Jackson County News

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…

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…

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.

Rolls-Royce and the Defense Production Act Title III office will invest millions of dollars to upgrade the company’s capability and capacity for U.S. Navy ship propulsion components in its facility in Pascagoula, Miss.The DPA Title III office has already agreed to invest $22 million for equipment, with Rolls-Royce making an additional investment for building improvements, supplemented with support from Jackson County and the state of Mississippi.Naval components manufactured by Rolls-Royce at Pascagoula include controllable-pitch propeller systems, fixed pitch propellers, and water jets.

Ship maintenance and repair company ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore, Inc., said it is investing $10 million to expand at its Pascagoula, Miss. site, adding 100 jobs in the process.STEHMO, along with its sister company VT Halter Marine, is growing as a result of recent market opportunities. The expansion will enable the company to perform new commercial repair work for larger ships and oil platforms that require greater size and lifting capacity. STEHMO is adding dock space and water depth adjacent to its Bayou Casotte site.

The Coast Guard and local rescue agencies are searching for two people in a fishing vessel near mile marker 363 on the Lower Mississippi River, in Claiborne County, Miss., Friday. Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River received a report from the Claiborne County Sheriff office at 10:46 a.m., Thursday that a fishing vessel with two people aboard was overdue. Last contact with the vessel was at 12 a.m., Wednesday as they were leaving Bayou Pierre and entering the Lower Mississippi River at mile marker 395. The boat is an 18 ft. long, six to eight foot-wide, flat bottom Commercial Fisher. The hull is aluminum and is not painted. The vessel also has onboard a black, 40-horse power outboard Mercury engine.

If you drive just south of I-10 in Pascagoula, Miss., within 10 minutes you find yourself on the doorstep of VT Halter Marine, arguably one of the more diverse and active shipyards in the U.S. The company, which is a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VTS), operates three facilities in Jackson County, Miss., and today supports about 1,600 full time employees as well as about 1,600 vendors and subcontractors. •    A pair of 250,000 barrel ATBs and a pair of 6,000 hp ATB tugs for Bouchard Transportation, a long-tenured and important client for VT Halter.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced today that Fletcher Construction has been awarded a contract to renovate the new Huntington Ingalls Industries Family Health Center. The health center, scheduled to open this summer in Gautier, MS, will offer primary care, radiology, physical therapy, on-site pharmacy and laboratory services for Ingalls employees and their covered dependents. "Ingalls Shipbuilding is a long-standing economic pillar of this community, and our company is looking forward to providing work on this unique project," said Lance McCarty, co-owner of Fletcher Construction.

Dorothy Shaw, Manager of community relations at Huntington Ingalls Industries',Ingalls Shipbuilding division, recently received the "Forever Young" award at the Coast Young Professionals' sixth annual Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala. Ten "Forever Young" awards are given annually to influential leaders who have acted as mentors to the network of more than 300 young professionals in the organization. According to Coast Young Professionals, "Forever Young" candidates are persons of professional integrity who exemplify the spirit of service to their professions and who have, by their leadership, made a significant contribution to the advancement of a Coast Young Professionals member's career.

Texas Marine Unit Uses Yellowfin-built Shallow Water Vessels for Border Patrol missions. Menaced by Mexican drug cartels, the Texas Department of Public Safety operates a fleet of six shallow-water vessels it commissioned in late 2011 and 2012 to patrol its borders. The agency purchased the boats from Bradenton, Florida-based manufacturer Yellowfin Yachts as threats along the Rio Grande escalated. Yellowfin custom builds its 34-foot fishing boats for military and police purposes…

Employees from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division teamed up to provide holiday gifts for 145 children as part of the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. HII explains that the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program matches donors with children from qualified families unable to provide gifts and clothing for their children during the holidays. The Salvation Army provides a wish list for each angel. This year there were more than 1,500 angels to be adopted. Adopters of the angels purchase all or as many items from the wish list as possible.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division officially opened the company's brand-new, 70,000 square-foot Haley Reeves Barbour Maritime Training Academy today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The building, named for the former Mississippi governor, will serve as the training epicenter for Ingalls' apprentice program and will also help bolster the number of students. "Today symbolizes the state's commitment to workforce development and skills training for all of our working people so they can get better, higher-paying jobs," Barbour said.

