From: http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/political_skinny_2.html
Giant sucking sound
Don't look for shipbuilding executive Richard McCreary to book any summer vacation plans along the Alabama Gulf Coast.
McCreary is president of Wisconsin's Marinette Marine, which is competing with Mobile's Austal USA for a lucrative contract to build Littoral Combat Ships for the U.S. Navy.
McCreary told a business luncheon in Madison, Wis., last week that the contract could bring thousands of jobs to northeast Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
"If we win this contract, the giant sucking sound you hear will be people (who work in shipyards) leaving the Gulf Coast to come up here," said McCreary, according to WISBusiness.com.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Superferry Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Cancelled Yesterday
Here was how I summarized it to a friend after reviewing the following two docs. I may be simplifying it, but:
The bankruptcy representative asked the PUC to cancel the CPCN because Superferry does not have the finances to perform some of the obligations under the CPCN and this needs to be cancelled so that the bankruptcy can be completed. The PUC approved it, and closed the docket on the Superferry yesterday. So basically somebody from the private sector who might try to come in again and operate under the Superferry's prior charter will not be able to do so (unless the PUC reverses it's decision?). The process would have to begin again, and that was about a 2 year process with public input again. Superferry is completely dead. The ships will be auctioned by MARAD soon.
The full-text docs are:
03/10/10 Request to Surrender CPCN
05/27/10 Order Approving Voluntary Surrender of CPCN
Other related news today on this otherwise old story:
From: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100528/BREAKING01/100528052/Lingle+criticizes+Hannemann+over+Hawaii+Superferry+remarks
BREAKING NEWS/UPDATES
Updated at 5:06 p.m., Friday, May 28, 2010
"Lingle criticizes Hannemann over Hawaii Superferry remarks"
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Gov. Linda Lingle is criticizing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann over his remarks about her handling of the Superferry controversy. Hannemann, the mayor of Honolulu, contended Thursday Lingle will not allow his proposed commuter rail project to move forward while she is in office. Lingle is now reviewing the project's environmental impact study. Hannemann said the irony is Lingle "blew the Superferry" because she didn't want to conduct a full environmental report on the interisland vessel. Lingle said in a statement Friday that Hannemann's comments were "misinformed and patently false." She says the state Supreme Court blocked the Superferry in March 2009 with an unprecedented reading of state environmental law.
I say, let 'em Duke it out. I'm only hangin' around this story long enough to find out who buys the vessels at auction and at what price. Otherwise, I'm done wit' dis' story...
A - L - O - H - A!
The bankruptcy representative asked the PUC to cancel the CPCN because Superferry does not have the finances to perform some of the obligations under the CPCN and this needs to be cancelled so that the bankruptcy can be completed. The PUC approved it, and closed the docket on the Superferry yesterday. So basically somebody from the private sector who might try to come in again and operate under the Superferry's prior charter will not be able to do so (unless the PUC reverses it's decision?). The process would have to begin again, and that was about a 2 year process with public input again. Superferry is completely dead. The ships will be auctioned by MARAD soon.
The full-text docs are:
03/10/10 Request to Surrender CPCN
05/27/10 Order Approving Voluntary Surrender of CPCN
Other related news today on this otherwise old story:
From: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100528/BREAKING01/100528052/Lingle+criticizes+Hannemann+over+Hawaii+Superferry+remarks
BREAKING NEWS/UPDATES
Updated at 5:06 p.m., Friday, May 28, 2010
"Lingle criticizes Hannemann over Hawaii Superferry remarks"
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Gov. Linda Lingle is criticizing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann over his remarks about her handling of the Superferry controversy. Hannemann, the mayor of Honolulu, contended Thursday Lingle will not allow his proposed commuter rail project to move forward while she is in office. Lingle is now reviewing the project's environmental impact study. Hannemann said the irony is Lingle "blew the Superferry" because she didn't want to conduct a full environmental report on the interisland vessel. Lingle said in a statement Friday that Hannemann's comments were "misinformed and patently false." She says the state Supreme Court blocked the Superferry in March 2009 with an unprecedented reading of state environmental law.
I say, let 'em Duke it out. I'm only hangin' around this story long enough to find out who buys the vessels at auction and at what price. Otherwise, I'm done wit' dis' story...
A - L - O - H - A!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
US moves to arrest Hawaii Superferry vessels
Auction, huh? Silent or closed auction? This could answer a lot of questions about who finally gets the value out of these. If they sell for a low-ball price to certain individuals, then finally things could make sense that otherwise never did. The ships are worth no less than $160 million total, probably more with all of the internal additions. If not the DoD, look for the buyer to be in a company name controlled by a silent individual.
US moves to arrest Hawaii Superferry vessels
US moves to arrest Hawaii Superferry vessels
by Rajesh Joshi - Monday May 24, 2010
THE US government has taken the first step towards an eventual court-ordered auction of two catamarans formerly owned by the bankrupt Hawaii Superferry, by securing arrest warrants against the two ships in Virginia to recoup amounts due.
The move comes one year after Hawaii Superferry entered Chapter 11 protection. It was not immediately clear whether...
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Austal closing Tasmanian factory - axing 116 staff
Interesting Austal statement today on closing their Tasmanian operations:
"We were trying to understand whether this trend was driven by the global financial crisis or more than that. We have concluded it is more than that. It is permanent and therefore we have had to make this decision."
