South Korean, U.S. Shipbuilders Deepen Ties
The quest to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding capability quickly is premised on partnering with existing shipbuilding powers outside of China, with several recent announcements today solidifying the connection between the two allies.Four separate partnerships were recently announced, three today, underscoring a growing bilateral effort to rebuild America's maritime industrial base through investments in shipbuilding capacity, workforce development and advanced manufacturing technologies.The announcements, made in conjunction with the launch of the Korea-U.S.
One Year Ago Today: U.S. Maritime Industry Delivers in Wake of FSK Bridge Collapse
We are at the one-year since the Francis Scott Key (FSK) Bridge collapsed over the Patapsco River’s Fort McHenry Channel in Baltimore, Maryland. Nearly 100 percent of the wreckage and debris removal was conducted by the Jones Act private sector U.S. maritime industry. The FSK collapsed at about 1:28 a.m. local time on March 26, 2025 after the container ship MV DALI lost power and collided with one of bridge’s support piers. Six construction workers died in the collapse, while two other workers survived the fall into the freezing water.
Beacon Offshore’s Shenandoah FPS Reaches US Ahead of Deepwater Installation
The Shenandoah floating production system (FPS) has been transported to the Gulf of America ahead of wet tow and offshore installation at the Shenandoah deepwater field at Walker Ridge project site, developed by Texas-based exploration and production company Beacon Offshore Energy.On December 13, 2024 the Shenandoah FPS sailed away from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, where it was built.COSCO Shipping and Guangzhou Salvage Heavy Transport (CSGS) delivered the Beacon Offshore Energy’s Shenandoah FPS to Ingleside…
WSP-Led Partnership Secures Baltimore Bridge Rebuilding Contract
Maryland Transportation Authority selected Bridging Maryland Partnership as its general engineering consultant for rebuild of Baltimore bridge that collapsed after cargo ship collision.Just 10 months after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), owner, selected Bridging Maryland Partnership — a joint venture that includes WSP — to provide general engineering consultant services for the reconstruction of the strategically significant bridge.The $75 million contract with the WSP-led joint venture, including engineering firms Rummel, Klepper & Kahl (RK&K); and Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT); was approved on Jan. 8 by the Maryland Board of Public Works.
Austal USA Breaks Ground on New Shipbuilding Facility
Austal USA on Tuesday held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the official start of construction for its newest final assembly facility in Mobile, Ala.The infrastructure expansion, which will be to the south of Austal USA’s current waterfront facility, will include a new assembly building, waterfront improvements, and a new shiplift system. The project is scheduled to be complete and fully operational by summer of 2026.The construction of this new building and waterfront support area continues the expansion Austal USA began in March 2021 with the groundbreaking of the steel panel line.
Austal USA Plans New Facility and Shiplift in Mobile
Shipbuilder Austal USA announced it is planning to boost capacity at its Mobile, Ala. shipyard with the addition of a new manufacturing facility.The infrastructure expansion, which will be to the south of Austal USA’s current waterfront facility, will include a new assembly building, waterfront improvements, and a new Pearlson-designed shiplift system. Start of construction on the project is planned for summer 2024.The construction of this new building and waterfront support area continues the expansion Austal USA began in March 2021 with the groundbreaking of the steel panel line.
Boskalis Installs First U.S.-Made Offshore Substation for South Fork Wind Project
Dutch marine services firm Boskalis said Monday it had completed the installation of the first U.S.-made offshore substation, built for the South Fork Wind offshore wind project.Kiewit built the 1,500-ton, 60-foot-tall substation at its Ingleside facility near Corpus Christi. After installing the foundation and the modular support frame, this week at Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind, Boskalis' Bokalift 2 offshore installation vessel completed the offshore substation installation work by lifting and installing the topside.
