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Shelby News

30 Jun 2022

USCG Awards Austal USA Stage 2 Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract

A recent aerial image of most of Austal USA's Mobile, Ala. facilities, including its new steel panel line addition. (Photo: Austal USA)

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a contract to build up to 11 medium-endurance Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S. Coast Guard.The initial $208.26 million award supports detail design and long lead-time material for one OPC, with options for production of up to 10 additional vessels, the Coast Guard announced on Thursday. The deal could be worth up to $3.33 billion if all options are exercised.The 11 Heritage class cutters, designated as Stage 2 of the overall OPC program, follow the first four OPCs being built by Florida shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

28 Oct 2021

Dredging Contractors of America Honors Sen. Shelby

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby accepts the DCA Lifetime Achievement Award

Trade association Dredging Contractors of America (DCA) honored U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) with its Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his leadership in support of critical maritime infrastructure investments.The award particularly notes his advocacy of the Mobile Harbor expansion, as it is formed from a cutting tooth used on the dredging vessel Ellis Island during the project.“DCA and its member companies greatly appreciate Senator Shelby for his decades of leadership in Congress on behalf of the maritime and dredging industry and the Americans whose jobs it supports…

10 Aug 2021

Workforce Development: Apprenticeship Programs Help Build the Fleet

Over the past 100 years, more than 5,800 men and women have graduated from the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) Apprentice Program.  Upon successful completion of the program, apprentices are promoted to journey workers and attain an Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S) Degree in Applied Trades. Lauryn-Mae Pang became an apprentice diesel crane mechanic, then worked on her bachelor’s degree through PHNSY’s Apprentice to Engineer (A2E) program.  She’s

Naval shipyards and industry partners see business growing, but finding enough trained and qualified workers is a challenge.General Dynamics Electric Boat will invest $1.7 billion to modernize and upgrade its Quonset, R.I. and Groton, Conn., facilities over the next ten years,” said Sean Davies , vice president for EB’s Quonset Point Operations. “Here at Quonset, we are investing $700 million that will increase our outfitting space by 13 acres, to support work on the Virginia and Columbia class of submarines.

15 Jan 2021

Wolfson Takes the Helm at Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Captain Dianna Wolfson took the helm January 15 as the 110th commander of Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) and first female leader in its 253-year history. (Photo: Shelby West / Norfolk Naval Shipyard)

Captain Dianna Wolfson took the helm Friday as the 110th commander of Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) and first female leader in its 253-year history.Wolfson also holds the distinction of becoming the first female commander of any of the nation’s four public shipyards when she assumed command in June 2019 of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF).This marks her third NNSY tour, with previous assignments as Operations Officer and Project Superintendent for the USS Newport News (SSN 750) Engineered Overhaul.NNSY…

13 Jan 2021

WRDA 2020 Winds its Way to Passage

© Christopher Boswell / Adobe Stock

In early October, Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reported in its newsletter Capitol Currents that the future of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 hung in the balance, with many unknowns for its chances of being signed into law during the Lame Duck session of Congress that just concluded in late December.But despite twists and turns and a roller coaster ride, WRDA was, indeed, passed by Congress on December 21 as part of the FY21 Omnibus Appropriations that included a $900 billion COVID Relief package.

22 Dec 2020

WRDA 2020: A Historic Win for Inland Waterways -WCI

© Kent / Adobe Stock

On December 21, as part of an Omnibus Appropriations and COVID-19 relief funding package, the U.S. House of Representatives passed (359 yeas to 53 nays), and later the U.S. Senate passed (92 to 6) the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020. Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) called it a historic win for the inland waterways.The package included WCI’s top priority to adjust the cost-share for construction and major rehabilitation of inland waterways projects from 50% Inland…

22 Jun 2020

Port of Mobile to be Deepened to 50 Feet

Col. Sebastien Joly and John Driscoll sign project agreement to take the Port of Mobile to 50 ft. draft (Photo: Alabama Port Authority)

The State of Alabama and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered into the Project Partnership Agreement twio deepen and widen the Port of Mobile to 50 feet in late 2024 or early 2025.Colonel Sebastien P. Joly, Commander of the Mobile District, and John C. Driscoll, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Alabama State Port Authority, signed the agreement, which allows the Corps of Engineers will move into contracting and construction phases of the approximately $365.7 million project…

18 Feb 2020

Robust Dredging on America’s Inland Waterways

(Photo: Inland Dredging Company)

