Marine Log - January 2008 - (Page 8) Update Blessey to build inland tank barges with R&R Marine R&R Marine Shipbuilding, Inc., Port Arthur, Tex., will build up to 18 inland tank barges for Blessey Enterprises, Inc., New Orleans, La. The first barge is set for delivery in July 2008, with subsequent barges being delivered every 2 1/2 months. Deliveries could stretch into 2012. Each barge will be 297.5 ft by 54 ft and 13 feet deep. Both clean and blackoil barges will be built under the deal. The barges are believed to have a capacity of 30,000 bbl. R&R is also currently supporting the AHL product tanker project. It is the fabricator of the power module and main deck module. Fabrication work is expected to start on Feb. 11. The initial module load is scheduled for July 2008. INLAND • COASTAL • OFFSHORE • DEEPSEA Maersk bids for Joint High Speed Vessel program aersk Line Limited, Arlington, Va., has teamed with Derecktor Shipyards, Bridgeport, Conn., and Gibbs & Cox to submit a bid to design and build up to eight Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) for the U.S. Department of Defense. “This is a first for us,” Robert Bowers, JHSV Program Manager for the Maersk Line Ltd. Team, told MARINE LOG. “However, ‘It’s commercial in nature. If it was a Navy combatant, we wouldn’t be interested.” The JHSV is a high-speed lift ship capable of transporting cargo and personnel across intra-theater distances. The vessel is expected to transport 600 short tons of cargo for 1,200 nautical miles at 35 knots without refueling. It will have the capability to carry M1A2 tanks, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles, trucks and 20 ft containers, with a maximum draft of 15 ft and the ability to unload cargo in “austere” port conditions. Bowers says the Maersk Team is offering a proven semi-SWATH design based on the HSS 1500 and HSS 900 highspeed ferries operated by Stena Line for over 10 years in the North Sea and Irish Sea. “We secured the rights to the design,” says Bowers, “and our objective is to optimize it for the JHSV.” VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula, Miss., will consult on the project, as will Stena. “What we also bring to the table,” says Bowers, “is the strength and experience M Stena Line’s HSS 1500 semi-SWATH design will provide the basis for the Maersk Team’s Joint High Speed Vessel Upgrade for Austal Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., was recently awarded a $33.7 million firm-fixed-price contract for infrastructure improvements to its facility in Mobile, Ala. Austal USA is one of six Gulf Coast shipbuilders selected to receive an award under Section 2203 of Public Law 109234. The goal of the federal law is to expedite recovery of shipbuilding capability in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina that could result in measurable cost reductions in current and future Navy shipbuilding contracts. Austal will use the funds to build a Modular Manufacturing Facility, with completion scheduled for April 2009. of our parent, A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.” The lead ship in the program is expected to cost $150 million, with subsequent vessels estimated at $130 million a piece. To date, the U.S. Department of Defense has leased four vessels for the program, all of which have been built in Australia. Three of the vessels are the HSV-X1 Joint Venture, TSV-1X Spearhead and HSV-2 Swift, built by Incat Tasmania and the Westpac Express, built by Austal Ships. The JHSV’s are being procured by the Navy’s PEO Ships. If all eight are built, three will be for the Army and five for the Navy. Phase One preliminary design contracts are expected to be awarded early this year, and a detail design and construction contract in the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2008. Construction and delivery of the first vessel is expected 36 months after the award of the contract, with subsequent vessels delivered in sixmonth increments. http://www.eagle.org
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