Eads News

Last year I provided a list of my favorite historical ships as my contribution to the Great Ships issue. Even though I received some pushback on the list, I see no need to amend it.I created that list to avoid having to judge today’s Great Ships, but the second time around I suppose I cannot evade my mission and should focus on present day vessels, and there is a lot of interesting stuff being produced in the U.S. and globally.But behind every Great Ship there are a lot of great people that stood at her cradle…

Scienco/FAST, an experienced manufacturer of Marine sewage devices (MSD) recently received an extraordinary service order. Or, maybe it’s not that extraordinary.Scienco/FAST, a St. Louis, Missouri-based manufacturer has, over many years, had plenty of experience in dealing with archived orders. In fact, the firm just had a call from a client that needed to replace a part on a previously installed Scienco/FAST system. So what? Well, it turns out that the system was installed onto a domestic tugboat, way back in 1975. That more-than-43-year-old workhorse is still in service. And, so too is the Scienco/FAST system that’s been on board since it was launched.For its part, Scienco/FAST says that this is just one, of countless typical examples of how long the overbuilt Marine/FAST units can last.

Facing continued growth driven by client demand, the Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard have together added 20 new employees in Q1 2016 and are looking to hire an additional 50+ employees before the end of Q4 2016. “We’re looking out for the future,” said the company’s president, Joe Starck. “We’re strategically focusing our efforts on finding, developing and training a team of professionals for a growing workforce to successfully accomplish the contracts we have now, and the potential contracts we are working on.

Airbus is considering a sale of its 49 percent stake in submarine supplier Atlas Elektronik as part of a reshuffle of its military business, German newspaper Die Welt reported on its website on Friday, citing industry sources. Aerospace and defence group Airbus - then called EADS - and German industrial group ThyssenKrupp jointly bought Atlas Elektronik from BAE Systems in 2005, beating out France's Thales. Die Welt said Airbus was to make a decision on a sale of its stake in the coming months. ThyssenKrupp likely has a right of first refusal, it said.

The Coast Guard informs it is responding with St. Louis Fire Department to the sinking of a towing vessel on the Mississippi River near the St. Louis Riverfront. Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River received a report that the towing vessel Jim Marko owned by Osage Marine sank near the Stan Musial Memorial Bridge, with about 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board. The Mississippi River is closed between lock and dam 27 and the Eads Bridge. Pollution responders from Sector Upper Mississippi and the St. Louis Fire Department are on scene. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident, and adds that there were no injuries reported.

The board of Alstom accepted General Electric's 10 billion euro ($13.82 billion) bid for its energy unit on Tuesday, several sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Sources said GE is not in exclusive talks with Alstom. The French transport-to-turbines group is also set to receive an offer from its much larger German competitor Siemens AG , which said it had sent a letter to Alstom after its managing and supervisory boards had decided to make an offer. Alstom is expected to make a statement about the two offers early on Wednesday, before its shares, suspended since late last week, resume trading. The rival bids have triggered a fierce national debate about the fate of power turbine and train manufacturing in France - both integral to the country's engineering pedigree.

Astrium Services, the global innovative provider of satellite enabled solutions, has announced that it will operate with immediate effect under its new name Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Airbus Group. The change from Astrium Services to the new Airbus Defence and Space is part of a rebranding throughout the wider EADS organization. Earlier this year, EADS became Airbus Group, with three distinct divisions: Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space, and Airbus Helicopters. The entire Astrium Services portfolio of satellite communications and geo information services will continue under the newly created Communication, Intelligence & Security (CIS) business line of Airbus Defence and Space.

Astrium and Inmarsat have reached a strategic distribution partnership agreement which will see Global Xpress services made available to Astrium Services’ large partner and customer base. Astrium Services will deliver Global Xpress high-speed broadband services through its worldwide distribution channels. The strategic agreement will cover key vertical markets, including the maritime as well as the government and defense sector, initially in Europe. In due course the Astrium Services Global Xpress offering will encompass all service types – packaged services…

Astrium Services, the global provider of satellite enabled telecom solutions, is again expanding its global VSAT coverage following the signing of new separate Ku-band capacity agreements with Eutelsat and SES. the company said new capacity secures more coverage and better performance in existing coverage spots. Enhanced capacity on Eutelsat’s E36B will provide improved services and more bandwidth for Astrium Services customers operating in the Mediterranean and Middle East, in addition to the area North of Norway and Russia (Barents Sea).

Astrium Services released a new software version for its established XChange connectivity platform, which offers a range of new features to facilitate permanent remote access, allow smartphone usage on board and provide improved VoIP capabilities. XChange v2.3 was developed to meet specific customer demands and is available free of charge by a simple firmware update, through a local file or via the embedded over-the-air update feature. The inclusion of new VoIP technology in XChange enables bandwidth savings of over 50%, whilst at the same time offering high call quality and reliability. This makes regular use of VoIP a more attractive option to the crew…

CMR Group has welcomed James Thwaites to its professional team. Thwaites stepped into the newly created role of Group Marketing Manager and will coordinate global marketing efforts for CMR Group. He will lead all activities related to customer/product strategy and launching new products to market, including the Group’s Product Development Forum. Additionally, Thwaites will manage all traditional marketing functions including advertising, brand identity, sales promotions, corporate communications, and business process improvement.

Astrium completes the  acquisition of Vizada after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals. Vizada is a leading independent provider of global satellite communications services and will be integrated into Astrium Services. This acquisition represents a total consideration of € 673 million and contributes to EADS' strategic Vision 2020. “We are happy to welcome Vizada into the EADS Group, which concludes a successful year for us in terms of acquisitions”, said Marwan Lahoud, Head of EADS Corporate Strategy and Marketing Organisation. According to Eric Béranger, CEO of Astrium Services: “Combining the skills and capabilities of everyone in Vizada and Astrium Services creates a world leading provider of satellite services.

