donjon-SMIT.  “We look forward to a long and productive future with him at the helm,” Douglas Martin, Director, Donjon-SMIT, added.

Marine salvage and response companies Donjon Marine Co., Inc. (Hillside, NJ) and SMIT Americas (Houston, TX) announced a new joint venture known as Donjon-SMIT, An OPA-90 Alliance. This new response organization has been created specifically for compliance and response services as required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-90). The Joint Venture will begin providing services on December 31, 2004. Donjon and SMIT will continue to provide non-OPA-90 salvage and related services independent of one another, as they have for many years. Principals for Donjon-SMIT, An OPA-90 Alliance, are John Witte, Executive Vice President of Donjon, and Roger Elliott, President, for SMIT Americas.

Responding to the need for a presence and to assist in the professionalization of the U.S. marine salvage and firefighting response, nine U.S. salvors have joined together to form the American Salvage Association (ASA). The initial group has participated in a vast amount of all of the significant salvage and wreck removal cases that have occurred over the last 10 years in the U.S. The Association's current membership is comprised of: Bisso Marine; Crowley Marine Services; Donjon Marine Co.; Marine Pollution Control; Resolve Marine Group; Titan Maritime Industries; Weeks Marine; Smit Americas; and T&T Marine Salvage. Membership is currently open to any U.S. salvage contractors who are committed to the present and future state of their industry. At the Association's premiere meeting, J.

In November 1997, Japanese refrigerator ship Kuroshima went aground at Summer Bay near Alaska's Dutch Harbor in heavy weather. A local USCG team was able to rescue only 16 of the ship's 18 crewmembers. Two perished when heavy seas broke over the ship's bows as it was attempting to reset anchors. The vessel was eventually salvaged but USCG investigations have disclosed that it was not a smooth operation. According to the USCG, when immediate efforts to remove the ship from the beach failed, Crowley Maritime Corporation was contracted to attempt salvage while a local firm, Magone Marine, was contracted to provide assistance. Even before salvage terms were agreed upon…

First Wave/Newpark Shipbuilding, in Galveston, Texas, has had a busy spring. First, the company was awarded a contract by Diamond Offshore Drilling to install a crane and perform annual survey work on Ocean Lexington. That contract was completed in March. Next, the company won a contract from Smit Americas, Inc. for drydocking of Ocean Hercules. The vessel was drydocked on the shipyard's 7,500-ton drydock for general maintenance and conversion from a seismic vessel to a telecommunication cable laying vessel. Finally, First Wave drydocked Pride Louisiana for Pride Offshore. The rig was docked in the Galveston Ship Channel, utilizing a heavy lift barge for an annual survey. The rig will depart upon completion of the survey.