Ford News

Mazda Motor will probably have to temporarily move shipments to another port from Baltimore to avoid delays, the automaker's CEO said in a CNBC interview.The Port of Baltimore ranks first in the U.S. for volume of autos and light trucks and farm and construction machinery handled and a cargo ship crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has restricted shipments.However, CEO Masahiro Moro said Mazda does not currently expect a big impact from the port shutdown.U.S. automakers…

Virginia-class submarines, an aircraft carrier and frigates being built for the U.S. Navy are now years behind schedule because of skilled labor shortages, design issues, and supply chain challenges stemming from the pandemic, the Navy said on Tuesday.U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in January ordered a comprehensive review to examine national and local causes of the challenges to shipbuilding with Tuesday's results showing that five classes of ships being built for the U.S.

The catastrophic bridge collapse that closed the Port of Baltimore to ship traffic is unlikely to trigger a major new U.S. supply chain crisis or spike goods prices, due to ample and growing spare capacity at competing East Coast ports, economists and logistics experts say.With six people still missing after a container ship collision destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, it remained unclear how long the span's twisted superstructure would block the harbor's mouth.But port officials…

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has acquired AMMCON Corp., a Jacksonville- based fittings and assembled components manufacturer. The defense contractor’s acquisition continues its expansion and commitment to providing critical components to the U.S. Navy and other marine defense customers.“Fairbanks Morse Defense is working to build fully integrated products and services that will meet every need of maritime defense…

U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford will reroute affected shipments after a bridge collapse in the U.S. shuttered the Port of Baltimore, but the companies said on Tuesday the impact will be minimal."We expect the situation to have minimal impact to our operations. We are working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports," GM said in a statement.The Port of Baltimore is the busiest U.S. port for car shipments, handling at least 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

A massive cargo ship smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom was hospitalized, and searched for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the icy water around 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).The ship reported a power issue before impact…

HII announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division (NNS) recently began topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).EMALS, first integrated into USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), replaces the existing steam catapults currently in use on the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.Following successful “no-load” testing on catapults one and two, known as the ‘bow cats,’ the NNS team, alongside the John F. Kennedy crew, has now started “dead-load” testing.

Last week, on January 31, the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) returned pier side after successfully completing acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico for the U.S. Navy, Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA announced.During acceptance trials, comprehensive testing is conducted on the ship’s major systems and equipment in order to demonstrate their successful operation and mission readiness. The U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey participates throughout the trials to validate…

Chinese state media unveiled new images of China's most advanced aircraft carrier yet, including next generation launch tracks that can catapult a wider range of aircraft from its deck.First shown to the public in June 2022, the Fujian was entirely designed and built domestically.Yet to conduct its first sea trials, the aircraft carrier is larger and technologically more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted domestically.On state television late on Tuesday…

Canceled offshore wind projects, imperiled solar factories, and fading demand for electric vehiclesA year after the passage of the largest climate change legislation in U.S. history, meant to touch off a boom in American clean energy development, economic realities are fraying President Joe Biden’s agenda.Soaring financing and materials costs, unreliable supply chains, delayed rulemaking in Washington and sluggish permitting have wrought havoc ranging from offshore wind developer Orsted’s project cancellations in the U.S.

HII announced its Newport News Shipbuilding division has begun production at an additional campus in Norfolk, Va. to support the shipyard’s continued progress toward more effective and efficient shipbuilding.The Newport News Shipbuilding Norfolk Campus is located on land leased from Fairlead in the Lambert’s Point area, at a development known as Fairwinds Landing. NNS shipbuilders have worked at the site for several months constructing steel panels that will eventually make up units of Gerald R.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, have lowered the Mississippi River water elevations between Lower St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1, both in Minneapolis, from October 13.Corps officials plan to maintain the lower river elevations through October 30, to allow Twin Cities Hydro, LLC, to inspect and repair the rubber dam atop the spillway at Lock and Dam 1, also known as the Ford Dam.To access the rubber dam, the water levels need to be lowered approximately one foot below the spillway crest for approximately two weeks.

Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen has declared force majeure on a shipment to the Israeli port of Ashdod, with its Ever Cozy vessel diverted to Haifa further north due to safety concerns, according to a customer note.This is one of the first force majeures declared since Hamas Islamists launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, amid preparations by Israel's military to launch ground operations into Gaza in retaliation.The Ever Cozy was sailing towards Haifa port on Tuesday, according to data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic.Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas Islamists after its fighters stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza…

Realizing the full value of digital solutions far exceeds the capability of technology. The technology exists today to help offshore energy and maritime operators radically improve efficiency and cut costs in equal measure. The real trick to driving efficiencies is to take advantage of the latest technologies while at the same time negotiating the necessary culture change within individual organizations, to really reap the benefits.Harvest Technology Group is a relatively young and small Australian company that has caught the attention of a number of offshore and subsea industry heavyweights…

HII announced Monday that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to support maintenance of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in San Diego. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ), cost-plus incentive and award contract has a potential value of $528.4 million over five years, if all options are exercised.The contract covers maintenance, repair and modernization efforts for Nimitz- and Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers home-ported in and visiting the San Diego area.

The Navy wants, and needs, more ships; but it can’t build them fast enough.While the U.S. Navy aims to achieve a 355-ship fleet, it is decommissioning older (and some not so old) ships at about the same rate it's adding new ones.A Congressional Research Service report stated that, as of April 17, 2023, the Navy included 296 battle force ships. "The Navy projects that under its FY2024 budget submission, the Navy would include 293 battle force ships at the end of FY2024 and 291 battle force ships at the end of FY2028."But there is progress…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a $71,706,745 fixed-price incentive contract option from the U.S. Navy for the construction of an additional Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 15).With the award, the company is now under contract for five T-ATS, having received awards for T-ATS 13 and 14 in July 2022 and T-ATS 11 and 12 in October 2021.Paddy Gregg, CEO of Austal USA's Australian parent company Austal, said the contract award again highlights Austal USA’s growing steel shipbuilding capability…

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has been awarded a purchase order by Newport News Shipbuilding to supply four davits through Welin Lambie for the Ford Class aircraft carriers CVN 80 and CVN 81 (two davits per vessel). The award follows the supply of davits for CVN 78, which just entered service, and CVN 79, which is currently under construction. “This contract reinforces FMD’s position as a critical supplier to its core naval defense customers,” said Jay McFadyen, FMD’s Chief Commercial Officer.

New in-depth analysis from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)’s industry vessel inspection programmes, eCMID and eMISW, reveals ongoing concerns around technical inspections, the controlled entry into confined spaces, cyber security, as well as defects to life-saving appliances.IMCA eCMID System Annual Report 2022/23 analysed the 1,539 reports on vessel inspections undertaken and uploaded to the eCMID database between April 2022 and April 2023, finding common themes of concern.Of the 761 eCMID inspections…

Austal USA welcomed U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Michael Gilday at the company’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard. The CNO toured the shipyard’s facility and discussed the company’s growing diversity of design and shipbuilding contracts. During his tour, the CNO witnessed the production of both steel and aluminum ships in the company’s 867,000-sq. ft. module manufacturing facility, including operations supporting the submarine industrial base.Austal USA leadership briefed the CNO on the company’s involvement in several autonomous surface vessel programs…

The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, sailed into Oslo on Wednesday, a first for such a U.S. ship, in a show of NATO force at a time of heightened tension between NATO and Russia over the war in Ukraine.The ship and its crew will be conducting training exercises with the Norwegian armed forces along the country's coast in the coming days, the Norwegian military said."This visit is an important signal of the close bilateral relationship between the U.S.

Cyber attack attempts are becoming more common at U.S. ports and terminals, according to findings published this week by law firm Jones Walker LLP.The firm publicly released the findings of its 2022 Ports and Terminals Cybersecurity Survey, examining cybersecurity preparedness in U.S.-based ports and terminals. The report outlining the results of the survey is authored by four of the firm’s attorneys and the findings was presented by two of them, Jim Kearns and Andy Lee, during the Inland Rivers…