Inland Dredging Company helps keep commerce flowing on America’s inland waterway system.Dyersburg, Tenn. based Inland Dredging Company completed dredging projects spanning eight states and across four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts. Beginning in July and finishing in December (2019), Inland Dredging crews dredged ports and harbors along the Mighty Mississippi River, Ouachita River, Red River, Black Warrior River, Atchafalaya River, Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway from Apalachicola to Morgan City.Richard Jackson…

12 Feb 2020

Dredging at the Forefront of Corps' 2020 Work Plan

(Photo: Dredging Contractors of America)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' FY2020 Work Plan release on Monday places dredging at the forefront.“We welcome the FY 2020 Work Plan released by the Army Corps,” said William P. Doyle, CEO of the Dredging Contractors of America. “We’re ready – our dredging companies are hard at work on projects and continue to build new dredging ships for America’s ports, waterways and beaches.”The Work Plan is based on the FY2020 Energy and Water Development appropriations bills signed into law by President Trump in December 2019.In December 2019…

14 Sep 2018

APH Pushes Container on Vessel Service for St. Louis Region

Innovative waterway concept vessel could deliver transportation savings for shippers on the Mississippi River. Plans to transport freight via innovative waterway vessels that backers say will revolutionize the inland waterway system and provide significant transportation cost savings for shippers, especially those accessing the Midwest by utilizing the Mississippi River and its tributaries, are underway, according to Sal Litrico, CEO for American Patriot Container Transport, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Patriot Holdings LLC.Litrico presented information about Container on Vessel (COV) innovations at two St. Louis Regional Freightway Industry Forums in late August in St.

10 Feb 2017

Winter Weather Delays Grain Movement to US Ports

Severe winter weather has slowed rail deliveries of crops to shippers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, sending freight rates soaring and prompting Asian buyers to seek fill-in loads as they wait for the backlog at ports to clear. Blizzards, avalanches and heavy rain in recent weeks have hit transport of corn, soy and wheat to ports where they head for the lucrative Asian market, adding to the struggles that have plagued U.S. exporters since harvest. The setbacks come at a critical time for U.S. exporters, who are trying to move as much grain as possible before buyers turn their attention to South America when corn and soybean harvests in Argentina and Brazil accelerate in the coming weeks.

07 Dec 2016

Troll Solution Wreck Removal Completed

(Photo: Ardent)

A stricken jack-up has been removed from the Mexican seabed in close proximity to a well head platform, making for the largest wreck removal project completed in 2016. Weighing approximately 7,000 tons, the jack-up Troll Solution, contracted to operate in Pemex's Abkatun-Pol-Chuc shallow water oil field, experienced a debilitating accident while carrying out maintenance work on the wellhead platform CAAN-A in May 2015. The offshore rig was positioning itself to carry out maintenance on wells linked to the Caan Alf platform in the southern Bay of Campeche when it listed, killing two workers.

06 Sep 2016

Ensuring Cruise Ship Safety in the Northwest Passage

The Crystal Serenity will be the largest vessel to ever sail across the Northwest Passage. (Photo: Crystal Cruises)

Providing critical support to ensure the safety of this historic journey is Ardent’s Global Preparedness Cover (GPC), whose staff are on 24-hour response throughout the cruise ship’s transit through the Northwest Passage. “Ardent has been on the forefront of provide emergency preparedness services to its marine industry for many years, and this goes hand in hand in being prepared to respond in all regions in the world including the Arctic,” said Oliver Timofei, Ardent’s Director Emergency Management.

08 Jan 2016

Mississippi River Seen Cresting in Tennessee, Arkansas this Weekend

The Mississippi River, a major artery for U.S. commercial barge traffic, was expected to crest in Tennessee on Friday and Arkansas over the weekend as it pushed south toward the Gulf of Mexico, officials said. The river is predicted to rise just below 40 feet (12.2 meters) in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday afternoon, above the 34 feet at which the city considers it a flood event, while it is expected to crest in Helena, Arkansas, on Sunday, according to Jeff Graschel, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service. Officials expect levees in other states along the lower Mississippi to contain the river's high levels. The swollen Mississippi…