"We were trying to understand whether this trend was driven by the global financial crisis or more than that. We have concluded it is more than that. It is permanent and therefore we have had to make this decision."
| Austal closing Tassie doors Tasmania Mercury SHOCKED workers at Austal's Margate shipyard have been told they will lose their jobs by September. Twenty staff were laid off without notice yesterday and ... See all stories on this topic | ||
ABC Online (ABC News: Sarah Bester) The shipbuilder Austal is closing its Tasmanian shipyard and sacking 116 staff. The Western Australian company says it will shed ... | ||
| Govt denies ignoring business plight ABC Online Lara Giddings says the Austal board would have made the decision to close regardless of what the Government offered. (ABC News: Sarah Bester) The Tasmanian ... See all stories on this topic | ||
| Austal closes shipyard, 121 staff let go WA Business News (subscription) Shipbuilder Austal will close its Tasmanian operations at Margate in a few months leaving 121 employees out of work as the company amends operations ... | ||
International Business Times AU Shipbuilder Austal confirmed on Wednesday it will have a total transformation as it discontinues its Tasmanian shipyard operations and terminates 116 ... | ||
| Austal to close its Tasmanian shipyard Marine Log Austal has announced what it terms "a rationalization of its Australian operations and workforce as a result of the impact of changed market demand ... | ||
| Austal closing Tassie doors Tasmania Mercury Austal took over the Margate yard from North West Bay Ships in February, 2007. The shipbuilder, which has lucrative defence contracts both locally and in the U.S. ... | ||
| 120 ship workers axed Tasmania Examiner BY RACHEL WILLIAMS Austal sales and operations manager Andrew Bellamy told the ... Austal posted a $15.5 million half-year profit after income tax... |
Monday, May 3, 2010
Austal interfering with a small radio station in Mobile, AL?
From: http://www.rbr.com/radio/ENGINEERING/94/23862.html
"WMOB-AM Mobile to relocate antenna due to ground clutter"
2010-05-03
Christian-formatted WMOB-AM Mobile, AL says its signal is being hindered by Austal Shipyard and AIDT (Alabama Industrial Development Training) expansions. 82-year-old owner Buddy Tucker says Austal's and AIDT's new buildings (Maritime Science Center) are warping the station's coverage area. At the western end of the Mobile Bay Causeway, between a massive shipyard building and the construction site for a new state jobs training center, is the location of WMOB’s antenna site, says The Mobile Press-Register.
To improve things, Tucker plans to relocate east on the Causeway to the location of the former WLVV-AM (later WNPL-AM), vacant since Hurricane Katrina. He and his wife have paid $450,000 for the property.
To accomplish the move, Tucker tells the paper the neighbors need to chip in: "We are going to have to depend on getting some money from these people," Tucker said. "We're just small-time, compared to them."...
"This situation is very much akin to a guy who's got a great view of the ocean," Bill Pfister, vice president of external affairs for the Australian-owned Austal, told the paper. Such a guy would have no recourse if someone legally built a house blocking the view.”
Tucker has been blind since he was 15, and a radio broadcaster since he was 16. He started as an announcer on some of the South's most historic stations, moving on to work as a manager launching two Christian stations in Iowa. After that, he bought WMOB, which at the time was off the air. Since, he’s added a station in DeLand, FL, and WTOF-AM in Bay Minette, AL.
But the plot thickens: the interference problem began two years ago, when Austal started building a manufacturing facility west of the site that WMOB rents from the state. Workers who were erecting steel kept getting "zapped" when they touched the beams, Pfister said. And a copper phone wire kept picking up religious programming.
"We finally figured out it was radio energy," Pfister said.
Asked to turn off the station during Austal's construction, Tucker said that he declined.
Tucker said that the beams and walls in Austal's structure, which has some nine acres under roof, reflect WMOB's broadcast, bouncing its signal away from its normal southwesterly course. WMOB’s directional antenna avoids contact with stations in Monroeville, AL and Pensacola, FL.
Because of the deflected signal, WMOB is out of compliance with its FCC license, although regulators have granted waivers while it works to solve the problem. The FCC hasn't gotten any complaints. Tucker said he's received calls from listeners in southern Mobile and Baldwin counties who used to be able to hear the signal but can't any more...
The station has limited leverage. It operates on land leased from the state on a month-to-month basis, and could be ordered to clear out within 30 days. AIDT is likely to have to plow up some of the copper wiring underground that aids AM broadcasting to build a seawall around its new property.
Austal, meanwhile, plans to build an administration building on the WMOB end of its property, and Pfister said that Austal could probably get the FCC to force WMOB to shut down its transmitter if it intruded on Austal's operations.
Tucker said that he is frustrated that the problems have dragged on for almost two years, and fears that Austal and AIDT are trying to wait him out... >>>Full Article Here>>>
See also, for graphic and comments: http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/christian_radio_station_on_cau.html
"WMOB-AM Mobile to relocate antenna due to ground clutter"
2010-05-03
Christian-formatted WMOB-AM Mobile, AL says its signal is being hindered by Austal Shipyard and AIDT (Alabama Industrial Development Training) expansions. 82-year-old owner Buddy Tucker says Austal's and AIDT's new buildings (Maritime Science Center) are warping the station's coverage area. At the western end of the Mobile Bay Causeway, between a massive shipyard building and the construction site for a new state jobs training center, is the location of WMOB’s antenna site, says The Mobile Press-Register.
To improve things, Tucker plans to relocate east on the Causeway to the location of the former WLVV-AM (later WNPL-AM), vacant since Hurricane Katrina. He and his wife have paid $450,000 for the property.
To accomplish the move, Tucker tells the paper the neighbors need to chip in: "We are going to have to depend on getting some money from these people," Tucker said. "We're just small-time, compared to them."...