Volunteers from Huntington Ingalls Industries'  Ingalls Shipbuilding division recently helped freshen up the grounds and interior of the American Red Cross' Pascagoula office. Participants in Ingalls' Legacy Builders Executive Mentoring Program dedicated two weekends in June to the community project. Working both indoors and out, Ingalls' Legacy Builders landscaped and performed ground maintenance in addition to updating the office with shelving, fresh coats of paint and a television installation.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)  announced that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has awarded $70,500 in grants to 19 school districts and organizations in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The grants will be used by the districts for various science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects. "These STEM grants provide school districts with resources that math and science teachers can use to get students excited about solving hard problems," said Irwin F. Edenzon, president, Ingalls Shipbuilding. "Keeping up with and exploiting technology advancements, especially in shipbuilding, continues to be a critical part of how we meet our customer's needs. It will be even more important in the future.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced today that it has awarded a $1,045,400 Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) grant to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR). The grant will provide funding for the acquisition of the Charnley-Norwood Property, a parcel of waterfront land in Ocean Springs, Miss. The proposal will include the restoration of an historic century-old structure on the property, as well as the development of a future public land use plan to restore the waterfront parcel to a community green space and public museum. Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas producing states to conserve and protect the coastal environment.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) hosted groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Jackson County (Miss.) Maritime Trades Academy on June 8 with state and local officials participating. "The shipbuilding academy will help find new workers and upgrade the skills of current workers for our shipbuilders on the Coast and for our energy industry," said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. A $20m HUD community development block grant was awarded by the state of Mississippi in August 2009 to build the academy.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $276,000 grant through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) to Mississippi’s Department of Marine Resources to build a new Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. This is the first CIAP grant to be awarded since the state’s overall plan was approved in February 2009. The CIAP was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Through the program, MMS will provide $250m in grants annually, from 2007-2010, to six eligible Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states – Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, California and Texas. The funding to Mississippi included $30.9m for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008 and $23.8m for each of the fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

Construction on a shipbuilding academy proposed for Jackson County could begin as soon as next year according to an April 26 report from the Sun Herald. Gov. Haley Barbour invited interested parties to submit a full application to the Mississippi Development Authority on May 12 for a $20 million Community Development Block Grant. The money is part of Katrina-recovery funds earmarked for economic development and disbursed through the MDA. (Source: Sun Herald)

Rolls-Royce Naval Marine Inc. broke ground for the expansion of its foundry in Pascagoula, Miss. The new facility is designed to enhance manufacturing capabilities and improve production efficiency across a range of Marine propellers and submarine propulsors. “The expansion of this facility demonstrates our commitment to our customers,” said Patrick J. Marolda, President, Rolls-Royce Naval Marine Inc. “We wanted to provide better products faster – to be better able to compete…

Rolls-Royce Naval Marine Inc. broke ground today for the expansion of its foundry in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The new facility will enhance manufacturing capabilities and improve production efficiency across a range of Marine propellers and submarine propulsors. "The expansion of this facility demonstrates our commitment to our customers," said Patrick J. Marolda, President, Rolls-Royce Naval Marine Inc. "We wanted to provide better products faster -- to be better able to compete -- and upgrading and streamlining our manufacturing in this facility allows us to do just that. The leading-edge, 18,000 square foot facility will have a number of unique features.

VT Halter Marine Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems Inc., will relocate its corporate office to its Pascagoula Operations in Jackson County, Miss., effective July 1, 2004. VT Halter Marine currently owns six shipyards in Mississippi, two of which are fully operational. Boyd E. King, Chief Executive Officer stated, “With this move, VT Halter Marine will be more integrated and this will position the company for growth and future facilities expansion.” All of the Gulfport-based employees have been asked to relocate to the company’s Pascagoula or Moss Point operations. Executive Director George Freeland Jr. of the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation said…

VT Halter Marine Inc signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to design and build two harbor tugs. The 30-m Voith Tractor Tugs will be built at VT Halter Marine’s Jackson County, Miss., shipyards with completion scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2005. The two tugs, valued at approximately $18 m, will have all the necessary capabilities to manage and respond to maritime distress. Voith Tractor Tugs have propulsion systems that combine propulsion and steering into a single unit, providing 360 degrees of maneuverability. The tugs will be designed and constructed to comply with the rules and regulations of ABS as well as all applicable international regulations.

Chevron on Thursday is scheduled to hold its second open house for the public to learn about a proposed Pascagoula liquified natural gas terminal. The new depot would be located on 200 acres of unused industrial land within the current Chevron refinery complex. Bayou Casotte Energy, a subsidiary of Chevron, has not yet applied for permits for the project, which will include several major facilities including natural gas storage tanks, processing equipment and a ship docking area. The event at the Jackson County Civic Center from 5 to 8 p.m. is open to the public. (Source: Sun Herald)