Bougainville News

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s third America-class amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8).“Today is not only a day to celebrate our namesake, representatives of the successful outcome of a World War II campaign, but also the team work and collaboration of our United States Navy and Marine Corps that enabled it,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “To fulfil our mission here in the shipyard, our sailors and Marines…

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel on Wednesday for the America-class amphibious ship Fallujah (LHA 9).The ship’s sponsor, Donna Berger, former first lady of the Marine Corps and spouse of Gen. David H. Berger, 38th commandant of the Marine Corps, was in attendance to declare the keel “truly and fairly laid.”During the authentication ceremony, Ingalls welder Seveta Gray welded the initials of the sponsor onto a ceremonial keel plate that will remain with…

Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard announced it has completed a multimillion-dollar repair project for Luxembourg-based company Jan De Nul Group as it targets growth across the Benelux dredging sector.The cluster-contract involving repair work to two split hopper barges and one trailing suction hopper dredger - Tiger, De Bougainville, and Le Guerrier - was finalized at the end of November 2022. Key elements of the project involved complex heavy-lift operations, to replace 40-tonne hydraulic cylinders, plus ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installations.

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss. started fabrication of the U.S. Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship Fallujah (LHA 9) on Monday. The start of fabrication signifies that the first 100 tons of steel have been cut for the ship and that the shipyard is ready to move forward with the construction of the ship.“Our shipbuilders are proud of the work they do for the security of our nation and for our Navy and Marine Corps customers,” said Eugene Miller, Ingalls Shipbuilding LHA program manager.

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding has been awarded a $2.4 billion U.S. Navy fixed-price-incentive contract for the detail design and construction of amphibious assault ship LHA 9. The award includes options, that if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $3.2 billion. Ingalls was awarded the original long-lead-time material contract for the fourth ship in the America (LHA 6) class on April 30, 2020.Construction on LHA 9 is scheduled to begin in December 2022.The America-class is a multi-functional and versatile ship that is capable of operating in a high density…

U.S. shipyards are making improvements to building ships for the Navy and Coast Guard today and in the future. In some cases, it means phasing out one class of ship and getting ready for the next. Or, it can be a drastic make-over.The yards include mid-tier yards all the way up to very large facilities devoted exclusively to warships. The ships range from the 353-ton Fast Response Cutter to the 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin…

America’s largest military shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a contract modification from the U.S. Navy for $113.6 million to enable long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for amphibious assault ship LHA 9. This modification brings the total advance funding for LHA 9 to $651 million.Ingalls is the sole builder of large-deck amphibious ships for the Navy. The Pascagoula, Miss. shipyard delivered its first amphibious assault ship, the Iwo Jima-class USS Tripoli (LPH 10), in 1966.

America's largest military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Thursday that Brian Blanchette has been promoted to vice president of quality and engineering of its Ingalls Shipbuilding division.Blanchette will be responsible for the management and oversight of the division’s quality program as well as all ship design, engineering, integrated logistics support and planning yard engineering efforts at the Pascagoula, Miss. shipyard. He will relieve Dave Belanger upon his retirement in July.Blanchette served most recently as Ingalls’ director of technical and design engineering…

America's largest military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced on Monday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a fourth contract modification from the U.S. Navy for $107 million to provide long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for amphibious assault ship LHA 9. This modification brings the total advance funding for LHA 9 to $457 million.“The amphibious warship production line is a critical component of our nation’s defense industrial base,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said.

Power solutions provider Fairbanks Morse announced Tuesday that it will supply the ship service diesel generator (SSDG) sets for the electric power generation system aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest America class amphibious assault warship LHA-9.Construction of the SSDGs will begin in 2021 and delivery to the shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. will start in 2023, the manufacturer said.The Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) ships, the largest of all amphibious warfare ships…

In 1765, a young, peasant woman left a remote corner of rural France where her impoverished family had scraped a living for generations. She set out on a journey that would take her around the world from the South American jungles and Magellan Strait to the tropical islands of the Indo-Pacific.Jeanne Barret (also Baret or Baré) was the first woman known to have circumnavigated the world. Abandoning her bonnet and apron for men’s trousers and coats, she disguised herself as a man and signed on as assistant to the naturalist…

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a third contract modification from the U.S. Navy for $145 million to provide long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for amphibious assault ship LHA 9. This modification brings the total advance funding for LHA 9 to $350 million.“This advance procurement contract will help protect the health of our supplier base and strengthen our efforts to efficiently modernize the nation’s amphibious fleet as we continue to build amphibious ships for the Navy…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Tuesday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $187.46 million advance procurement contract from the U.S. Navy to provide long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for amphibious assault ship LHA 9.“This contract allows us to maintain the health of our critical nationwide shipbuilding supplier base while continuing our serial production of large-deck amphibs,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. “We will work closely with our Navy-Marine Corps partners and our suppliers across the U.S.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division delivered the newest America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) to the U.S. Navy on Friday. Tripoli will be commissioned later this year before sailing to its homeport of San Diego.Amphibious assault ships project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the amphibious ready group or expeditionary strike group. These ships transport elements of the Marine expeditionary unit or Marine expeditionary brigade with a combination of aircraft and landing craft.