"This situation is very much akin to a guy who's got a great view of the ocean," Bill Pfister, vice president of external affairs for the Australian-owned Austal, told the paper. Such a guy would have no recourse if someone legally built a house blocking the view.”
Tucker has been blind since he was 15, and a radio broadcaster since he was 16. He started as an announcer on some of the South's most historic stations, moving on to work as a manager launching two Christian stations in Iowa. After that, he bought WMOB, which at the time was off the air. Since, he’s added a station in DeLand, FL, and WTOF-AM in Bay Minette, AL.
But the plot thickens: the interference problem began two years ago, when Austal started building a manufacturing facility west of the site that WMOB rents from the state. Workers who were erecting steel kept getting "zapped" when they touched the beams, Pfister said. And a copper phone wire kept picking up religious programming.
"We finally figured out it was radio energy," Pfister said.
Asked to turn off the station during Austal's construction, Tucker said that he declined.
Tucker said that the beams and walls in Austal's structure, which has some nine acres under roof, reflect WMOB's broadcast, bouncing its signal away from its normal southwesterly course. WMOB’s directional antenna avoids contact with stations in Monroeville, AL and Pensacola, FL.
Because of the deflected signal, WMOB is out of compliance with its FCC license, although regulators have granted waivers while it works to solve the problem. The FCC hasn't gotten any complaints. Tucker said he's received calls from listeners in southern Mobile and Baldwin counties who used to be able to hear the signal but can't any more...
The station has limited leverage. It operates on land leased from the state on a month-to-month basis, and could be ordered to clear out within 30 days. AIDT is likely to have to plow up some of the copper wiring underground that aids AM broadcasting to build a seawall around its new property.
Austal, meanwhile, plans to build an administration building on the WMOB end of its property, and Pfister said that Austal could probably get the FCC to force WMOB to shut down its transmitter if it intruded on Austal's operations.
Tucker said that he is frustrated that the problems have dragged on for almost two years, and fears that Austal and AIDT are trying to wait him out... >>>Full Article Here>>>
See also, for graphic and comments: http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/christian_radio_station_on_cau.html
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
LCS-2 is Done...Kaput...It's Over...That's a Wrap
Amazing, the Alabama Senators with their CBO report request cinched the decision away from LCS-2 in favor of LCS-1...
From: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4603087&c=AME&s=SEA
"Report: Fuel Factors Less Than Price For LCS"
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Defense News
Published: Apr. 28, 2010
Fuel costs for the U.S. Navy's new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) are calculated by a new Congressional report to be about 11 percent of total life-cycle costs - far less than the 64 percent figure represented by the price to buy the ship.
The relative insignificance of the fuel figure to the purchase price is at odds with claims by Alabama's Senate delegation that the Navy should give more weight to fuel efficiency in its pending choice of which LCS to buy. Navy officials have repeatedly said that the selection, expected sometime this summer, will be based largely on purchase price rather than lifecycle costs.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to study the effect of fuel costs and other factors on lifecycle costs. Sessions is supporting the aluminum-hulled trimaran LCS design built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. That ship is competing with a Lockheed Martin LCS built in Wisconsin.
Sessions and his Senate colleague, Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have repeatedly said the Austal USA ship is more fuel-efficient than the Lockheed ship, particularly at higher speeds...
The study, sent to Sessions on April 28...
CBO concluded that, as a percentage of life-cycle costs, fuel costs made up 8 percent of the low-fuel ship, 11 percent for the moderate-fuel ship, and 18 percent of the high-fuel ship.
Comparatively, procurement cost for the low-fuel ship made up 66 percent of the life-cycle cost, 64 percent for the moderate-fuel ship and 58 percent of the high-fuel ship...
>>>Rest of Article>>>
Austal can forget about LCS. They're lucky to get any JHSV's. Tough bloody luck, blokes.
From: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4603087&c=AME&s=SEA
"Report: Fuel Factors Less Than Price For LCS"
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Defense News
Published: Apr. 28, 2010
Fuel costs for the U.S. Navy's new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) are calculated by a new Congressional report to be about 11 percent of total life-cycle costs - far less than the 64 percent figure represented by the price to buy the ship.
The relative insignificance of the fuel figure to the purchase price is at odds with claims by Alabama's Senate delegation that the Navy should give more weight to fuel efficiency in its pending choice of which LCS to buy. Navy officials have repeatedly said that the selection, expected sometime this summer, will be based largely on purchase price rather than lifecycle costs.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to study the effect of fuel costs and other factors on lifecycle costs. Sessions is supporting the aluminum-hulled trimaran LCS design built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. That ship is competing with a Lockheed Martin LCS built in Wisconsin.
Sessions and his Senate colleague, Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have repeatedly said the Austal USA ship is more fuel-efficient than the Lockheed ship, particularly at higher speeds...
The study, sent to Sessions on April 28...
CBO concluded that, as a percentage of life-cycle costs, fuel costs made up 8 percent of the low-fuel ship, 11 percent for the moderate-fuel ship, and 18 percent of the high-fuel ship.
Comparatively, procurement cost for the low-fuel ship made up 66 percent of the life-cycle cost, 64 percent for the moderate-fuel ship and 58 percent of the high-fuel ship...
>>>Rest of Article>>>
Austal can forget about LCS. They're lucky to get any JHSV's. Tough bloody luck, blokes.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Lockheed, Austal submit bids for LCS
Lockheed, Austal submit bids for US Navy warships
Reuters
Lockheed Martin and Australia's Austal Ltd submitted bids on Monday for a deal valued at well over $5 billion to build more Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)...
