National Steel News

Detyens Shipyards has been awarded a contract for a 62-calendar day shipyard availability for a regular overhaul of Military Sealift Command's (MSC) fleet ordnance and dry cargo USNS William Mclean (T-AKE 12).The $8,035,948 firm, fixed-price contract includes a base period and two unexercised options which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative value of this contract to $8,137,348.Work will be performed in North Charleston, S.C., beginning March 15, 2024, and is expected to be completed by May 16…

Vigor Marine has been awarded a contract for a 93-calendar day shipyard availability for a mid-term availability of Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).The $21,198,656 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $21,711,746. Vigor was the sole bidder for the project.Work will be performed in Portland, Ore., beginning March 15, 2024, and is expected to be completed by June 15…

Portland, Ore.-based Vigor Marine has been awarded a contract for a 90-calendar day shipyard availability for a mid-term availability of Military Sealift Command’s hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).The $20,187,816 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $20,915,538. Work will be performed in Portland, Ore., beginning January 16, 2023, and is expected to be completed by April 15, 2023.

Viega, the first press fitting system to meet the standard for use on Navy combat ships, has won approval for additional components to be used onboard. Last year, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) approved the use of MegaPress® CuNi press fittings in sizes ½" to 2" to be used in surface combatant vessels for a variety of systems, including chilled water, potable water, electronic freshwater cooling, seawater cooling, washdown countermeasures, drainage and many others. ProPress copper ½" fittings were also approved for potable water and various drains.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that a future John Lewis-class replenishment oiler (T-AO) ship will be named USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg to honor the former Supreme Court Justice and women’s rights activist.The future USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg (T-AO 212) will be the first U.S. Navy ship to bear her name.“As we close out women’s history month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality,” said Del Toro.

Fairbanks Morse Engine (FME), a division of Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), shipped two main propulsion diesel engines for the USNS Earl Warren (T-AO 207) on June 13, 2021. These are the fifth and sixth engines Fairbanks Morse Engine has made for the T-AO program. The USNS Earl Warren is a fleet replenishment oiler for the U.S. Navy.The engines are traveling from Beloit, Wis. to FME’s customer National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego via railroad. Upon arrival…

Viega announced on Monday that its MegaPress CuNi and ProPress copper fittings are the first press fittings approved for use in U.S. Navy combat ships.After years of rigorous testing, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has approved the use of MegaPress CuNi mechanically attached fittings in sizes ½" to 2" in surface combatants for a variety of systems, including chilled water, potable water, electronic freshwater cooling, seawater cooling, washdown countermeasures, drainage and many others.

A sailor is being investigated for arson in connection to the fire that raged for four days aboard the warship USS Bonhomme Richard in July, multiple sources report, citing anonymous U.S. Navy officials.Naval investigators are focused on one sailor from the ship, an official said, adding no motive has been determined and no one has been charged, according to the New York Times.“The Navy will not comment on an ongoing investigation to protect the integrity of the investigative process and all those involved,” Lt. Tim Pietrack, a Navy spokesperson, told the newspaper.

A San Diego shipyard has been awarded $10 million to continue emergency firefighting support, dewatering, safety and initial cleanup efforts aboard the fire-stricken USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), the Pentagon announced. The award to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) is a modification to a previous contract for repairs that had been underway when the blaze erupted aboard the 844-foot-long amphibious assault ship on July 12.Navy and civilian firefighting teams battled flames aboard the ship for four days before all known fires were reported to be extinguished on July 16.

Two U.S. Navy hospital ships are being prepared to aid shoreside medical facilities that could become overrun by the coronavirus pandemic, the Pentagon's chief spokesman said.The USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy will be deployed "as needed to assist potentially overwhelmed counties with acute patient care" as part of the Defense Department's response to the pandemic, Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant to the defense secretary for public affairs, said during a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday.The Comfort is now in Norfolk…

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday to commission its new panel line, which expands steel production capabilities for the construction of commercial and government ships in San Diego.The American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, and Mayport said in a press release that the new panel line enables distortion-free welding of plates as thin as five millimeters to produce lighter, more energy efficient ships.The cutting-edge facility uses hybrid laser arc welding and numerically controlled robots to mill, seam and weld steel panels in a highly automated production line.

San Diego shipbuilder General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) has been awarded a $136.8 million undefinitized contract for the procurement of long lead time material, preproduction and engineering support for the Expeditionary Sea Base 6.This action allows the procurement of ship sets of the purchase specifications supporting integrated propulsion, main diesel generator engines, propeller and shafting, integrated bridge electronics, centrifugal pumps, fuel and lube oil purifiers and steering gear components.NASSCO delivered the fourth expeditionary sea base vessel…

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4419); Continental Maritime of San Diego, San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4420); and General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4421), are being awarded firm-fixed price modifications to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contracts to exercise option period two for the accomplishment of complex emergent and continuous maintenance and Chief of Naval Operations availabilities on amphibious ships (LPD, LSD, LHA and LHD) homeported in San Diego, California. The exercising of these options ensures continued facilities and human resources capable of completing complex emergent and continuous maintenance…

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (the 2007 Act) authorized a Short Sea Transportation (SST) Program. As passed by the House, the legislation would have authorized $2 billion for the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Title XI Program and have extended the Capital Construction Fund Program (CCF or Program) to shipyards and operators building and operating vessels in SST services nationwide. Mr. Oberstar and his Congressional co-sponsors were confident that with their proposals in place, the much-discussed use of U.S.