20 Nov 2015

USDOT Designates Gulfport, MS as a Strategic Port

The Mississippi State Port Authority was notified by the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) that the Port of Gulfport has been designated as a Strategic Seaport by the Commander, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC). With this designation, America’s military will be able to utilize the Port of Gulfport for cargo and equipment shipments. This announcement adds to South    Mississippi’s extensive military installations and capabilities. This designation is an important step in the Port of Gulfport’s long-range strategy to become one of the country’s top-tier diversified ports. The Port’s revitalization efforts include the $570million restoration and expansion project…

26 Sep 2015

U.S. Culls Over 1,200 Oregon Cormorants

The U.S. federal government has killed more than 1,000 seabirds on an Oregon island since May to protect endangered salmon as part of a plan that environmentalists say is flawed and are seeking to stop with a lawsuit. So far, 1,221 adult cormorants have been killed and more than 5,000 nests destroyed, U.S. officials said on Friday, adding the killing was expected to continue until mid- to late October when the seabirds migrate for the winter. "Government agents are racing about in their boat blowing birds out of the sky," said Bob Sallinger, conservation director of the Audubon Society of Portland. The government workers started culling the birds on May 24 as part of a multi-year plan to kill 11,000 double-crested cormorants, which U.S.

13 Aug 2015

Protesters Face Fines for Dangling from Oregon Bridge

© Tim Aubry / Greenpeace

Five Greenpeace protesters who dangled from a Portland, Oregon, bridge for two days in a bid to block a Royal Dutch Shell ship headed to the Arctic to drill for oil are each facing $5,000 fines from the U.S. Coast Guard, authorities said on Thursday. Three of the protesters dangled from the 200-foot-high St. John's bridge in Portland last month while two were on the bridge offering support, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class George Degener said. Each was cited for interfering with the safe operation of a vessel. Degener said he did not have the names of those charged.

30 Jul 2015

Activists Block Shell's Arctic Drilling Quest

Greenpeace protestors dangling from a bridge on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, halted an icebreaker that Royal Dutch Shell needs in northern Alaska before it can start drilling into the region's oil zone. The 13 Greenpeace protestors, who rappelled down from the bridge over the Willamette River early on Wednesday, are hoping to shorten Shell's Arctic drilling season by stopping the Fennica icebreaker, which is carrying emergency equipment that would cap any blown-out well. Shell needs to have the Fennica in Alaska before it can start drilling into the oil zone in the Chukchi, the Interior Department said last week. Shell would like to have the Fennica in Alaska as soon as possible as drilling season ends in October, when sea ice encroaches. The Fennica stalled once it neared the St.

23 Feb 2015

West Coast Port Slowdown Could Cause Two Month Delays

Congestion at the U.S. West Coast ports could take as much as two months to unwind, according to port and trade group officials, with retailers and other companies bracing for further shipment delays after the apparent resolution of a months-long labor dispute. A tentative labor agreement involving 29 ports was announced late on Friday involving 20,000 dockworkers. Tensions over their lack of a contract since July had led to chronic cargo backups. But port officials and companies warned it will take time to restore a normal flow of traffic. "It's not going to be fast," Jon Slangerup, chief executive officer of the Port of Long Beach, told CNBC television. The port slowdown has rippled through the U.S. economy including the retail, auto and agriculture sectors.

23 Sep 2014

House Introduces Vessel Discharge Legislation

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.

20 Sep 2014

Vessel Discharge Legislation Awaits Congressional Nod

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.

11 Apr 2014

SSI Speaks in Washington about LCS Program Cuts

Image courtesy SSI

SSI USA Director of Operations Patrick Roberts recently had meetings with U.S. senators, congressmen and navy brass to discuss the upcoming Pentagon Department of Defense Budget as it relates to the U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs. It was noted that Roberts' position is somewhat unique in that as an industrial engineer representing SSI, he was able to bring a neutral, yet broad and objective perspective to analyzing this subject. This is because SSI's ShipConstructor software is not only used by shipyards building both versions of the navy's Littoral Combat Ships…

28 Jun 2013

Harris Assumes New Leadership Role with Titan

Shelby Harris

Veteran Salvage Master Shelby Harris has been named Titan Salvage’s new director of marine operations in Asia, where he will bring more than 15 years of experience responding to large-scale domestic and international salvage and wreck removal projects. He will be based out of the company’s Singapore office and equipment depot, a 45,000-square-foot site west of the city, and report to Titan’s Director of Operations Patrick Keenan. Harris will be in charge of spearheading operational efforts and continuing to strengthen the team in the region…