2 contractors submit bids for up to 10 US warships
AP - Forbes
Officials from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA confirmed their bids were submitted on Monday...
Reuters
Lockheed Martin and Australia's Austal Ltd submitted bids on Monday for a deal valued at well over $5 billion to build more Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)...
2 contractors submit bids for up to 10 US warships
AP - Forbes
Officials from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA confirmed their bids were submitted on Monday...
New Revelations about MARAD and Superferry
Two new articles yesterday with previously unreported information by a Ryan Sibley of the Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group:
From: http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/government-agency-history-taxpayer-losses-keeps-it/
"Government agency with a history of taxpayer losses keeps at it"
By Ryan Sibley Apr 12, 2010
Between 2004 and 2009, the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, a federal agency that supports the U.S. shipbuilding industry and merchant marine, made just one loan from its troubled Federal Ship Financing Program, also known as Title XI. The borrower was Hawaii Superferry Inc., a politically connected company that hired a former chief counsel and deputy administrator of MARAD, among others, to lobby the agency. In 2005, Hawaii Superferry got a taxpayer-guaranteed loan for $139 million to build and operate a pair of high-speed ferries in the fiftieth state. Just four years later, the company filed for bankruptcy, listing assets of a mere $1 million.
The failure was par for the course for a program that even the business-friendly administration of George W. Bush branded as an “unwarranted corporate subsidy.”...
Loan guarantees issued by Title XI slowed drastically in years following the default of American Classic Voyages. Hawaii Superferry received the only guarantee issued in 2005 and the last one until 2009. Disclosure records show the company lobbied Congress and MARAD in 2005 regarding ship financing and Title XI amid the program slow down.
The company hired Blank Rome LLP to push its interests in Washington; among the firm’s lobbyists that represented Hawaii Superferry was Joan Bondareff , who served as chief counsel and acting deputy administrator for MARAD during the Clinton administration . She’d also served as the majority counsel to the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Blank Rome reported receiving $20,000 in fees from Hawaii Superferry in 2005; the company got a taxpayer-guaranteed loan for $139 million to pay for construction and operation of a pair of high-tech catamarans... >>>Rest of Article>>>
Also from: http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/hawaii-superferry-ulterior-motive/
"Hawaii Superferry: An ulterior motive?"
By Ryan Sibley Apr 12, 2010
Was the Hawaii Superferry project conceived of as a means of securing a military contract? Speculation in Hawaii among activists that the ferries might have eventually been used for interisland transport of the Army’s Stryker brigade and other military equipment fueled conflict between protestors and Superferry supporters.
In March 2005, John F. Lehman, a former Navy Secretary during the Reagan administration and the company's principal investor, told Pacific Business News that there was a possibility the ferries would be used to move military cargo. In 2008, the former CEO and President of HSF, Inc., Thomas Fargo, said that was still a possibility, and the company’s lobbyists at Blank Rome LLP reported being paid $210,000, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, to lobby for inclusion in a Defense Department program that would pay to have improvements made to the Hawaii Superferry’s two high speed catamarans that would make them more militarily useful... >>>Rest of Article>>>
From: http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/government-agency-history-taxpayer-losses-keeps-it/
"Government agency with a history of taxpayer losses keeps at it"
By Ryan Sibley Apr 12, 2010
Between 2004 and 2009, the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, a federal agency that supports the U.S. shipbuilding industry and merchant marine, made just one loan from its troubled Federal Ship Financing Program, also known as Title XI. The borrower was Hawaii Superferry Inc., a politically connected company that hired a former chief counsel and deputy administrator of MARAD, among others, to lobby the agency. In 2005, Hawaii Superferry got a taxpayer-guaranteed loan for $139 million to build and operate a pair of high-speed ferries in the fiftieth state. Just four years later, the company filed for bankruptcy, listing assets of a mere $1 million.
The failure was par for the course for a program that even the business-friendly administration of George W. Bush branded as an “unwarranted corporate subsidy.”...
Loan guarantees issued by Title XI slowed drastically in years following the default of American Classic Voyages. Hawaii Superferry received the only guarantee issued in 2005 and the last one until 2009. Disclosure records show the company lobbied Congress and MARAD in 2005 regarding ship financing and Title XI amid the program slow down.
The company hired Blank Rome LLP to push its interests in Washington; among the firm’s lobbyists that represented Hawaii Superferry was Joan Bondareff , who served as chief counsel and acting deputy administrator for MARAD during the Clinton administration . She’d also served as the majority counsel to the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Blank Rome reported receiving $20,000 in fees from Hawaii Superferry in 2005; the company got a taxpayer-guaranteed loan for $139 million to pay for construction and operation of a pair of high-tech catamarans... >>>Rest of Article>>>
Also from: http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/hawaii-superferry-ulterior-motive/
"Hawaii Superferry: An ulterior motive?"
By Ryan Sibley Apr 12, 2010
Was the Hawaii Superferry project conceived of as a means of securing a military contract? Speculation in Hawaii among activists that the ferries might have eventually been used for interisland transport of the Army’s Stryker brigade and other military equipment fueled conflict between protestors and Superferry supporters.
