Bob Merchent News

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine has been awarded a contract to build a second U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.The $552.7 million detail design and construction contract follows a $745.9 million contract awarded in 2019 to build the first PSC. There is also an option for a third PSC.The Polar Security Cutter program is planned to replace the Coast Guard's existing fleet of icebreakers. The new fleet will allow the USCG to perform missions in the Arctic region…

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine announced on Thursday it has been awarded a $149 million contract for the detail design and construction of an oceanographic survey ship (T-AGS 67) for the U.S. Navy.“This contract continues the momentum and growth of Halter Marine by adding a third government program to its shipyard along with the Polar Security Cutter and Auxiliary Personnel Lighter-Small programs. With this contract award, Halter Marine will add approximately 250 highly skilled jobs allowing for the continued development and expansion of our workforce…

U.S.-based Halter Marine, an ST Engineering North America company, has been awarded a contract option for the U.S. Navy’s fifth Auxiliary Personnel Lighter–Small (APL(S)) 67 Class berthing and messing barge. APLs are used by the Navy to house crewmembers when ships are in port for availabilities and Inter-Deployment Training Cycles. The barges are mobile and can be towed to new bases or shipyards to support changing fleet requirements and also offer potential use for humanitarian missions and other temporary assignments.The contract award announced Friday is $41 million for a firm…

A set of welding robots will help Halter Marine to improve productivity as it ramps up to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutter (PSC).Denmark-based Inrotech said it will deliver its Inrotech-MicroTwin, Inrotech-Classic and Inrotech-Crawler to the the Pascagoula, Miss. shipyard in early 2021.Inrotech’s automated robot welding solution is customized according to Halter Marine’s production needs to efficiently weld components of the 460-foot Polar Security Cutter along with other oceangoing vessels, the company said.

Gearing up to build the U.S.' first new heavy icebreaker in decades, Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine said it is upgrading the launch way area where the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter (PSC) will be constructed.The detailed design phase is "rapidly progressing", the shipbuilder said, and the 460-foot icebreaker is the heaviest vessel per foot of length that Halter Marine has constructed. The launch way has been fortified to accommodate the PSC’s 19,000-ton launch weight.Bob Merchent, President and CEO of Halter Marine.

Shipbuilder Halter Marine is teaming with naval architecture firm Gibbs & Cox, Inc., on the U.S. Navy’s contract to perform design studies for the development of the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV). The LUSV studies contract has an anticipated completion date of August 2021 with an option for additional studies, which would extend the forecasted completion date to May 2022.The LUSV will be a high-endurance ship able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions to augment the Navy’s manned surface force, according to the Navy’s program summary. Plans call for a vessel about 200 to 300 feet long that can function either partially or completely autonomously."We are honored to be part of the Gibbs & Cox team participating in the Navy’s LUSV studies contract…

Halter Marine unveiled its new PythonX plasma cutter as the Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder adds new equipment to gear up for construction of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC).The newly acquired Lincoln Electric PythonX will allow for steel parts to be cut via computerized numeric control (CNC) driven by the yard's 3D production design models, taking the place of the traditional hand-cut method. Previously, cuts were made manually by shipbuilders with acetylene torches.Bringing in high-tech tools such as the new plasma cutter…

American shipyards form an important economic engine, supporting nearly 400,000 jobs, $25.1 billion of labor income and $37.3 billion in gross domestic product (GDP), according to figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD).It’s a good thing, then, that U.S. shipyards were deemed essential businesses amid COVID-19 and have remained up and running throughout the pandemic. And it’s even better that most yards have been able to keep their workers employed despite less than stable market conditions…

Please describe your professional background and what attracted you to your current position.In June 2020, I was named president and chief executive officer of Halter Marine. I had been retired around six years. My wife and I bought a piece of property outside of Brookhaven, Miss., and we were enjoying retired life split between our country property and our home in Gautier, Miss. Earlier this year, I was asked if I would consider a consulting role for Halter Marine, which led…

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine is creating jobs, and through its partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC), training the apprentices to fill them. The recently launched apprenticeship program is designed in three components: on-the-job training, classroom training and a progressive wage increase as participants reach set milestones. It offers training in the craft labor fields of welding, ship fitting, pipe fitting, pipe welding and electrical.