First US-Built Offshore Wind Substation Sets Sail
Offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource marked the sailaway of the first U.S.-built offshore wind substation, which departed a Texas fabrication facility Wednesday. The substation is transiting across the Gulf of Mexico and then up the East Coast for installation at the South Fork Wind project site in a few weeks.Kiewit Offshore Services, Ltd. (Kiewit), the largest offshore fabricator in the U.S., designed and built the substation, which will be deployed at Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind project serving Long Island…
BAE Systems Breaks Ground on Jacksonville Repair Yard Upgrades
BAE Systems held a groundbreaking ceremony officially kicking off a program to upgrade its ship repair facility in Jacksonville, Fla.As part of the $200 million modernization, the company will add a Pearlson Shiplift and land-level repair complex that will boost flexibility and expand the shipyard’s docking capacity by 300%. Located two miles from the Atlantic Ocean, at the intersection of the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair provides repair…
Weeks Marine's New Hopper Dredge Goes on Sea Trials
A new trailing suction hopper dredge built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group for Weeks Marine has gone to sea trials.The 356-foot R.B. Weeks is the second in a series of two 8,550-cubic-meter-capacity hopper dredges Eastern has built for the New Jersey-based marine construction and dredging contractor, following sister vessel Magdalen delivered in 2017.In nearly all respects, the R.B. Weeks is identical to the Magdalen. The vessel includes an electrical power, propulsion, and dredge machinery package by Royal IHC…
Kiewit Corporation Acquires Weeks Marine
Omaha-headquartered construction company Kiewit Corporation on January 1, 2023 completed its acquisition of Cranford, N.J.-based marine construction and dredging contractor Weeks Marine and its subsidiaries for an undisclosed amount.Weeks Marine and its subsidiaries Healy Tibbitts Builders, McNally International and North American Aggregates will be independently branded subsidiaries of Kiewit.“This acquisition offers substantial opportunities for both companies,” said Kiewit CEO Rick Lanoha.
OpEd: Time To Shine for US Offshore Wind
It is clear only a few weeks into 2022 that this year can be a watershed moment for American offshore wind. The Department of the Interior has positioned 2022 to be a record year in terms of offshore wind lease offerings and project greenlights.At the end of 2021, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the regulatory agency responsible for offshore wind lease sales, released the document, Offshore Wind Leasing Path Forward 2021–2025. The document maps out potential new wind lease sales.
New York’s First Offshore Wind Farm: Ørsted, Eversource Sanction 130MW South Fork Wind Project
Ørsted and Eversource have taken the final investment decision (FID) on the South Fork Wind project that will be New York’s first offshore wind farm. The FID comes after the South Fork Wind joint venture, owned 50/50 by Ørsted and Eversource, last month received final approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for its construction and operations plan, the final in the agency’s review of the project. Once completed at the end of 2023, the 130MW offshore wind farm will generate enough electricity to power 70…
Construction of New York’s First Offshore Wind Farm Set to Start as Final Approval Granted
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has granted Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm, Ørsted confirmed Thursday. This is the final decision needed from the agency to move the project toward the start of construction. The approximately 130 MW South Fork Wind project, owned by the Danish firm Orsted AS and U.S. company Eversource Energy, will be located about 19 miles (30.58 km) southeast of Block Island…
First US-built Offshore Wind Substation to be Constructed in Texas
Offshore wind developer Ørsted and its partner Eversource have selected Kiewit to construct an offshore wind substation, which will be deployed at their South Fork Wind project serving New York’s Long Island. This will be the first US-built offshore wind substation.Offshore wind substations are critical components of utility-scale offshore wind farms. Substations collect the power produced by wind turbines and connect the clean energy to the grid. The offshore substation will consist of a topside resting on a monopile foundation.Kiewit will not only build but also design the substation…
Gallery: BP's Giant Argos Platform Arrives in Texas
BP's behemoth Argos offshore oil platform, the centerpiece of the company's $9 billion Mad Dog 2 project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has arrived in the U.S. after a 16,000-mile journey from South Korea.The platform, loaded onboard Boskalis' BOKA Vanguard heavy transport vessel, had left South Korea on February 3, and it has this week arrived in the Kiewit Offshore Services fabrication yard in Ingleside, Texas."The arrival of the new floating production unit is a major milestone towards the completion of Mad Dog 2.