In March 2005, John F. Lehman, a former Navy Secretary during the Reagan administration and the company's principal investor, told Pacific Business News that there was a possibility the ferries would be used to move military cargo. In 2008, the former CEO and President of HSF, Inc., Thomas Fargo, said that was still a possibility, and the company’s lobbyists at Blank Rome LLP reported being paid $210,000, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, to lobby for inclusion in a Defense Department program that would pay to have improvements made to the Hawaii Superferry’s two high speed catamarans that would make them more militarily useful... >>>Rest of Article>>>
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Hawaii Senate Kills HB 2667 study for state-run ferry
Here's the total vote, published nowhere else publicly. Somebody may have been trying to protect the losing Ayes by not publishing their names. Well here they are:
Here's a good report on it:
From: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/04/07/business-financial-impact-us-ferry-service-hawaii_7494503.html
"Hawaii Senate rejects state ferry service study"
By MARK NIESSE, Associated Press 04.07.10
HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Senate has sunk an idea that would have studied the creation of a state-sponsored ferry service between the islands...
It was the only bill killed in the Senate on Tuesday amid dozens of other proposals that advanced to conference committees for final negotiations before the Legislature adjourns April 29.
>>>Full Article Here>>>
Souki said it would, "SAIL on Through." Apparently NOT, Mr. Souki.
| 4/6/2010 | S | HB 2667 failed to be adopted; Failed to pass Third Reading. Ayes, 8 (Senator(s) Espero, Gabbard, Green, Hanabusa, Kim, Sakamoto, Takamine, Taniguchi). Noes, 17 (Senator(s) Baker, Bunda, Chun Oakland, English, Fukunaga, Galuteria, Hee, Hemmings, Hooser, Ige, Ihara, Kidani, Kokubun, Nishihara, Slom, Tokuda, Tsutsui). |
Here's a good report on it:
From: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/04/07/business-financial-impact-us-ferry-service-hawaii_7494503.html
"Hawaii Senate rejects state ferry service study"
By MARK NIESSE, Associated Press 04.07.10
HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Senate has sunk an idea that would have studied the creation of a state-sponsored ferry service between the islands...
It was the only bill killed in the Senate on Tuesday amid dozens of other proposals that advanced to conference committees for final negotiations before the Legislature adjourns April 29.
>>>Full Article Here>>>
Souki said it would, "SAIL on Through." Apparently NOT, Mr. Souki.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
GAO's Most Recent Report on JHSV and LCS
Some nuggets from the most recent GAO report on JHSV:
From: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10388sp.pdf
The JHSV is a joint Army and Navy program to acquire a high-speed, shallow-draft vessel for rapid intratheater transport of combat-ready units. The ship will be capable of operating without reliance on shore based infrastructure. The program awarded a detail design and construction contract with options for nine additional ships to Austal USA in November 2008, and DOD authorized construction of the first ship in December 2009...
Design and Production Maturity
In December 2009, DOD authorized the shipbuilder to start JHSV lead ship construction with 65 percent of the ship’s 3D product model complete. According to program officials, the product modeling is complete for some of the JHSV’s most complex modules, including the machinery, water jet, and generator rooms. The decision to authorize construction is not consistent with GAO recommended shipbuilding best practices, which call for achieving a complete and stable 3D product model before construction begins. The program office believes that the completion of the model prior to construction start is less critical for its program because the JHSV is not as complex as other Navy ships, such as the DDG 1000 or the T-AKE. The Navy also demonstrated JHSV design maturity by tracking the number of critical drawings approved by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). As of December 2009, ABS has approved 99 percent, or 319 out of 321, of JHSV’s critical design drawings used to build the 3D product model. Program officials estimate that 70 percent of the JHSV design is the same as the commercial Hawaii Superferry produced by the JHSV shipbuilder. However, the differences, which include the firefighting system, hotel services, aviation accessibility, and the addition of a limited self-defense capability, affect a large area of the JHSV...
In order to achieve the necessary production rate, the shipbuilder built a modular manufacturing facility, which marks a change in production strategy for the yard. Prior to using this facility to build the JHSV, the shipbuilder built components of the Littoral Combat Ship in the facility. In addition, it built a pilot JHSV module in the facility prior to lead-ship construction start. While modular manufacturing decreases the number of workers needed, the contractor experienced hiring issues and program officials anticipate that the shipyard will be challenged to hire a sufficient number of workers with critical skills as its workload increases...
And the LCS nuggets:
The Navy’s LCS is designed to perform mine countermeasures, antisubmarine warfare, and
surface warfare missions. It consists of the ship itself, or seaframe, and the mission package it
deploys. The Navy plans to construct the first four seaframes in two unique designs, then select one design for the remainder of the class. The first seaframe (LCS 1) was delivered in September 2008 with the second seaframe (LCS 2) following in December 2009. We assessed both seaframes. See pages 97-98 for an assessment of LCS mission packages...
...The Navy identified watercraft launch and recovery as a major risk for both designs...
...Challenges for LCS 2 include completing required endurance testing of the main propulsion diesel engines and addressing pitting and corrosion in the waterjets...
Technology Maturity
Seventeen of 19 critical technologies for both LCS designs are mature. For LCS 2, the trimaran hull and aluminum structure are nearing maturity. The Navy identified watercraft launch and recovery—essential to complete the LCS antisubmarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions—as a major risk to both seaframe designs. Watercraft launch and recovery systems have not been fully demonstrated for either seaframe...For LCS 2, factory testing of the twin boom extensible crane revealed performance and reliability concerns that were not fully addressed prior to installation. In addition, program officials report the LCS 2 main propulsion diesel engines have not completed a required endurance test, in part due to corrosion in each engine’s intake valves. As an interim solution, the Navy has installed new intake valves, which enabled the ship to complete acceptance trials. LCS 2 has also experienced pitting and corrosion in its waterjet tunnels. The Navy has temporarily fixed the issue and plans to make weld repairs to pitted areas during a future dry dock availability.
