Sun Herald News

Construction on a shipbuilding academy proposed for Jackson County could begin as soon as next year according to an April 26 report from the Sun Herald. Gov. Haley Barbour invited interested parties to submit a full application to the Mississippi Development Authority on May 12 for a $20 million Community Development Block Grant. The money is part of Katrina-recovery funds earmarked for economic development and disbursed through the MDA. (Source: Sun Herald)

According to a report from the Sun Herald, on March 22, salvage crews removed debris from the Back Bay two days after a chain of eight barges crashed into the Popp’s Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, MS. The collapsed spans were lifted from atop one of the barges. Two cranes, tugboats and other heavy equipment were moved in to do the work. (Source: Sun Herald)

Chevron on Thursday is scheduled to hold its second open house for the public to learn about a proposed Pascagoula liquified natural gas terminal. The new depot would be located on 200 acres of unused industrial land within the current Chevron refinery complex. Bayou Casotte Energy, a subsidiary of Chevron, has not yet applied for permits for the project, which will include several major facilities including natural gas storage tanks, processing equipment and a ship docking area. The event at the Jackson County Civic Center from 5 to 8 p.m. is open to the public. (Source: Sun Herald)

According to the Sun Herald over the next few years Mississippi's shipbuilding industry should see its share of the defense spending bill passed by federal lawmakers lastThursday. About $2.6b of the $447.6b defense appropriations bill approved by Congress this week is earmarked for construction of two naval destroyers; Ingalls Shipyard will build one and parts of the other. A total of $10.6 billion of defense funding will go toward shipbuilding in fiscal 2007. After negotiators reached a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the bill earlier this week, it was passed by the House Tuesday 394-22, and then approved by the Senate on Friday by a vote of 100-0.

The Sun Herald has reported that Ship Island Excursions, a Gulfport harbor-based passenger ferry service, announced that it would sell one of its three ships because of a dramatic falloff in business. The company has put its 100-ft., 300-passenger capacity Captain Peteup for sale with ship broker Pinnacle Marine Corp. for $1 million. Selling the ferry will leave Ship Island Excursions with the larger 374-passenger capacity Gulf Islander and the 200-passenger capacity Pan American Clipper. Source: Sun Herald

The Sun Herald has reported that 16 senators, including Mississippi Republican Trent Lott added their names to the list of lawmakers urging Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to increase funding to the Navy in 2008 to pay for more ships. The lawmakers told Rumsfeld the new ships were needed to counter an emerging threat from the rapidly expanding Chinese navy. The request comes on the heels of a similar call last week by 69 members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Gene Taylor, a Bay St. Louis Democrat. The group wants Rumsfeld to up the Navy's budget proposal to $14.1 billion in fiscal 2008, which begins Oct. 1, 2007. That figure represents the amount that Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen says is necessary to meet the Navy's national security requirements.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco late on May 5 vetoed a proposed offshore natural gas port over concerns that fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico could be harmed. Blanco had until May 7 to file any objections to a proposed federal license for the Main Pass Energy Hub, a liquefied natural gas terminal being sought by Freeport McMoRan Energy LLC, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based McMoRan Exploration Co. "Until studies demonstrate that the operation of the open rack vaporizer will not have an unacceptable impact on the surrounding ecosystem, I will only support LNG terminals using a closed loop system having negligible impacts to marine life," Blanco said in a letter sent on May 5 to Julie A. Nelson, acting deputy maritime administrator and chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The USS Kidd, an Aegis class destroyer damaged during Hurricane Katrina, has been removed from drydock and placed pier side at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. The change means more extensive construction work can be performed. The vessel will be ready for the fleet by the end of the year, officials said. The destroyer sustained hull damage during the Aug. 29 storm, but shipyard workers returned the ship to the water six weeks earlier than originally scheduled. Because of the hull damage, the ship took on water and some compartments were flooded. Several employees who stayed on board the destroyer during the storm worked quickly to contain the water. The shipyard workforce returned to shipbuilding less than two weeks after Katrina.

Tugboats began towing Boomtown Casino's gambling barge on Feb. 13 to a dry dock in Pascagoula, where it was expected to arrive around midnight. The repairs at Signal International should take about three weeks. Penn National Gaming, which owns Boomtown and Casino Magic Bay St. Louis, has committed to rebuild its Coast properties. However, a timeline has yet to be announced. Company executives are expected to release more information this week when they issue a quarterly earnings report and host a conference call. (Source: Biloxi Sun Herald)

According to reports, Tugboats began towing Boomtown Casino's gambling barge to a dry dock in Pascagoula. The repairs at Signal International should take about three weeks, company officials said. Penn National Gaming, which owns Boomtown and Casino Magic Bay St. Louis, has committed to rebuild its Coast properties. Company executives are expected to release more information this week when they issue a quarterly earnings report and host a conference call. Source: SunHerald

A rainsquall that reduced visibility appears to have been the cause of a barge hitting a piling of the Mississippi River bridge at Natchez this past weekend, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported. The investigation is ongoing. As for previous reports that a power failure caused the accident, there's no evidence the barge lost power before the accident. The accident happened at about 8 p.m. on January 28 and involved a barge from Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel of Pine Bluff, Ark. There were no injuries. In addition, MDOT crews inspected the piling above the water level Sunday and found no damage. (Source: Biloxi Sun Herald)

The Harrison County Development Commission approved a land deal with Edison Chouest Offshore, in which HCDC is to sell 23 acres in Bernard Bayou Industrial Park to the company for $994,500 and to lease 7.8 acres along the industrial seaway for $10,850 per month. The company has declined to discuss its plans. The transaction now has to go to the Board of Supervisors. (Source: Biloxi Sun Herald)