Harbor Island News

Washington State Ferries has tapped local shipyard Vigor to convert up to three of its Jumbo Mark II class ferries to low-emission hybrid-electric power.Vigor's $150 million winning bid for the contract came in about $16 million under the second place bid from another Washington shipyard, but was still approximately $30 million above the state’s $120 million estimate for the project. Vigor has been awarded approximately $100 million for the conversion of two vessels, with a fixed-price option to convert the third vessel in 2025.WSF…

Vigor announced it completed a nine-month docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) on USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), returning it to service on-schedule.Work performed includes overhauling machinery, repairing the underwater hull and implementing significant renovations to the ship's superstructure.The contract, which was awarded to Vigor after a successful challenge last year, marks the third DSRA Vigor has completed at Pearl Harbor since 2021. Vigor previously competed DSRAs for USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and USS William P.

Vigor announced it has completed a three-year modernization project on U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) at its Harbor Island shipyard in Seattle.The project, which encompassed more than 1.7 million hours of work for Vigor employees, in addition to work by dozens of subcontractors and the U.S. Navy, was one of the largest, longest and most complex in Vigor’s history, the company said. Work completed including weapons, communications and information systems modernization, as well as upgrades to many other areas of the ship.

Vigor, a Titan company, has been awarded a $131 million U.S. Navy contract to complete a docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) on USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) at Harbor Island in Seattle. The ship arrived at Harbor Island on November 4, becoming the fourth U.S. Navy vessel currently undergoing maintenance at the Seattle shipyard.The DSRA will consist of underwater hull preservation, propulsion overhaul, structural work, valve overhaul, sonar work, deck preservation and significant modifications and alterations.

Vigor reports it has completed the modernization of USS McCampbell (DDG 85) at Swan Island, sending the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer on to its new homeport at Naval Station Everett, Wash. The 18-month, more than $155 million project was the largest ever completed by Vigor’s Ship Repair team, and the largest of its kind at Swan Island in nearly 30 years, the company said.“Our skilled workers at Swan Island were honored to support the U.S. Navy and get USS McCampbell back into service,” said Adam Beck, Vigor Executive Vice President of Ship Repair.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Friday awarded a $139 million construction contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC. (GLDD), to complete the third phase of the landmark Port of Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP). The four-phase infrastructure project will increase the Corpus Christi Ship Channel depth from -47 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) to -54 feet MLLW and widen it to 530 feet, with an additional 400 feet of barge shelves.Phase 3 will extend west of the La Quinta Junction through the Chemical Turning Basin in the Port’s Inner Harbor.

USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, docked at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) for the ship’s docking selected restricted availability (DSRA).Vigor, a Titan Company, and Hawaii Regional Maintenance Center (HRMC), responsible for surface ship maintenance at PHNSY & IMF, will partner to complete the DSRA. The work is expected to continue into early January 2022.William P. Lawrence’s availability will include routine maintenance…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. announced Thursday it is moving its corporate headquarters to Houston, positioning the nation’s largest dredging services provider nearer to major regional projects and opportunities. The firm will also open regional offices in Jacksonville, Fla., and Staten Island, N.Y.The move to Houston from from Oak Brook, Ill., which stems in part from changing industry dynamics, places the company closer to key regional customers and new markets, especially along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River…

U.S. shipbuilding company Vigor has selected ABB to supply the hybrid-electric propulsion and energy storage systems for the newest additions to the Washington State Ferry fleet, setting the largest U.S. ferry system on course to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use.The new Olympic Class ferries, each with a capacity of 144 cars and 1,500 passengers, with the planned addition of charging capability at terminals, would reduce fuel consumption by up to 95%. Upon delivery in 2024…

Callan Marine's new Jones Act cutterhead suction dredge (CSD) General MacArthur and its accompanying idler barge have entered service in Texas, heading to work on several projects before transiting to Corpus Christi for the second phase of the deepening and widening project.The newest and largest dredger in Callen Marine's fleet, the General MacArthur represents the next generation of dredging technology and crew comfort, said Maxie McGuire, President of Callan Marine.“The General MacArthur is a complete game-changer for the dredging industry,” McGuire said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded a $97.9 million dredging contract on Wednesday to Callan Marine, Ltd., to complete the second phase of the four phase Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project. The project increases the channel depth from -47 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) to -54 feet MLLW, and widens the channel to 530 feet with an additional 400 feet of barge shelves.The newest and largest dredger in the Callen Marine fleet, the General MacArthur, is…

Vigor was awarded a $254,566,431.36 firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of USS Chosin (CG 65) and USS Cape ST. George (CG 71) Modernization Periods (MODPRD). The contract includes options, which if exercised would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $303,677,110.Work will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair. The modernizations will keep these ships combat effective to support fleet operations for many years to come.Work will be performed at Vigor's Harbor Island facility in Seattle…

The fourth-largest port in the United States in total tonnage, Port of Corpus Christi has leased land where it hopes to build the nation's first export terminal to load very large crude carriers (VLCC).The Port of Corpus Christi Commission approved today a long-term (50-year) lease agreement with Lone Star Ports, a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and the Berry Group, for approximately 200 acres on Harbor Island to develop a state-of-the-art petroleum export terminal.Featuring the latest in safety, security and environmental technologies, the facility will connect U.S. crude producers with all major international markets.The lease…