...At fabrication start for each ship, approximately 69 percent (LCS 3) and 57 percent (LCS 4) of basic and functional drawings were complete. Starting construction before drawings are complete could result in costly out-of-sequence work and rework to incorporate new design attributes...
...For LCS 3, the contractor has incorporated a design change to extend the transom by four meters to improve stability...
...Navy officials report that the earned value management systems (EVMS) in each of the LCS shipyards do not yet meet Defense Contract Management Agency requirements. Under the terms of the LCS 3 and LCS 4 contracts, the shipyards must achieve EVMS certification within 28 months from the date of the award. Until those requirements are met, cost and schedule data reported by the prime contractors cannot be considered fully reliable.
...The Navy stated that LCS 1 now meets the damage stability requirement with the addition of external tanks on the rear of the ship...
...To address corrosion of the waterjet tunnels, the Navy stated that electrical isolation of propulsion shafts from the waterjets is being incorporated and a plan is in place to renew the corroded metal in the waterjet intake tunnels.
There you have it.
From: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10388sp.pdf
The JHSV is a joint Army and Navy program to acquire a high-speed, shallow-draft vessel for rapid intratheater transport of combat-ready units. The ship will be capable of operating without reliance on shore based infrastructure. The program awarded a detail design and construction contract with options for nine additional ships to Austal USA in November 2008, and DOD authorized construction of the first ship in December 2009...
Design and Production Maturity
In December 2009, DOD authorized the shipbuilder to start JHSV lead ship construction with 65 percent of the ship’s 3D product model complete. According to program officials, the product modeling is complete for some of the JHSV’s most complex modules, including the machinery, water jet, and generator rooms. The decision to authorize construction is not consistent with GAO recommended shipbuilding best practices, which call for achieving a complete and stable 3D product model before construction begins. The program office believes that the completion of the model prior to construction start is less critical for its program because the JHSV is not as complex as other Navy ships, such as the DDG 1000 or the T-AKE. The Navy also demonstrated JHSV design maturity by tracking the number of critical drawings approved by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). As of December 2009, ABS has approved 99 percent, or 319 out of 321, of JHSV’s critical design drawings used to build the 3D product model. Program officials estimate that 70 percent of the JHSV design is the same as the commercial Hawaii Superferry produced by the JHSV shipbuilder. However, the differences, which include the firefighting system, hotel services, aviation accessibility, and the addition of a limited self-defense capability, affect a large area of the JHSV...
In order to achieve the necessary production rate, the shipbuilder built a modular manufacturing facility, which marks a change in production strategy for the yard. Prior to using this facility to build the JHSV, the shipbuilder built components of the Littoral Combat Ship in the facility. In addition, it built a pilot JHSV module in the facility prior to lead-ship construction start. While modular manufacturing decreases the number of workers needed, the contractor experienced hiring issues and program officials anticipate that the shipyard will be challenged to hire a sufficient number of workers with critical skills as its workload increases...
And the LCS nuggets:
The Navy’s LCS is designed to perform mine countermeasures, antisubmarine warfare, and
surface warfare missions. It consists of the ship itself, or seaframe, and the mission package it
deploys. The Navy plans to construct the first four seaframes in two unique designs, then select one design for the remainder of the class. The first seaframe (LCS 1) was delivered in September 2008 with the second seaframe (LCS 2) following in December 2009. We assessed both seaframes. See pages 97-98 for an assessment of LCS mission packages...
...The Navy identified watercraft launch and recovery as a major risk for both designs...
...Challenges for LCS 2 include completing required endurance testing of the main propulsion diesel engines and addressing pitting and corrosion in the waterjets...
Technology Maturity
Seventeen of 19 critical technologies for both LCS designs are mature. For LCS 2, the trimaran hull and aluminum structure are nearing maturity. The Navy identified watercraft launch and recovery—essential to complete the LCS antisubmarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions—as a major risk to both seaframe designs. Watercraft launch and recovery systems have not been fully demonstrated for either seaframe...For LCS 2, factory testing of the twin boom extensible crane revealed performance and reliability concerns that were not fully addressed prior to installation. In addition, program officials report the LCS 2 main propulsion diesel engines have not completed a required endurance test, in part due to corrosion in each engine’s intake valves. As an interim solution, the Navy has installed new intake valves, which enabled the ship to complete acceptance trials. LCS 2 has also experienced pitting and corrosion in its waterjet tunnels. The Navy has temporarily fixed the issue and plans to make weld repairs to pitted areas during a future dry dock availability.
...At fabrication start for each ship, approximately 69 percent (LCS 3) and 57 percent (LCS 4) of basic and functional drawings were complete. Starting construction before drawings are complete could result in costly out-of-sequence work and rework to incorporate new design attributes...
...For LCS 3, the contractor has incorporated a design change to extend the transom by four meters to improve stability...
...Navy officials report that the earned value management systems (EVMS) in each of the LCS shipyards do not yet meet Defense Contract Management Agency requirements. Under the terms of the LCS 3 and LCS 4 contracts, the shipyards must achieve EVMS certification within 28 months from the date of the award. Until those requirements are met, cost and schedule data reported by the prime contractors cannot be considered fully reliable.
...The Navy stated that LCS 1 now meets the damage stability requirement with the addition of external tanks on the rear of the ship...
...To address corrosion of the waterjet tunnels, the Navy stated that electrical isolation of propulsion shafts from the waterjets is being incorporated and a plan is in place to renew the corroded metal in the waterjet intake tunnels.