For more than two years, Becker Marine Systems has been represented by a branch office in Houston. During this time, the Hamburg-based ship supplier has worked to position itself in the North American market, generating numerous orders for the company’s various product ranges. “We have been able to significantly improve the degree of familiarity with Becker throughout the North American region and in the meantime have received a number of new orders“, said Walther Bauer, Director of Sales & Projects at Becker Marine Systems.

Three San Diego shipyards - BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, Continental Maritime, General Dynamics, and National Steel and Shipbuilding Company - have received a combined $383 million contracts for complex maintenance, repair and modernizations on amphibious ships. Sputnik News quoting the Department of Defense said that the shipyards  “are being awarded a combined $383 million,” to modernize the vessels. The work will be carried out on amphibious ships home-ported in San Diego, California. Work will be performed in San Diego and is expected to be completed by March 2018, the Defense Department added. Meanwhile, it is estimated that…

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4419); Continental Maritime of San Diego, San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4420); and General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4421), are being awarded a combined $383,058,661 firm-fixed-price modifications to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contracts to exercise an option for complex, emergent and continuous maintenance, repair, modernization and Chief of Naval Operations availabilities on amphibious ships homeported in San Diego, California. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, at contractor facilities or Naval Base San Diego, and is expected to be completed by March 2018.

The U.S. Coast Guard awarded five firm fixed-price contracts for heavy polar icebreaker design studies and analysis Wednesday. The contracts were awarded to the following recipients: Bollinger Shipyards, LLC, Lockport, Louisiana; Fincantieri Marine Group, LLC, Washington, District of Columbia; General Dynamics/National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California; Huntington Ingalls, Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi; and VT Halter Marine, Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi. The combined total value of the awards is approximately $20 million.

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus announced today that the next ship of the next generation of fleet replenishment oilers will be named USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208). A ceremony marking the announcement was held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. T-AO 208 is part of the John Lewis-class of ships named in honor of U.S. civil and human rights heroes. "This class of ships would be incomplete absent the name Robert F. Kennedy," said Mabus. "He was a Navy man, a U.S. Robert F. Kennedy, a U.S. Navy veteran, served as the U.S. attorney general from 1961 to 1964 and as a U.S. senator from New York from 1965 to 1968. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia School of Law, Kennedy was appointed attorney general after his brother John F.

Sometimes being an industry supplier offers interesting insights – your business is touched by the ups and downs of the charter market, but you are never so involved in it that you lose sight of the big picture. Some of our clients have been hit hard by the market’s general downturn; one client I visited last month began 2008 with 41 maritime software licenses for their vessels – just seven remain today. “We just sold another ship yesterday,” he said, and then after a pause: “Please spare me the update costs for this one, it won’t receive any.” Of course, I nodded.

1861 - During the Civil War, the frigate, USS St. Lawrence, spots a schooner flying English colors and gave chase. Some four hours later, as she is overhauling the schooner, the fleeing vessel runs up the Confederate flag and fires three shots. Firing with her forecastle battery, St. Lawrence hits the vessel twice, once in her bow. Survivors from the sunken vessel reveal it had been the Confederate privateer, Petrel. 1926 - USS S-1 surfaces and launches a Cox-Klemin (XS 2) seaplane flown by Lt. D.C. Allen.

1943 - USS Permit (SS 178), USS Snook (SS 279) and USS Sawfish (SS 276) damage two Japanese ships and sink two freighters and a gunboat. 1944 - The hospital ship, USS Comfort (AH-6), is commissioned at San Pedro, Calif., and is the first ship to be manned jointly by U.S. Army and U.S. Navy personnel. 1948 - Fighter Squadron Seventeen A (VF-17A), with 16 FH-1 Phantoms, becomes the first carrier-qualified jet squadron in the U.S. Navy. 1961 - Cmdr. Alan Shepard Jr. makes the first U.S. manned space flight. USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) recovers the capsule after the 15 minute flight.

1860 - The screw steamship Mohawk captures the slaver Wildfire with 530 slaves on board in the Bahama Channel, taking them to a camp in Key West guarded by Mohawks Marines until returned home. 1869 - As a post-Civil War push for re-enlistments, the Good Conduct Medal, then called Good Conduct Badge, is authorized by Secretary of the Navy Adolphus E. Borie. 1918 - USS Stewart (DD 13) collides with an unidentified steamer near Brest, France. Just days earlier, Stewart crew members attacked a German submarine and saved the SS Florence H crew when she exploded internally.