Electrician News

When Greg Trauthwein offered me a column in Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, I received little direction with regard to subjects. I have not yet tested his boundaries of my subjects, and maybe, some day, I will try to slip in a column on the role of nautical fiction in the development of modern literature.So far, I have tried to stick with engineering subjects, although recently I may have pushed the boundaries with discussions on decision making, esthetics and OODA loops.It…

Global engineering and defense technologies provider Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted commencement exercises for 170 graduates of the company’s Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). The ceremony was held at Liberty Live Church in Hampton.Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin began the event by addressing the graduates as the shipyard’s newest leaders. “I want you to know how proud I am of each of you for everything that you've accomplished,” Boykin said.

NAVTOR CEO Tor Svanes is "Mr. ECDIS", at least that't the title he's been given in a new book charting his life story as well as his role in the development of maritime e-Navigation. Author Tønnes H. Gundersen details the voyage that took Svanes from electrician’s apprentice in the small town of Egersund, Southern Norway, to a globally renowned figure in this key smart shipping niche. And, Svanes is keen to add, the journey isn’t over yet.Gundersen spent more than two years researching, interviewing and writing the 300-page opus, which was launched today in both English and Norwegian versions.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Wednesday that The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding was certified by the Council for Occupational Education to provide academic degrees in 26 educational programs.Starting in 2023, the school will grant associate degrees of applied science in maritime technology to apprentices who complete the required coursework and skills training, including maintenance electrician, marine designer, nuclear test technician, welding and modeling…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) hosted commencement exercises on Saturday, April 17, 2021, for 154 graduates of the company’s Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding. Due to the COVID-19 environment, and in an effort to keep all employees, staff, graduates and their guests safe, the ceremony was held outdoors at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton.“A drive-in movie-style graduation is likely not what you expected, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the past year in many ways isn’t what any of us expected…

Phoenix Lighting has introduced the SturdiSignal Series of navigation lights- a fully modular and serviceable LED navigation light.Phoenix said its design allows for tool-less repair in minutes, without any electrical work. With a spare LED module kept onboard for field repairs, a vessel can always remain safe and compliant."For years, operators and naval architects have asked Phoenix for navigation light options that are modular and as durable as our other marine LED fixtures…

Around midnight on February 23, Eulalio Bravo, a marine electrician, was dozing in his rack aboard the San Ramon, an oil tanker anchored off the coast of Venezuela.Suddenly, he heard footsteps pounding along the passageway outside. His captain, Jaime Herrera, cried for help."Be still!" an unfamiliar voice ordered.A gun fired.By the time Bravo and eight other shipmates emerged to see what had happened, the captain lay dead, a gunshot in the back of his head. Herrera's stateroom had been pillaged, drawers flung open, his bunk overturned. The killers were gone, as were thousands of dollars the captain kept under lock and key, according to crew members interviewed by Reuters.The murder…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that The Apprentice School at its Newport News Shipbuilding division has been approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to operate as a postsecondary institution. The certification gives the school the authority to grant academic degrees, further enhancing its national reputation as the model apprenticeship program.The school plans to grant associates of applied science degrees in maritime technology in 26 disciplines…

Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Myrtle Hazard to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 162nd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 39th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.The USCGC Myrtle Hazard is the first of three FRCs to be home-ported in Apra Harbor, Guam, increasing the presence for the U.S. Coast Guard in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Additionally, later in 2020, Bollinger will deliver the first of six FRCs that will be home-ported in Manama…

Alewijnse Marine has completed the electrical fit-out of the Mexican Navy’s latest vessel; the Long Range Ocean Patrol (POLA) vessel ARM Reformador. Built at the ASTIMAR 20 naval shipyard in Salina Cruz, Mexico, with the Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards and its suppliers, it is widely regarded as the most advanced naval vessel afloat in Latin America.The scope of works covered all aspects of the ship’s electrical systems, including engineering, the supply and installation of equipment, project coordination and supervision, and commissioning.

The Hepburn and Sons LLC team welcomed David Rice, CAPT David Bauer, USN (Ret), and Gary Loberg as their newest members. David Rice serves as Senior Consultant, Material Science. David Bauer will serve as the Senior Manager, Material Science. Gary Loberg serves as Senior Manager, Advisory Services.David Rice comes to Hepburn and Sons, LLC after a career spanning 45 years at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). During his time at NNS he served as the Manager of Contracted Research & Development and was responsible for Research & Development Programs funded by ONR/ManTech…

As a new decade starts, offshore wind development continues to progress. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to write that the development of the development of offshore wind (OFW) continues to, uh, well, develop.Apologies for that mild sarcasm. But even a quick look-back at OFW always raises the same familiar question: is the glass half empty or half full?Consider developments in the east coast leader in offshore wind: New York.In a webinar in December New York’s NYSERDA –…

BIMCO, the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners, said that it has revised and updated its two standard ship repair contracts: REPAIRCON, which is for major work at a repair yard; and MINREPCON, which is for minor repair work that can be done by contractors when a ship is in port.Both contracts were approved at BIMCO’s Documentary Committee in Copenhagen on 13 November. Modifications and improvements have been made to the REPAIRCON contract, while MINREPCON has undergone a full review, said a release from the company.“Ship repair is a major undertaking and it’s important that both parties are fully aware of their respective part in the process.