There you have it.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Reuters covers LCS design problems...and the losers plan their appeal
| Problems revealed with both LCS designs: Congressional report cites problems with LCS ships Reuters General Dynamics won a contract for LCS-4, based on an aluminum trimarin design by Austal (ASB.AX) on May 1, 2009, or 10 months ago... |
| And the losers are already planning their appeal: Editorial: LCS award won't be endgame Press-Register - al.com Defense industry analysts say that both sides, Austal USA in Mobile and Lockheed Martin ... Whether Austal wins or loses the order for up to 10 new ships... |
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Poor Losers...Handwriting is on the Wall
From: http://blog.al.com/live/2010/03/analysts_lcs_contract_decision.html
"Analysts: LCS contract decision could be contested"
by Sean Reilly March 28, 2010
WASHINGTON -- By the Navy's calendar, a winner-take-all order for up to 10 new littoral combat ships is supposed to be awarded this summer, with Mobile-based Austal USA's future prospects heavily staked to the outcome.
But that award may not be the end of the story, according to outside analysts...
"It's just too important a program for both sides," said Jay Korman, a principal at The Avascent Group, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm...
Bids are due April 12, with a decision to follow in June or July, according to Sean Stackley, the Navy's top weapons buyer.
Representatives of both Austal and Lockheed declined to say what they would do in the event of defeat.
Either, however, could lodge a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office, the federal agency charged with handling contract appeals. The GAO gives itself just over three months to decide a protest, although a request to reconsider its initial ruling can add more time...
>>>Rest of Article>>>
"Analysts: LCS contract decision could be contested"
by Sean Reilly March 28, 2010
WASHINGTON -- By the Navy's calendar, a winner-take-all order for up to 10 new littoral combat ships is supposed to be awarded this summer, with Mobile-based Austal USA's future prospects heavily staked to the outcome.
But that award may not be the end of the story, according to outside analysts...
"It's just too important a program for both sides," said Jay Korman, a principal at The Avascent Group, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm...
Bids are due April 12, with a decision to follow in June or July, according to Sean Stackley, the Navy's top weapons buyer.
Representatives of both Austal and Lockheed declined to say what they would do in the event of defeat.
Either, however, could lodge a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office, the federal agency charged with handling contract appeals. The GAO gives itself just over three months to decide a protest, although a request to reconsider its initial ruling can add more time...
>>>Rest of Article>>>
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tit for tat, gettin' nasty...'Bama LCS folks not happy about losing
Richard Shelby, Herb Kohl trade fire at Senate LCS hearing | al.com
By Sean Reilly
Herb Kohl, D-Wis., countered by labeling Austal's aluminum trimaran design "radical" and suggested that its version of the LCS would be more expensive to maintain than a traditional steel vessel. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa ... Breaking News from the Press-Register - http://blog.al.com/live/
By Sean Reilly
Herb Kohl, D-Wis., countered by labeling Austal's aluminum trimaran design "radical" and suggested that its version of the LCS would be more expensive to maintain than a traditional steel vessel. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa ... Breaking News from the Press-Register - http://blog.al.com/live/
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
US Navy request raises issue about aluminum ships?
From: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1513314120100316?type=marketsNews
"US Navy request raises issue about aluminum ships"
By Andrea Shalal-Esa Mar 16, 2010
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is seeking an analytical tool to predict problems with aluminum-hulled ships just months before it is due to announce the winner of the Littoral Combat Ship competition involving such a ship.
In a little-noticed solicitation posted on a Navy website in January, the Navy said it needed better tools to predict possible cracking on aluminum-hulled ships, especially under difficult conditions at sea. Replies are due by March 24....
Extreme Loading Events
In the solicitation, the Navy said it was facing "great challenges" in picking appropriate analytical tools and validation procedures to assure the performance and integrity of the aluminum ship structure in the presence of "unexpected extreme loading events" such as wave-slamming....
>>>Rest of Article>>>
Nice piece of reporting. As background listen to the second audio link that says “click here” at:
"US Navy request raises issue about aluminum ships"
By Andrea Shalal-Esa Mar 16, 2010
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is seeking an analytical tool to predict problems with aluminum-hulled ships just months before it is due to announce the winner of the Littoral Combat Ship competition involving such a ship.
In a little-noticed solicitation posted on a Navy website in January, the Navy said it needed better tools to predict possible cracking on aluminum-hulled ships, especially under difficult conditions at sea. Replies are due by March 24....
Extreme Loading Events
In the solicitation, the Navy said it was facing "great challenges" in picking appropriate analytical tools and validation procedures to assure the performance and integrity of the aluminum ship structure in the presence of "unexpected extreme loading events" such as wave-slamming....
>>>Rest of Article>>>
Nice piece of reporting. As background listen to the second audio link that says “click here” at:
http://disappearednews.com/2008/04/secon d-program-on-alleged-superferry.html
It’s the rest of the story. Helps to explain what the Navy might be looking at.
Also, here's a video to remind our readers what "deck-slamming" looks and sounds like:
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Marinette: "When we win the fiscal year 2010 ships for LCS"
"We're going to win (the LCS contract) on cost," Moosally said. "This is basically a price shootout."
From: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100313/GPG03/3130574/1247/Marinette-Marine-breaks-ground-on-large-ship-facility
"Marinette Marine breaks ground on large ship facility"
Fincantieri Marine Group plans $100 million investment in area operations
BY NATHAN PHELPS • March 13, 2010
MARINETTE — Marinette Marine Corp. broke ground Friday for the expansion of its large ship erection building.
Company leaders say this is part of a $100 million investment in Marinette Marine and other area operations aimed at securing contracts that will help stabilize the work force at the shipyard — such as the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship.
