Susan Collins News

Bath Iron Works (BIW) will receive more than $34 million in federal funding for projects aimed at bolstering the Bath, Maine shipyard's workforce.U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R. - Maine), Vice Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee and Defense Subcommittee, announced the funding has been approved by the U.S. Navy and included in the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations bill as part of a larger initiative to make improvements to the infrastructure of the U.S. shipyards that build the Navy’s destroyers.BIW…

Bath, Maine shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer, the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124). The ship is named for Col. Harvey C. Barnum, Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism on the battlefield during Operation Harvest Moon in the Que Son Valley during the Vietnam War.The ceremony's speakers included Gov. Janet Mills, Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Angus King and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who was the principal speaker. Martha E.

Philly Shipyard held a keel laying ceremony on Monday for the third vessel in a series of new purpose-built, state-of-the-art training ships for America’s state maritime academies.The newbuild is the third of five new National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) being built under a program for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), which owns and operates training ships for the nation's state maritime academies. The third NSMV is scheduled to be delivered to Maine Maritime Academy in 2024.MARAD's NSMV program is designed to provide a purpose-built…

A group of U.S. Senators has introduced new legislation aiming to strengthen sexual assault/sexual harassment (SASH) prevention, response, investigation and accountability in the maritime industry and provide additional safeguards for the Midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA).The Improving Protections for Midshipmen Act is being put forward by Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) after the United States’ federal…

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) honored U.S. Senator Susan Collins as a 2019 recipient of SCA’s prestigious Maritime Leadership Award.The national trade association representing the U.S. shipyard industry said that as recipient of the Maritime Leadership Award, Sen. Collins is recognized as an exemplary leader in Congress who has demonstrated outstanding dedication and support of the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry.Overall the American maritime industry, including shipbuilding and repair, creates more than 650,000 jobs nationwide, and contributes more than $150 billion annually to the nation’s economy, according to a recent economic study by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Transportation Institute.In Maine…

Coast Guard Sector Northern New England officially opened a new 24-hour command center Wednesday in South Portland, Maine.Sen. Susan Collins, Atlantic Area Commander Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, and First District Commander Rear Adm. Andrew Tiongson were all on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The command center is the hub for all Coast Guard operations across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and parts of New York. Located at Coast Guard Base South Portland, the command center's exterior remained the same, but the interior is completely new.

The push to rebuild the U.S. Navy received a boost today when U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would make it the policy of the United States to achieve the Navy’s requirement of 355 ships. Under the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act,” the fleet would be comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding levels subject to annual appropriations. Currently, 276 ships are in the battle fleet.

The Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the Senate Committee on Appropriations will hold a hearing on 5 April to examine protecting midshipmen, focusing on preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.   Senator Susan Collins (R- ME) will chair the meeting.   Details of the event can be found HERE   Witnesses will include:   Mr. Joel Szabat / Executive Director / U.S. Maritime Administration Rear Admiral James Helis / Superintendent / U.S. Merchant Marine Academy The Honorable Calvin Scovel, III / Inspector General / U.S. Department of Transportation

On April 1, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works christened the U.S. Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, Thomas Hudner (DDG 116). The ship is named for Capt. Thomas Hudner Jr., who intentionally crash landed his plane in an effort to save Ensign Jesse Brown, the nation’s first African-American Navy pilot, during the Korean War’s Chosin Reservoir campaign. The Saturday morning christening ceremony took place at Bath Iron Works’ shipyard and was attended by Capt. Hudner as well as several members of his family and the family of Ensign Brown. Speakers included Sen. Susan Collins, Sen.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Don Young (R-Alaska). H.R.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Bill Enyart (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), David Jolly (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC), Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Don Young (R-AK). H.R.

In February, the U.S. Coast Guard chose three finalists to design its new Offshore Patrol Cutters, with awards to Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla. and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Maine. Each company was awarded a Phase I design contract valued at between $21 million and $22 million. At the end of the 18-month Preliminary and Contract Design Phase I, the Coast Guard will choose one company’s team for a Phase II Detailed Design and Construction contract for the lead OPC.

On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.

