Marine Log - December 2008 - (Page 7) Update INLAND • COASTAL OFFSHORE • DEEPSEA biz NOTES “Sweet” deal for VT Halter VT Halter Marine Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., recently signed a $8.9 million contract with Candies Shipbuilders LLC, Houma, La. , for the fabrication of the hull and deckhouse of a 285 ft platform supply vessel. VT Halter Marine’s Moss Point, Miss., yard will deliver the hull with the placement of certain owner furnished equipment to Candies Shipbuilders. The vessel will be towed to Candies’ Houma shipyard for final outfitting. Delivery of the vessel is scheduled for January 2010. RAMP UP ustal USA, Mobile port the intra-theater maneuver Ala., will be able to put of personnel, supplies and its new Modular Manu- equipment for the U. S. Navy, facturing Facility to Marine Corps, and Army. The good use when the first phase of JHSV will include a flight deck its construction is completed for helicopter operations next summer. That’s and an offload ramp because the Mobile that will allow vehicles shipyard was awarded to quickly drive off $185.4 million last potential the ship (see artist’s month as prime contracconception above). tor to design and build a JHSV’s shallow draft 103-meter Joint High Speed (under 15 ft) will further Vessel (JHSV) for the U.S. enhance littoral operations and Department of Defense. port access. The JHSV Program will proAll of the modules for the vide high-speed, shallow draft JHSV will be built in the Modutransportation capability to sup- lar Manufacturing Facility AUSTAL READY TO (MMF), which is being constructed in several phases on a 100-acre site adjacent to the current Austal USA facility on the Mobile River. If all the options for nine additional JHSVs and shore-based spares are exercised, the DOD contract could reach a value of $1.6 billion. The first JHSV will be completed by November 2010. Construction of subsequent JHSVs could stretch into 2015. Similar to the Austal-built WestPac Express operated by the U.S. Marines for the past seven continued on p. 8 A $1.6b ECO buys stake in Tampa yard Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc., Mobile, Ala., has sold its majority interest in the Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co. to Edison Chouest Offshore, Galliano, La. The Tampa Bay Port Authority approved the assignment of the new lease agreement with Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co. to Tampa Ship, LLC, a unit of Edison Chouest. The 62-acre shipyard has four graving docks, with 28 ft draft access. OSG America L.P., Tampa, reported in its most recent earnings release that its six Articulated Tug Barge units (ATB’s) being built by Bender Shipbuilding and Tampa Bay Shipbuilding were facing delays. Bender is building the tugs, while Tampa Bay is constructing the six tank barges. The three 330,000 bbl tank barges will now be delivered in 2009, while the 290,000 bbl class tank barges will be delivered in late 2010 and 2011. DECEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 7 Todd lone bidder for WSF pact THE WASHINGTON STATE Departent of Transportation held a “bids” opening ceremony last month as part of the process to build new ferries for its Port Townsend/Keystone route. Unfortunately for the state, it didn’t draw as much attention as it would have liked. The formal bid opening on a contract to construct up to two 64-car vessels based on the Nantucket Steamship Authority’s Island Home design (see photo inset) drew a single bid from Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle. www.marinelog.com Todd’s proposed bid price is $124.4 million for two ferries and $65.5 million for one. The WSDOT engineer’s estimate is $95.9 million for two vessels and $49.5 million for one ferry. “While I appreciate Todd Shipyards’ responsiveness, I am disappointed that there is only one bid,” said David Moseley, Assistant Secretary, WSDOT Ferries Division. “We will identify all viable options before making a decision.” WSDOT will evaluate the bid to ensure it meets contract requirements before making an award recommendation. Back in March, Todd Pacific was the only bidder for a 50-car ferry for the route and came in with a price of nearly $26 million compared with a WSDOT estimate of $16.8 million. WSDOT decided to rebid that contract, but wound up extending the charter of a countyowned vessel serving the route. http://www.marinelog.com
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