(The expansion) "is to improve our production efficiency and make us more productive and more competitive in the marketplace," said Fred Moosally, president and CEO of Fincantieri Marine Group, which includes Bay Shipbuilding Co. in Sturgeon Bay and ACE Marine in Green Bay. "When we win the fiscal year 2010 ships for LCS, that's a winner take all with 10 ships … and it will really stabilize the work force."...
"We're going to win (the LCS contract) on cost," Moosally said. "This is basically a price shootout." >>>Full Article>>>
From: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100313/GPG03/3130574/1247/Marinette-Marine-breaks-ground-on-large-ship-facility
"Marinette Marine breaks ground on large ship facility"
Fincantieri Marine Group plans $100 million investment in area operations
BY NATHAN PHELPS • March 13, 2010
MARINETTE — Marinette Marine Corp. broke ground Friday for the expansion of its large ship erection building.
Company leaders say this is part of a $100 million investment in Marinette Marine and other area operations aimed at securing contracts that will help stabilize the work force at the shipyard — such as the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship.
(The expansion) "is to improve our production efficiency and make us more productive and more competitive in the marketplace," said Fred Moosally, president and CEO of Fincantieri Marine Group, which includes Bay Shipbuilding Co. in Sturgeon Bay and ACE Marine in Green Bay. "When we win the fiscal year 2010 ships for LCS, that's a winner take all with 10 ships … and it will really stabilize the work force."...
"We're going to win (the LCS contract) on cost," Moosally said. "This is basically a price shootout." >>>Full Article>>>
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Austal to showcase vessels at China Maritime
From: http://www.bairdmaritime.com
Wednesday, 03 March 2010
Wednesday, 03 March 2010
Austal will be showcasing its range of high speed, lightweight aluminium vessels at China Maritime 2010, to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, March 16 - 18.
...Also of interest to many of the region's navies, coast guards and maritime security agencies will be Austal's range of high speed defence platforms, including police vessels, patrol vessels, combat ships and high speed support vessels.
On display will be Austal's latest 47.5-metre passenger catamaran ferry, 21 of which are currently servicing the growing demand generated from the Hong Kong to Macao route.
Also on display will be a model of Austal's 102-metre next generation trimaran, which is currently nearing completion at Austal's Western Australian shipyard and is available for purchase... >>>Rest of Article>>>
Saturday, March 6, 2010
GD and Austal Split Up To Bid on LCS
Austal is trying to characterize this in a positive light for them, but thinking about it from a number of interations, this is mostly positive for GD and later bids in this process, and not so much for an unproven solo prime contractor building the significantly more expensive version of LCS. Three articles about it referenced below:
"GD and Austal Split Up To Bid on LCS"
By Jeff Amy March 05, 2010
MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA and General Dynamics Corp. said Thursday that they're parting ways in the competition to build littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy, a move that could give both sides advantages as they seek future contracts... >>>Rest of Article>>>
"Maine, Alabama shipyards end teaming arrangement"
by (AP) March 5, 2010
BATH, Maine — Maine's Bath Iron Works and Alabama's Austal USA are ending their partnership, allowing Austal to compete on its own for the next contract to build fast and agile warships for the Navy.
...In 2012, the Navy plans to award another five-ship contract that must go to a different builder. By breaking up their team, Bath Iron Works would be able to bid on the second contract... >>>Rest of Article>>>
"GD and Austal Split Up To Bid on LCS"
By Christopher P. Cavas Mar. 4, 2010
Shipbuilding partners Austal USA and General Dynamics have agreed to revoke their teaming arrangement on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program - a move that positions Austal to bid as a prime contractor on this year's bid for 10 LCS ships for the U.S. Navy, and allows GD to go after another five ships to be awarded in 2012... >>>Rest of Article>>>
By Jeff Amy March 05, 2010
MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA and General Dynamics Corp. said Thursday that they're parting ways in the competition to build littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy, a move that could give both sides advantages as they seek future contracts... >>>Rest of Article>>>
"Maine, Alabama shipyards end teaming arrangement"
by (AP) March 5, 2010
BATH, Maine — Maine's Bath Iron Works and Alabama's Austal USA are ending their partnership, allowing Austal to compete on its own for the next contract to build fast and agile warships for the Navy.
...In 2012, the Navy plans to award another five-ship contract that must go to a different builder. By breaking up their team, Bath Iron Works would be able to bid on the second contract... >>>Rest of Article>>>
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tab rises another $218,000, to tow barge out of Kahului harbor
From: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100304/NEWS03/3040325
"Hawaii's tab for Superferry rises another $218,000, to tow barge" out of Maui harbor
By David Waite Advertiser Staff Writer Thursday, March 4, 2010
Hawai'i taxpayers aren't done yet paying for the failed Superferry project.
The state Department of Transportation's Harbors Division has awarded a $218,000 contract to Healy Tibbitts Builders Inc. to tow a state-owned barge, which had been used to load vehicles on and off the now-defunct interisland ferry, from Maui's Kahului Harbor to Honolulu...>>>Rest of Article>>>
"Hawaii's tab for Superferry rises another $218,000, to tow barge" out of Maui harbor
By David Waite Advertiser Staff Writer Thursday, March 4, 2010
Hawai'i taxpayers aren't done yet paying for the failed Superferry project.
The state Department of Transportation's Harbors Division has awarded a $218,000 contract to Healy Tibbitts Builders Inc. to tow a state-owned barge, which had been used to load vehicles on and off the now-defunct interisland ferry, from Maui's Kahului Harbor to Honolulu...>>>Rest of Article>>>
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