Volker Paltzo has been appointed to the Management Board of Atlas Elektronik. Effective October 1, Paltzo will succeed Kai Horten, who leaves after five years as Managing Director of ATLAS to become CEO and President of the aircraft manufacturing supplier Premium Aerotec GmbH. Dieter Rottsieper will remain Speaker of the Management Board. At present, Paltzo (46) is the COO of Eurofighter GmbH. Once he joins Atlas Elektronik, he will be responsible for Submarine Systems, Naval Weapons, Vessel Systems, Business Development and Marketing, as well as Services and Communications.

Technip appoints John Harrison to its Executive Committee as General Counsel. In this newly created function, John Harrison will as General Counsel be responsible in the Executive Committee for all group legal, corporate and compliance matters and will report to the Chairman and CEO of Technip, Thierry Pilenko. Prior to his appointment and since 2003, John Harrison was General Counsel of the Defence and Security Division of EADS. Harrison brings international experience to Technip having started his career in 1991 at the international law firm Clifford Chance, working consecutively in their London, New York and Paris offices. From 1998 onwards he held senior legal positions in Airbus and in the EADS Group.

"Deepwater One Team" has delivered a $2.3-billion proposal to the U.S. Coast Guard for the design and development of an Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) that will help the Coast Guard meet vital offshore operational requirements into the 21st century. Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA) of Madrid, Spain; Eurocopter, an EADS Company, of Marignane, France; John J. McMullen Associates Inc. (JJMA) of Alexandria, Va.; and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Avondale Operations, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation, located in New Orleans, La. The transatlantic team's proven capability in large-scale systems integration and demonstrated successes in partnering with customers is aimed at providing a best-value system solution to the Coast Guard for its planned multibillion-dollar…

On January 31, 2004 at Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard in Lemwerder/Germany a 25m SWATH@A&R vessel was launched. The Explorer will be used as a “Demonstrator” vessel for the further development of the “Minehunting 2000” remote controlled minehunting system. The contract for developing this system was awarded in 2002 to a consortium consisting of Abeking & Rasmussen, Atlas Elektronik, EADS and Lürssen. The newbuilt SWATH vessel is based very closely on the proven 25m SWATH@A&R® Pilot Vessels, which are in operation in the North Sea since 1999. Keel laying was done on March 21st last year.

Maritime communications is an estimated $1 billion industry, encompassing ship operators, merchant fleets, governments and private yacht owners. There is arguably no more quickly evolving technical sector in the maritime market than the satellite communications niche. Safety, operational efficiency and quality of life onboard vessels of all type and size today more than ever depends on clear, reliable and cost effective satellite communication services and products. The following reports on recent advances from major service, product and system suppliers. The year started with news that Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company, would roll-out its high speed satellite broadband capability for the maritime industry.

El Paso Global LNG, a subsidiary of El Paso Corporation announced the development of EP Energy Bridge(TM), a new ship-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification system. Using proven offshore buoy technology to moor the ship and proprietary technology to regasify LNG onboard the ship and discharge it through a subsea pipeline, EP Energy Bridge(TM) enables flexible, environmentally safe, and cost-effective delivery of natural gas directly to coastal regions eliminating the need of a conventional land-based terminal. This delivery system is expected to be operational and in service by 2005. "EP Energy Bridge(TM) gives El Paso the ability to serve existing baseload and peaking demand markets…

Spain is in talks with several shipbuilders in Europe to create a joint European company similar to the aerospace EADS, the chairman of Spain's state holding company (SEPI) said. After a presentation in Madrid of Spain's new civilian and military shipbuilder Izar, Pedro Ferreras said SEPI was already talking to groups in France, Germany and Italy. "We want to begin working on projects common to European countries, like the model followed by the aerospace sector, but that takes time," he said, referring to the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS). EADS was born from the merger of SEPI-controlled Casa, France's Aerospatiale Matra and Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace.

By Gordon I. Throughout the Cold War, the need to maintain strong military forces to deter war with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact was a mainstay of U.S. national security policy. During today's global war on terrorism, similar linkages exist between a more capable U.S. Coast Guard, improved homeland security, and the deterrence or defeat of a terrorist attack in the maritime domain. The 9/11 Commission Report clearly describes this nexus. "Our report shows that the terrorists analyze defenses," the Commission wrote. "They plan accordingly. Defenses cannot achieve perfect safety. They make targets harder to attack successfully, and they deter attacks by making capture more likely.

The U.S. Navy is awarding indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contracts to 391 contractors that will provide for their competition for service requirements solicited by Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command, Military Sealift Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Strategic Systems Programs, and the United States Marine Corps. The 22 functional service areas within the scope of the contracts include 1. Research and Development Support. 2. Engineering System Engineering and Process Engineering Support. 3. Modeling, Simulation, Stimulation, and Analysis Support. 4. Prototyping, Pre-Production, Model-Making, and Fabrication Support.

Transas Europe GmbH, the European representative of Transas Group, is part of the team that will supply a new suite of navigational systems to the entire German Navy fleet. The contract to equip all the German Navy ships was awarded to a group of companies led by ET Marinesysteme GmbH as prime contractor, an equally shared joint venture between EADS and Thales. The final contract was raised by the Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) and signed in September 2005 for the system supply to start later this year and to be completed in 2009. The navigational suite for almost 100 ships will consist of Transas Navi-Sailor 3000 ECDIS, (U)AIS-Transponders of Saab Transpondertech AB and navigational ARPA Radars, supplied by Sperry Marine BV.