Television Systems News

The Passenger Vessel Association called member attention to the recently enacted economic stimulus bill contains $150m for a new round of financing for competitive Port Security Grants. Program Guidance and Application Kits are available online (www.fema.gov/grants). Many PVA members will be eligible to apply. Several changes from past grant rounds may make these grants potentially more attractive to PVA members. •    There will be no applicant cost share required. Federal grant funds will finance 100 percent of eligible projects. •    Any owner or operator of a MTSA-regulated vessel or facility is eligible to apply. This means that if a vessel or facility is required by the Coast Guard to have an approved security plan, the owner or operator can submit a grant application.

Globe Wireless announced on Feb. 13 that it has entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire the assets of Atlantic RadioTelephone / SatPhoneStore (ART). The acquisition is expected to close within 30 days. Globe Wireless recently introduced the GlobeSwift product line, which was specifically designed for the coastal and yacht market. Globe also recently opened a new sales and support office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. ART has been in business for over 35 years in the Miami area. The company operates a an on-line store (www.satphonestore.com), selling maritime and land-mobile satellite equipment and airtime, VSAT Internet and television systems, radars and a variety of marine electronics.

The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) commission will consider several recommendations involving contract awards, bids and proposals, professional services and general administrative and operational matters during its meeting at 2 p.m. Barbours Cut Boulevard (off Highway 146) in LaPorte, Texas. Jim Edmonds will preside over the meeting, which is open to the public. TRC-ECON Capital, L.P. for security infrastructure enhancements. enhancements. first security management system (SMS) at a U.S. port. to PHA's environmental management system. services over a two-year period at an estimated cost of $45,000. terminals at the Barbours Cut Container facility. fire protection, pavement striping and other utility adjustments. and $2.9 million. $69,691 contract to R.W. Patrick and Associates, Inc.

The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) commission approved a recommendation to award a contract to TRC-ECON Capital, L.P. for security infrastructure enhancements. Under the estimated $12 million, three-year design/build contract, TRC-ECON is expected to prepare a security master plan and implement the design and construction of fences, closed-circuit television systems, facility access controls and other security enhancements. The commission also approved a recommendation to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will enable Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF) to help PHA develop and implement the first security management system (SMS) at a U.S. port.

The evolution of liftboats took a giant leap forward when Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., delivered the L/B MYRTLE, a 137.5-ft. liftboat to Montco Offshore, Inc., Golden Meadow, La. Equipped with 245-ft., legs, the self-propelled floating platform has the ability to work in water depths to 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap while lifting a total of 850 KIPS of variable load. What makes the L/B MYRTLE different from other liftboats is that it is equipped with a bow thruster and controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater maneuverability and pinpoint positioning of the huge legs with oversized pads on the ocean bottom. Lee Orgeron, Montco’s president states, “We always strive to give our customers the best possible service with the highest level of safety built-in.

Following the 245-ft. class liftboat L/B MYRTLE, delivered two years ago from Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La., to Montco Offshore, Inc., Golden Meadow, La., has led Montco to order another nearly identical vessel, L/B KAYD. Like its predecessor, the L/B KAYD will be built in Lockport and delivery is planned for September 2005. “When we took delivery of the L/B MYRTLE, said Lee Orgeron, president of Montco, we hailed it as a giant leap forward in the evolution of liftboats. Now we are excited that the L/B KAYD, named after my grandson, will be the next step in that evolution. The three cranes, all to be manufactured by Titan Industries…

The navy is buying a dozen 9.3-metre-long aluminum boats to conduct 24-hour port security patrols around warships anchored or docked in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C., according to a Chronicle Herald report. Experts believe the purchase is aimed at preventing terrorist attacks similar to the October 2000 incident when two al-Qaeda suicide bombers brought a small boat alongside the USS Cole as it refueled in Yemen. They detonated explosives hidden in the boat, killing themselves and 17 sailors, and blasting a huge hole in the American destroyer’s hull. The new security boats will act as a "backstop" against terrorist attacks, and will likely carry .50-calibre machine-guns, according to the report.

Montco Offshore is the beneficiary of the latest innovative newbuild from the Bollinger Shipyards stable. The companies are touting the new L/B Myrtle, a 137.5 ft. unit, as a giant leap forward in the evolution of liftboats. The unit is outfitted with 245-ft. legs and the self-propelled floating platform has the ability to work in water depths to 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap while lifting a total of 850 KIPS of variable load. The feature that separates this liftboat from others, however, is that it is equipped with a bowthruster and controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater maneuverability and pinpoint positioning of the huge legs with oversized pads on the ocean bottom.