Magellan Midstream Partners LP is considering Freeport, Texas and other locations along the U.S. Gulf Coast for a crude export terminal it had previously planned for a harbor island off the south Texas city of Corpus Christi, an executive said on Thursday.Magellan is still considering Corpus Christi as the spot for the terminal, Magellan senior vice president Mark Roles said during a panel at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in downtown Houston. The terminal would be capable of loading 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) onto supertankers and room for up to 20 million barrels of storage capacity…

The U.S. Coast Guard’s polar medium icebreaker Healy arrived at Vigor’s Seattle shipyard in early January for maintenance.The $7.3 million contract includes sea valve renewal and overhaul, bow thruster modifications, ballast tank and underwater hull paint preservation and various machinery overhauls.The vessel will be at Vigor’s Harbor Island facility through June 2019.The 20-year-old Healy was built at Louisiana's former Avondale Shipyard and commissioned in 1999. It is one of two icebreakers currently in operation for the U.S. Coast Guard, along with 42-year-old heavy icebreaker Polar Star.

Booming U.S. oil exports have set off a scramble to build Gulf Coast ports to handle more than 3 million barrels per day in new supplies expected over the next five years.Of seven proposed oil-export projects, nowhere is the opportunity greater or the competition more fierce than in Corpus Christi, Texas, where three firms are vying to open the state's first deepwater port.Commodities trader Trafigura has taken an early lead with a planned offshore facility that has an easier…

Port to build oil export terminalPrivate equity firm Carlyle Group will partner with the Port of Corpus Christi, the top oil export hub in the United States, to develop a major crude oil export terminal on Harbor Island.Carlyle's announcement comes as infrastructure in the U.S. oil industry struggles to keep up with record levels of production, driven by the Permian shale patch in West Texas. Both international buyers and American producers are waiting for export capacity to increase.Corpus Christi has its own plan to expand operations to handle larger export tankers.

Diverse Newbuild & Repair Business Buoys 2018The year 2018 is off to good start at Vigor. The Harbor Island facility welcomed a new drydock christened the Evolution. The $20 million Evolution is the third drydock at Vigor’s Seattle facility and largest in the Puget Sound region, measuring 640 x 115.5 ft. with a lift capacity of 22,000 LT.Other investments in Seattle include a buildout of a dedicated aluminum production facility which greatly expands Vigor’s fabrication capabilities and capacity for workboats…

Argo is now in operation on the Alameda/Oakland routes in San Francisco.Vigor recently delivered Argo, the third of four all aluminum, 400 passenger ferries to the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) in San Francisco, Calif.The hull was constructed at Vigor Ballard and the superstructure in Vigor’s new aluminum fabrication bay at its Harbor Island facility. “The new fabrication bay significantly expands Vigor’s production capabilities and capacity for our portfolio of aluminum workboats, high performance military craft and state of the art ferries like Argo,” said Tim Kolb, Vigor Puget Sound General Manager. “It was fitting to have this award-winning design be our inaugural vessel for the new facility.”Like its sister ships…

Vigor built on its ongoing investments in critical infrastructure in the Puget Sound in 2017 with the $20 million investment in another drydock. At 640 ft. long with a clear width of 116 ft., the new dock will be the third, and largest, at Vigor’s Harbor Island shipyard. The drydock is expected to be operational in early first quarter 2018 and is part of Vigor’s ongoing commitment to make Harbor Island a primary destination for ship repair and conversion on the West Coast for both commercial and government customers.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) christened Suquamish, its fourth Olympic Class auto/passenger ferry, to serve passengers on the Mukilteo/Clinton route beginning in 2019. The christening ceremony was held at Vigor's Harbor Island Shipyard in Seattle, where the new 144-car ferry has entered the final stages of construction and preparation ahead of sea trials starting in mid-2018. In addition to summer operations on the Mukilteo/Clinton route, the new ferry will also serve as a maintenance relief vessel in the winter, filling in when other vessels are out of service.

Vigor said it has entered into an agreement to purchase a drydock from a Korean seller, continuing the shipbuilder’s ongoing infrastructure investments and expansion of U.S. West Coast drydock capacity. At 640 feet long with a clear width of 116 feet, the new dock will be the third, and largest, at Vigor’s Harbor Island shipyard. “The purchase of another drydock in Seattle allows Vigor to better service valued  customers like Washington State Ferries, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy,” said Adam Beck, Vigor Executive Vice President of Ship Repair. Beck and his team had been actively looking for the right drydock at home and abroad for a number of months. The one selected happened to be in Korea.

The new ferry Chimacum joined the Washington State fleet on Friday, April 7 as Washington State Ferries officially accepted the vessel from builder/contractor Vigor. The Chimacum will carry ferry riders on the Seattle/Bremerton route this summer after crews complete vessel outfitting, operational training and drills. Christened Chimacum, the new ferry’s name honors the Chemakum tribe’s gathering place, which is now the present day town of Chimacum near Port Townsend. “We’re excited to welcome the Chimacum to our fleet,” said Washington State Ferries Assistant Secretary Amy Scarton.