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine Inc. said Monday it has been awarded a contract for industrial studies for the auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship (T-AGOS(X)) program.The U.S. Navy awarded the $981,000 contract for the T-AGOS class series of vessels, which ultimately will replace the existing fleet of four T-AGOS 19 and one T-AGOS 23 small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) ships, which are reaching the end of their service lives. The contract is for a 12-month study to perform trade-off studies and analyses of the Navy design.“We have designed…

Over the course of several days, Halter Marine Inc. celebrated multiple milestones on the Auxiliary Personnel Lighter–Small (APL(S)) program. The Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder launched the first two berthing barges, erected modules on the third barge and laid the keel on the fourth barge.In September 2018, the company received the initial contract to design and build two units, with options for four additional units. The company expects to deliver the first two APLs this fall, while the third vessel is due to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the company's 29th Arleigh Burke-class aegis guided-missile (DDG 51) destroyer, John Finn (DDG 113), on Monday. Laura Stavridis, ship's sponsor and wife of retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, attended with her husband. "It's great having Mrs. Stavridis here to see her ship and meet some of the shipbuilders," said George Nungesser, Ingalls' DDG 51 program manager. "The Aegis destroyer program has been one of our company's most successful programs. Mrs.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded an $83.3 million cost-plus-award-fee contract from the U.S. Navy for continued life-cycle engineering, modernization and support services on the U.S. Navy's fleet of USS Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) Aegis guided missile cruisers. The contract is the first of five options which, if exercised, would place the total value of the contract at $468.2 million. "This award builds on the U.S. Navy's confidence in the versatility we have as a shipbuilding company in not only building quality warships, but also in providing life-cycle and modernization support," said Bob Merchent, Ingalls' vice president, surface combatants and U.S. Coast Guard programs.

Ingalls Shipbuilding division gets an US$83.3-million cost-plus-award-fee contract to modernize USS Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) Aegis guided missile cruisers. The contract, for continued life-cycle engineering, modernization and support services, is the first of five options which, if exercised, would place the total value of the contract at US$468.2-million. Ingalls, as lead shipbuilder for the Aegis cruiser program, delivered 19 of the 27 Ticonderoga-class ships between 1982 and 1994. The CG 47-class cruisers represent a significant portion of the Navy's surface combatants, and the modernization effort will increase their service life and war-fighting capability for another 20 years. Ingalls will perform the work in Pascagoula and provide waterfront support in U.S.

Huntington Ingalls Industries starts work on the 29th 'Arleigh Burke'-class destroyer to be built at its Ingalls Shipbuilding Division. The start of fabrication milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut for DDG 113. Ingalls uses state-of-the-art robotic cutting machines to ensure the steel is cut and fabricated to exact Navy specifications. John Finn is expected to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2016. Ingalls also has a contract to build a 30th destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), with start of fabrication scheduled for 2013.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) announced that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division was awarded a $697.6 million fixed-price incentive construction contract for a new Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer, DDG 114. It will be the 30th Aegis guided missile destroyer Ingalls has built for the U.S. Navy. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to continue our outstanding quality of work in building DDG 51s," said Bob Merchent, Ingalls' vice president, surface combatants and U.S. Coast Guard program. "Every day our shipbuilders set out to build quality ships safely, and we've accomplished this for more than 20 years in this surface combatant program. We are proud of this legacy and will continue to build and deliver the best surface combatants in the world to the U.S.

Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII), was awarded a construction contract for the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer DDG 113. As this award represents Phase I of a competitive two-phased acquisition approach to procure FY11/FY12 DDG 51s, with Phase II including the potential award of up to three additional ships, the award amount is considered source selection-sensitive information. DDG 113 will be the 29th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built by Ingalls.

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ship Systems sector commemorated delivery of its 19th U.S. Navy Aegis-guided missile destroyer, Pinckney (DDG 91), during a ceremony onboard the ship at the company's operations along the west bank of the Pascagoula River. In naming Pinckney, the Navy honors Navy Cook Third Class, William Pinckney, (1915-1975), recipient of the Navy Cross for his courageous rescue of a fellow crewmember onboard the USS Enterprise (CV 6) during the 1942 Battle of Santa Cruz.

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ship Systems sector commemorated delivery of its 19th U.S. Navy Aegis-guided missile destroyer, Pinckney (DDG 91), during a ceremony onboard the ship at the company's operations along the west bank of the Pascagoula River. In naming Pinckney, the Navy honors Navy Cook Third Class, William Pinckney, (1915-1975), recipient of the Navy Cross for his courageous rescue of a fellow crewmember onboard the USS Enterprise (CV 6) during the 1942 Battle of Santa Cruz. "We at Northrop Grumman are as proud of this ship as any we have built," said Bob Merchent, vice president, DDG 51 Program. Cmdr. Robert M. Byron, U.S. Navy, of Asheville, N.C., a 1985 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, will be the new ship's commissioning commanding officer.

Northrop Grumman Corporation Monday delivered to the U.S. Navy its newest warship, Preble (DDG 88). The new vessel is the 17th Aegis guided missile destroyer built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Pascagoula, Miss. Merchent said the Aegis program is "the backbone of our business success. "I thank Northrop Grumman Ship Systems for such a wonderful job in the construction of Preble," said Capt. Phil Johnson, USN, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Pascagoula. Preble is the 38th ship in the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class of Aegis guided missile destroyers, the Navy's most powerful destroyer fleet. Following DDG 88, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems has seven additional Aegis destroyers under contract, with six of these ships under construction.