Marine Log - September 2008 - (Page 35)

SHIPBUILDING SHIPBUILDING SHAKEUP F incantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A’s announcement last month that it would acquire Manitowoc Marine Group combined with the shuffling of top management at Austal is a clear indication that international shipbuilders are taking a keen interest in the lucrative U.S. Navy market. Both Italy’s Fincantieri and Australia’s Austal are part of two teams jockeying for the design and construction of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Under a definitive agreement signed early last month, Fincantieri would acquire the Manitowoc Marine Group from Manitowoc, Inc., in an all-cash transaction of $120 million. Fincantieri has formed a new U.S. company, Fincantieri Marine Group Holding, Inc., to acquire Manitowoc Marine Group and to manage its operations. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2008 and is subject to a number of conditions, including approval by the U.S. antitrust authorities and the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. Lockheed Martin Corporation will be a minority investor in the Manitowoc Marine Group. Lockheed Martin is leading a team that includes Fincantieri, Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La., and Gibbs & Cox, Arlington, Va., in a bid to design and construct the Navy’s LCS platform. The first of the class, the USS Freedom (LCS-1), was undergoing builder’s sea trials last month. The expectation is that the Freedom will be delivered later this year and homeported in San Diego, Calif. The Freedom is a semi-planning monohull that can reach speeds in excess of 40 knots. Propulsion is supplied by two Fairbanks Morse diesel engines that can generate over 17,000 brake horsepower in combination with Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines to drive two fixed and two steerable water jets. Four 750 kW Fincantieri Isotta-Fraschini diesel generators generate auxiliary electrical power. “Over the years, we have specialized in the construction of high-standard, mid-sized ships,” Alberto Maestrini, executive senior vice president and general manager of Fincantieri Naval Vessels Business Unit, told Marine Log. “Looking at our more recent history, we have achieved impressive results acting as Manitowoc acquisition strengthens Fincantieri’s Navy presence The USS Freedom (LCS-1) on builder’s sea trials last month prime contractor for almost any kind of non-nuclear naval ship, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, patrol ships, fast attack craft, auxiliary ships and submarines. Since 1990, we have delivered 39 naval vessels —among them the new flagship of the Italian Navy, the aircraft carrier Cavour —and another 17 are on order. “Significantly,” added Maestrini, “not only are we the reference partner of the Italian Navy and Coast Guard in the construction and logistic support of the fleet, but also a participant in important international naval programs, such as the Italian-French FREMM project and the U212A submarine program with Germany. We have signed important contracts abroad, for example, in India, Turkey and Iraq. Additionally, Fincantieri is already the supplier of the Ride Control System and diesel generator engines for the Lockheed Martin LCS, which is based on a Fincantieri design.” INVESTING IN NEW FACILITIES The Manitowoc Marine Group includes two shipyards – Marinette Marine Corporation, Marinette, Wis., and Bay Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and a topside repair yard in Cleveland, Ohio. The total workforce at the three facilities is about 1,590. The group generated revenues of about $320 million in Fiscal Year 2007. “Fincantieri intends to invest over $100 million in the next few years in the modernization of Manitowoc’s facilities to make the shipyards more competitive and thus meet the needs of the current customers and win further contracts both in the U.S. and abroad,” says Maestrini. “We aim to drive down production costs by increasing efficiency and productivity through process improvement, engineering and manufacturing investments. Moreover, we plan to expand the capacity of the shipyards.” Fincantieri, of course, is one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, designing SEPTEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 35 www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2008

Marine Log - September 2008 Editorial Second Thoughts Update Contents Inside Washington Slick Cleanup The Women of WISTA Keeping Ships at Sea Connected Shipbuilding Shakeup Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Letters Marine Salvage

Marine Log - September 2008

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