Long a staple for offshore service providers, a more compact and carefully designed version of the diesel electric option is now available for inland pushboats. For budget conscious operators (and who isn’t, in this environment?), the stars may finally be aligned.For many years, electric propulsion has proven to be a viable propulsion solution for many different types of vessels. Most familiar to workboat stakeholders would be the advent of the ‘diesel electric’ offshore serve providers (OSV) that became commonplace during the offshore boom era. Those vessels operated in a different regulatory environment, with the emphasis more leaning towards operational efficiencies and fuel economy.

Just two weeks after accepting the U.S. Coast Guard’s congratulations on a military career spanning almost three decades, Rob Nakama drove from Washington D.C. to Seattle to join Foss Maritime as the company’s Manager of Contingency Planning and Emergency Response. “I’ve been in the military for the majority of my life; the transition has been surreal,” he said. Nakama was born in Hawaii, growing up on the island of Maui as the son of a taro farmer who worked for the Aloha Poi Factory.

Chris Remont, Bollinger Shipyards, Vice President, Government Programs, explains the importance of long-term relationship between the U.S. Coast Guard and Bollinger Shipyards. As the offshore oil and gas bust drags into its third year, Bollinger Shipyards is holding its own courtesy of a long-running relationship in building for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Today Bollinger has 38 Sentinel-class FRCs under contract, with the possibility for 20 more. Remont explains that the contract was split into two phases.

When is bad harassment prevention training worse than no training at all? When it comes with a wagging finger shaming employees whose only sin is being a little rough around the edges. When it emboldens opportunistic employees to seek an advantage they do not deserve. When it causes managers to cravenly subordinate legitimate operational considerations to political correctness. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not mandate a general civility code. Nor does it prohibit all verbal or physical harassment in the workplace.

In 1950, International Falls, Minn., native Jim Briggs, shook hands with his fellow crewmembers and stepped off the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle with his seabag packed to the brim and strewn across his back. It would be 66 years until he returned. “They told me I always had a home there, and I could always come back,” Briggs said. The Eagle was built in 1936 by Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned as Horst Wessel. At the end of World War II, the ship was taken by the U.S. as a war prize and renamed Eagle. In 1946, a U.S.

Russia’s embassy in Nigeria confirmed on Thursday that the Greek-owned oil tanker Leon Dias has been hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea, reports TASS. There are reports that the oil tanker hijacked by suspected militants from the Niger Delta has been freed and is now located some 7.5 nautical miles near the Cotonou Port in Benin. The merchant ship, MT LEON DIAS that was allegedly hijacked by gunmen is current off the Coast of Cotonou in the Benin Republic. Nigerian military sources disclosed that the ship which is a chemical/oil tanker is currently under the custody of the Beninois Navy. "The name of the ship is MT LEON DIAS. An oil tanker…

Representatives from the Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS) educated the surface warfare community on who they train and how they support the Fleet at the Surface Navy Association (SNA) Symposium January 12-14. Capt. Bill McKinley, CSCS commanding officer, oversees 14 learning sites and is responsible for combat systems training across the rates of fire controlman, operations specialist, gunner’s mate, sonar technician surface, mineman, interior communications electrician, and electronics technician.

The perennial “Year of Subchapter M” has been kicked forward again, this time to February 2016. That means that the clock is now ticking loudly for those towing operations that have yet to climb onboard the safety train. Quality operators see standardized safety practices as a way of leveling the playing field, integral to maintaining the health and profitability of their fleets, and key to winning business from quality customers. Subchapter M will be a phased-in over a period of years. It’s not as much time as you think.

Austal’s U.S. operation consists of more than 4,000 employees supporting the design, construction and sustainment of two U.S. Navy programs, the 127-meter, trimaran Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the 103-meter, catamaran high-speed troop and equipment transport known as the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). Austal has block-buy contracts in place for both programs totaling over $5 billion. In the past year, it has  delivered the Jackson (LCS 6), USNS Fall River (JHSV 4) and USNS Trenton (JHSV 5).

Three years before the cruise ship he was steering capsized in the Yangtze River, the Chinese government honoured captain Zhang Shuwen for saving the life of an elderly man who had suffered an asthma attack. Zhang is now the focus of attention after his ship, the Eastern Star, sank on Monday night during a fierce storm, in what may be China's worst maritime disaster in almost 70 years. At least 19 bodies have been found and more than 400 people are missing. Zhang escaped alive and is in police custody, although he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Until the incident, Zhang was regarded as an effective captain. He received an "outstanding employee" award by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation last year…