Venture Global LNG: Minimal Impact of Hurricane on LNG Construction Site
LNG developer Venture Global LNG has said that its under-construction LNG project Calcasieu Pass LNG in Cameron, Louisiana has sustained "minimal impacts" from Hurricane Laura which made landfall early on Thursday in southwestern Louisiana as a category 4 storm.Venture Global LNG is building the 10 MTPA Calcasieu Pass facility at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico, that is expected to become operational in 2022.In a statement on Thursday, the…
Vancouver's G3 Grain Terminal Opens
A newly built grain export terminal has opened for business at the Port of Vancouver on Canada’s West Coast, Canadian grain company G3 announced.G3 Terminal Vancouver is a a British Columbia limited partnership between G3 Global Holdings (a limited partnership between Bunge Canada and SALIC Canada Ltd) and Western Stevedoring Company Ltd.Construction on the facility began in March, 2017 at the site in North Vancouver and is now substantially complete as planned. The facility has…
Annova LNG Sign Deal with Enbridge
Houston liquefied natural gas company Annova LNG has signed a 20-year supply deal with Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company that owns a 10.5 percent stake in Annova's proposed export terminal.The precedent agreement with Enbridge Inc.’s Valley Crossing Pipeline LLC (VCP) would provide transportation for the still unsanctioned 6.5 million metric tons/year (mmty) facility, which was approved by federal regulators in November.Under the deal, the existing 2.6 Bcf/d VCP from Agua Dulce to Brownsville would be expanded, and a roughly nine-mile lateral connecting VCP to Annova’s facility would be constructed.“Annova LNG’s firm transportation arrangements will ensure security of supply and access to the most diversified, low-cost feed gas of any of the U.S.
Chart Gets Order for Calcasieu Pass LNG
U.S. LNG equipment maker Chart Industries has received full notice to proceed (FNTP) regarding its production of cold boxes and brazed aluminium heat exchangers for Venture Global’s 10 million tpy Calcasieu Pass LNG export terminal project.The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Venture Global LNG request to proceed with full site preparation at its proposed 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) export terminal in Louisiana earlier this week.Venture Global recently announced its final investment decision (FID) and the closing of project financing for its Calcasieu Pass LNG facility and associated TransCameron pipeline in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.The proceeds of the debt and equity financing fully fund the balance of the construction and commissioning of Calcasieu Pass.
The Shearer Group Hires Toerner
The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) announced a new addition to its naval architecture, marine engineering & marine surveying firm, Daniel Toerner.A recent graduate from Texas A&M University, College Station, with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering, Toerner joins TSGI as a naval architect. During his time at Texas A&M, he interned at Electro-Mechanical Industries, Kiewit Offshore Services, and Clarus Subsea Integrity. He also studied during a summer abroad in Italy.Toerner was the Team Captain for Texas A&M’s Human Powered Submarine Team where he designed…
Calcasieu Pass LNG Facility Gets $1.3bln
US liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Venture Global LNG has signed a deal with investment firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners for a $1.3bn equity investment in the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility.Calcasieu Pass project is a 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) liquefied natural gas project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. - giving the LNG project a major financial boost as construction starts. The facility is expected to begin supplying LNG to customers in 2022.This brings total committed capital to fund the construction of Calcasieu Pass and the continued development of Venture Global’s 20 MTPA Plaquemines LNG and 20 MTPA Delta LNG facilities to $2.2 billion.Venture Global LNG Co-CEO Mike Sabel stated…
Sempra Gets Okay for LNG Export in Mexico
San Diego utility company Sempra Energy Sempra Energy said that its subsidiary Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG received two authorizations from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to export US produced natural gas to Mexico and to re-export LNG to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement (non-FTA) with the US.Permission to export to non-free trade agreement nations such as China, Japan and South Korea is desirable status to LNG exporters because due to higher natural gas prices in East Asia. Now Sempra can export from its Phase 1 and Phase 2 liquefaction-export facilities in development in Baja California, Mexico."The timing of these approvals is great news as we meet with customers and partners this week in Shanghai," said Joseph A.