Heavy Manufacturing News

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipyard industry, today announced the 2022 Annual Shipyard Safety Awards. SCA recognized a total of 15 U.S. shipyards and repair facilities with seven recipients receiving multiple awards.SCA honors shipbuilding and repair organizations with the “Excellence in Safety” Award and “Improvement in Safety” Award each year for enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Buffalo District awarded a $4,565,000 contract to Michigan-based Ryba Marine Construction Company on May 17 to conduct dredging of the federal navigation channel in Toledo Harbor and the Maumee River.Dredging of harbors like Toledo’s and rivers like the Maumee ensures accessible depths for large vessels, the continued flow of commodities across the Great Lakes, and the economic viability of United States waterways.“The heavy manufacturing and maritime transportation sectors are at the heart of Northwest Ohio’s economy.

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipyard industry, today announced the 2020 annual shipyard safety awards. SCA honors shipbuilding and repair organizations with the “Excellence in Safety” Award and “Improvement in Safety” Award each year for enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention.Over the past several years, the industry has seen the total recordable incident rate steadily decline, with the most significant decline seen in 2019.

For U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes, 2019 was a good year. Total cargos were 90 million net tons, up 7.5% over 2018 and 4.6% over the five-year average. 49.7 million net tons of iron ore were shipped, up 8.5% over 2018 and 11.7% over the five year. Limestone was up 9.7% over 2018 and 10.2% over the five-year average. In 2010 and 2011, coal and limestone were each about 20 million net tons. Since then, coal has shown a steady decline as coal-fired power generating plants…

The 2017 Great Lakes shipping season begins today when the U.S.-flag tug/barge unit Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder departs her winter lay-up berth in Erie, Pa., and sails to Cleveland, Ohio, where she will initiate the shuttle of iron ore from Cleveland Bulk Terminal to the ArcelorMittal steel mill at the end of the navigable portion of the Cuyahoga River on Wednesday. The vessel will load approximately 15,000 tons that was mined from Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. The next vessel to get underway will be the cement carrier Bradshaw McKee/St. Marys Conquest on March 1.

The Port of Port Elizabeth is home port of a third ship to be registered on the South African Ships Register. This marks another step in South Africa’s drive to become a recognized Maritime Nation in line with the government’s Operation Phakisa initiative which aims to unlock the potential of the country’s ocean economy. On Wednesday, 13 July 2016, oil tanker MT LEFKAS docked at the port’s berth 100 where a ceremonial plaque exchange ceremony was officiated. The merchant vessel…

Today SC Ports Authority announced 13 percent year-over-year increases in container volume through the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year. SCPA handled 150,790 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, up 13.4 percent over the same month in 2013. Container volumes are 10.3 percent ahead of plan for the fiscal year, which began in July. From a calendar year perspective, TEUs  are up 11.5 percent over 2013 levels. Charleston breakbulk cargo volumes were also strong in September, with 65,214 pier tons handled during the month.

With a family of three yards located along the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, Signal International offers new construction, rig and ship repair, offshore and technical services. Marine construction and repair needs are complimented by three dry docks; a 30,000-ton lift rig dock, a 22,000-ton Panamax dry dock and a 4,500-ton lift dry dock. In Mobile, Ala., Signal Ship Repair (SSR) offers 4,400 ft. of water front along the Mobile River with a maintained channel depth of 44 ft. This facility specializes in ship repair and conversion.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Opens Houston Office to Pursue Energy Business for Avondale Subsidiary. Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that it is opening an office in Houston, Texas, for business development efforts to pursue opportunities in the energy infrastructure market for its Avondale subsidiary. "We have a great workforce at Avondale with unique engineering and manufacturing capabilities that have been demonstrated for many decades," said Mike Petters, HII's president and chief executive officer. "Additionally, these skilled men and women are located in the heart of a region where there is more manufacturing demand than thecurrent suppliers can meet, particularly in the energy markets.

According to a Bloomberg report, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) may keep its Avondale shipyard in Louisiana open beyond 2013 by turning it into a site for other manufacturing. Huntington, with 2010 sales of $6.7 billion, became a separate company in March when Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) spun off its shipbuilding unit. Former parent Northrop and Huntington have said the Avondale yard would be shut when work on the Navy’s two amphibious ships there is completed in 2013. Huntington, based in Newport News, Virginia, operates two other yards. One is in its home city and the other at Pascagoula, Miss. According to the Bloomberg story, the 268-acre Avondale site, about 10 miles upriver from New Orleans, would be suitable for heavy manufacturing, in maritime and other industries.

Over 1,400 employees gathered at EMD’s headquarters and manufacturing campus in La Grange, Ill. to celebrate the company’s fifth year of independence since being spun off from General Motors Corporation in April 2005. Honored guests included U.S. Congressional Representatives Dan Lipinski and Judy Biggert, along with Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski of McCook and Mayor Robert A. Conrad of the town of Countryside. A variety of activities were held to mark the occasion including a formal program that featured the remarks of EMD’s president and chief executive officer, John S. Hamilton. Hamilton observed, “Five years ago there were feelings of uncertainty regarding the future of the organization.

Signal International, LLC announced that the company will build a 300 ft by 100 ft ocean deck barge for Signet Maritime Corporation. The barge will be built at Signal’s Orange, Texas shipyard, with delivery scheduled for the first quarter 2010. In line with Signal’s marketing plan, large deck barges will be a continued product line for Orange, with multiple designs currently being offered. Signal’s yard in Orange has undergone a major transformation to elevate its marine and heavy manufacturing capability to world-class standards.

The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force said the Great Lakes came up short when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided how to divvy up the $4.6b Congress gave it for job creation and infrastructure improvements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Corps allocated only two percent of its stimulus dollars to the Great Lakes, leaving navigation and environmental projects in America’s heartland high and dry. The Task Force said the eight Great Lakes states received $94m for Lakes projects out of the $4.6b Congress gave the Corps, despite the fact cargo movement can top 200 million tons a year and supports hundreds of thousands of family-sustaining jobs.

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) announced the selection of eight new Ship Production Panel Projects, totaling approximately $500,000. The Navy’s sponsors this program as a means to help reduce the cost in building and maintaining its fleet. Business Case Outline and Commodity Material Standardization Process: The intent of this project is to create a consistent, verifiable business case outline and process that can be applied to any specific situation that requires analyses for cost benefit and investment. Shipyards need a standard detailed business case outline and a repeatable process that can calculate the costs and benefits of making changes.

The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has sued the U.S. Coast Guard to block controversial rulings that violate the 80-year-old Jones Act to allow U.S. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charges that a ruling issued on May 24, 2006 and affirmed on November 15, 2006 by the Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center, ignores the requirements of the Jones Act that stipulate that ships moving between U.S. ports must be "built in" the U.S. Shipyards Philadelphia (APSI) and NASSCO, a division of General Dynamics, to produce a series of tankers that are assembled from thousands of parts and modules imported from Korea.

Through a series of coincidental meetings, Southeastern New England Shipbuilding Corporation (SENESCO) was formed by seven individuals with different, unique backgrounds. Although only three of the original seven founders are still involved with the company, the focus remains the same. In fact, the young company is expecting its first delivery this autumn. According to Richard Carpenter, president and director of the company, the seven founders joined up during the winter months of 1993 and 1994. "The driving engine was a series of conferences called 'Navigating Beyond 94,'" he says. Carpenter, who had 30 years experience as a practicing attorney…