The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, praised yesterday’s Senate introduction of a bill calling for the enactment of a uniform national standard for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, legislation widely viewed as essential to ending the existing confusing, costly and ineffective patchwork of state and federal rules. AWO specifically called attention to the instrumental leadership of the bill’s lead sponsors, Sens.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins, a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have announced that Bath Iron Works (BIW) has been awarded a preliminary design contract for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) worth more than $21 million. BIW is now one of three shipyards in contention for the final contract. “With its skilled workforce and an outstanding record of designing, building…

Northern Maine vessels will be able to navigate more safely around the dangerous Cobscook Bay thanks to an updated version of the area's nautical chart issued by NOAA. The latest chart includes a new detailed illustration-called a "chart inset"-of the waters around Falls Island, providing safer passage for mariners who transit those waters. While NOAA cartographers had updated Chart 13394 (Grand Manan Channel) over the past several years, using depth measurements and obstruction locations acquired during a major hydrographic survey in 2010, a new inset was needed specifically for Falls Island. "Larger, more detailed scale coverage helps mitigate the dangers to navigation in these areas," explained Cmdr. Shep Smith, chief of NOAA Office of Coast Survey's  Marine Chart Division.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert toured the shipyard Wednesday, viewing assembled hull segments of the future USS Zumwalt. He also participated in a ceremony, marking the start of construction of the third and final warship in the line. The 600-foot-long warships are the largest destroyers to be built at Bath Iron Works. They’ll feature electric-drive propulsion and an unconventional wave-piercing hull. The Zumwalt is due to be christened next year, and will be followed by two more just like it. It’s Greenert’s first visit to the shipyard since becoming chief of naval operations last September. He’s visiting at the request of U.S. Senator Susan Collins.

The U.S. Coast Guard has formally accepted the General Dynamics C4 Systems-built Rescue 21 Search and Rescue communications system now serving Sector Northern New England. With the command center located in South Portland, Maine, Sector Northern New England comprises more than 5,000 coastal miles from the New Hampshire/Massachusetts state line to the Canadian border, including Lake Champlain. Using advanced direction-finding technologies, digital communications and related enabling technologies…

AAPA Concerned Federal Budget Cuts May Impact Port Security Progress. Port and industry leaders from throughout the Western Hemisphere will pause on Sunday, Sept. 11, as part of the 100th Annual Convention of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) in Seattle (Sept. 11-15), to remember those tragically lost in the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil 10 years ago. Among those lost were 84 industry colleagues from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who perished at the World Trade Center. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, America’s seaports and the federal government have joined forces to make major gains in fortifying and hardening port facilities against intruder attack.

After months of negotiations, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Sean Stackley, called Senator Susan Collins to tell her that the U.S. Navy and General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works (BIW) have reached an agreement for the second and third DDG-1000 that will be built in Bath. Senator Susan Collins, a member of both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, has always been a stalwart supporter of BIW and has fought to secure appropriate funding for the DDG-1000 program. For many months, she has actively worked to encourage the Navy to finalize these contracts in an effort to secure a steady workload at BIW.

The American Shipbuilding Association (ASA) announced that U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) would be the 2010 recipient of the Herbert H. Bateman Award. The award will be presented Wednesday, June 23 at 6:00 pm during ASA's Salute to the Illih Congress reception in the Gold Room (2168) of the Rayburn House Office Building. "Thad Cochran, throughout his 38 years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate, has been a tireless advocate for a stronger shipbuilding industry and our Nation's sea services.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., introduced legislation that would ensure funding for federal ports and harbors across the nation. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is an original co-sponsor of the bill. If enacted, the bill would help ensure that all revenue collected by the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) would be used for its intended purpose: to properly maintain and operate harbors and ports. The bill has broad bipartisan and multi-regional support, with four Democrats and four Republicans sponsoring the legislation at the time of its introduction. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is the lead Republican co-sponsor of the bill.

The American Shipbuilding Association (ASA) announced that Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is the 2009 recipient of the Herbert H. Bateman Award. This award was presented on Wednesday, May 13th at 6:00 pm during ASA’s Salute to the 111th Congress reception in the Gold Room (2168) of the Rayburn House Office Building. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, Senator Reed is a senior Member of the Armed Services Committee, a Member of the Subcommittee on Seapower, and a Member of the Appropriations Committee. Senator Jack Reed has dedicated his years in the United States Senate to working men and women who build the finest submarines and surface ships in the world so that American Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and women have the best in executing their missions.