Searcher Seismic announced the expansion of its modern offshore data library with the completion of its Northern Basins Prospectivity Study in Papua New Guinea.The independent multi-client company providing seismic datasets and associated products to the global oil and gas industry, said that in conjunction with Discover Geoscience, it has compiled the Northern Basins Prospectivity Study following its successful acquisition of the Solomon Sea Broadband Non-Exclusive 2D seismic survey in 2017.The study offers the industry a detailed understanding of the basins and hydrocarbon potential of the region, with extensive coverage of the Cape Vogel…

The keel laying and authentication ceremony for the America-class amphibious warship USS Bougainville (LHA 8) was held at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division (HII),  yesterday (March 14).The ship’s sponsor, Ellyn Dunford, spouse of Gen. Joe Dunford, 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared the keel "truly and fairly laid" after her initials were welded onto a plate.Traditionally, keel laying marks the first step in ship construction. However, with today’s advanced modular shipbuilding, the keel laying ceremony now recognizes the joining together of a ship’s components and is a major milestone in the ship’s construction.

The U.S. Navy’s newest America-class amphibious assault ship, the future USS Tripoli (LHA 7), successfully completed builder’s trials, said Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).America’s largest military shipbuilding company said in a press release that the second ship in the America class spent four days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other systems before returning to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said: “Congratulations to the Navy and Ingalls team for a solid LHA 7 builder’s trials. We have an excellent leadership team, and they will now be focusing on getting the ship ready for acceptance trials and delivery to the Navy.

French cruise company Ponant has received its new cruise ship, Le Bougainville, bringing its fleet to eight vessels.The ship, which is the third in the Ponant Explorers series, left Søvik in Norway on the morning of 8 April and she is currently sailing to Spain to start her maiden cruise on 15 April from Malaga.Le Bougainville will be officially inaugurated on 4 June.“A dream, firm beliefs, energy and boldness were what created Ponant. It is by drawing on those roots and our expertise that Ponant is preparing today to meet the challenges of tomorrow, to surprise and delight our guests. I wanted the ships in the Ponant Explorers series to embody the very best in expedition cruise.

Vard delivered Le Bougainville, its third expedition cruise vessel for Ponant. The 131m long, 184-passenger vessel, is the third in the series designed and built by VARD, following on from the delivery of Le Laperouse in June 2018 and Le Champlain in October. Vard Søviknes is now working on a fourth sister ship, Le Dumont-d’Urville, scheduled for delivery to French-owned PONANT in June this year.Created to be intimate in nature, with just 92 state rooms and suites, all of which boast balconies or private terraces…

America’s largest military shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HHI) said that it has successfully completed acceptance trials aboard the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7).The second ship in the America class spent three days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico with the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), performing vital test procedures that included a full power run of the main propulsion system.“The success of these trials is the culmination of the hard work and determination from our shipbuilders and leadership team. We have worked closely with our Navy partners to ensure that LHA 7 will provide unparalleled sea basing capabilities for the Navy’s amphibious ready groups and the Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Forces…

U.S. shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced its Ingalls Shipbuilding division started building the next America-class amphibious assault ship for the U.S. Navy, on Monday.The official start of fabrication on Bougainville (LHA 8) signifies that the shipyard is ready for sustained production and ready to move forward with the construction of the 257-meter warship.“The start of Bougainville, our 16th large-deck amphib, allows us to continue the serial production of these great ships,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias.

GE’s Marine Solutions said its LM2500 family of aeroderivative marine gas turbines have been selected to power two newbuild surface combatants for U.S. Navy and Coast Guard programs. Specifically, two LM2500+ gas turbines will power Bougainville (LHA 8), the U.S. Navy’s newest multi-purpose amphibious assault ship. Construction is expected to begin shortly according to shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries. GE LM2500+ gas turbines also power first-in-class USS America (LHA 6) and Tripoli (LHA 7).

U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries reported fourth quarter 2017 revenues of $2 billion, up 3.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016. Operating income in the quarter was $227 million and operating margin was 11.4 percent, compared to $268 million and 13.9 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2016. Diluted earnings per share in the quarter was $1.41, compared to $4.20 in the same period of 2016. Diluted earnings per share in fourth quarter 2017 included a one-time expense related to the early extinguishment of debt…