Marine Log
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 — Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) reports that its Newport News Shipbuilding division launched the Virginia-class submarine Minnesota (SSN 783) into the James River on November 3.
"Launch is a significant accomplishment in the life of a submarine," said Jim Hughes, NNS' vice president of submarines and fleet support. "It's an opportunity for our incredible shipbuilders to stand back and take pride in their work. Thanks to their tremendous efforts and steadfast determination, Minnesota's progress is nearly one year ahead of schedule and has been built using about 600,000 fewer man-hours than the previous boat."
As many as 1,000 shipbuilders have worked on Minnesota, the tenth Virginia-class submarine. At about 92 percent complete, Minnesota is on track to complete in 63 months. Construction began in February 2008, and the vessel was christened Oct. 27.
To achieve her latest milestone, the 7,800-ton Minnesota was moved out of a construction facility into a floating dry dock using a transfer car system. The floating dry dock was submerged, and Minnesota was launched into the James River. Once in the water, tugboats moved the submarine to NNS' submarine pier, where final outfitting and testing will take place.
"It is truly awe-inspiring having been able to watch the submarine go from pieces and now launching for the final stretch of construction prior to sea trials," said Cmdr. John Fancher, Minnesota's commanding officer. "When I think of all the energy and craftsmanship of the shipbuilders that has gotten us to this point, I am humbled. The crew is excited to get their boat into the water, and I couldn't be more proud of them and all of their hard work and training."
JANUARY 30, 2013 — GE Marine has signed an agreement with Echogen Power Systems, Akron, Ohio, to be the exclusive provider of Echogen's exhaust heat recovery system for use on commercial and military marine vessels worldwide. Echogen's product enhances GE Marine's mechanical, hybrid and all-electric propulsion system solutions.
What's different about the Echogen system is that it uses supercritical CO2 (sCO2) as its working fluid, which allows for a more compact, lighter and economical configuration than traditional steam systems for making use of exhaust gas waste heat.
"This product is an important addition to GE Marine's existing worldwide product portfolio, given fuel efficiency and emissions are very important to shipowners and operators. Converting energy that traditionally gets exhausted out of a stack into useful power allows the overall system efficiency to increase by up to 30%," says Brien Bolsinger, Vice President, Marine Operations, GE Marine, Evendale, Ohio.
"The marine market represents a tremendous application for our supercritical CO2 engine, and GE Marine is a powerful partner offering speed and scale to market," says Phil Brennan, Chief Executive Officer, Echogen Power Systems. "We are pleased that our technology will enable GE Marine to provide more value to its customers, while supporting Echogen's goal of displacing steam as the power fluid of choice for engines under 50 megawatts in size."
Echogen's technology operates over a broad range of exhaust temperatures to efficiently extract a significant amount of energy from various applications and convert it into electrical or mechanical power. The working fluid can be expanded to create cooling or a combination of power and cooling.
In the first quarter of 2013, Echogen will be testing a 7 megawatt sCO2 engine system. Plans also call for the development of a 2-megawatt product and 0.4-megawatt product that will be available in 2016.
MARCH 13, 2013 — ABB has won a $26 million repeat order to supply electrical power and propulsion systems for two next generation Ramform Titan seismic vessels ordered from Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for delivery in 2015 to Norway's Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS).
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also chose ABB as the main supplier of power and propulsion systems for two identical seismic vessels set for delivery in the first and fourth quarter of 2013.
"Being selected as the main supplier of power and diesel electric systems for this unique vessel series once again, shows the customer's faith in our ability to execute complex projects and deliver reliable solutions, that contribute to increased energy efficiency and optimized performance," said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB's Process Automation division. "ABB has a successful history of helping to efficiently power such highly specialized ships to keep them at the cutting edge of the marine industry."
The Ramform Titan-class vessels are the newest generation in the Ramform series, featuring advanced 3D seismic data acquisition/analysis capability. At 104 meters long, the ships will have an exceptionally wide breadth of 70 meters and will feature diesel electric main propulsion for quiet operation.
ABB will supply an advanced complete power and diesel electric system package, consisting of medium voltage switchboards including power management systems, generators, transformers, frequency converters and motors. The systems will provide reliable and fuel efficient propulsion for the ships.
The Ramform Titan-class vessels will employ multiple streamer cables, each several kilometers in length, towed from the vessel's stern. The cables will contain a vibration sensor ("hydrophone") to detect echoes of sound waves emitted from sound sources and bounced back from the sea bottom and stratum boundaries. The echoes are used for 3D seismic analysis, to determine geological composition and natural resource location.
DECEMBER 5, 2012 — Lyn Glenn, daughter of astronaut John Glenn, and Mrs. Helen L. Toolan, wife of Lieutenant General John A. Toolan, Jr., Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force, were the honorees at a keel laying ceremony for the second Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship today. The ceremony was held at General Dynamics NASSCO's San Diego shipbuilding facility where the two honorees validated the MLP ship's keel by welding their initials onto a steel plate. The steel plate on which their initials are welded will be permanently affixed to the ship's keel, remaining with the vessel throughout its time in service.
Mrs. Helen L. Toolan (left), and Ms. Lyn Glenn, (right)
Delivery of the second MLP ship is scheduled for first quarter 2014. This second MLP ship will be named John Glenn, in honor of John Herschel Glenn, Jr., the former U.S. Marine Corps pilot, astronaut and U.S. senator. Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space.
"Laying the keel of this second Mobile Landing Platform and finishing construction of the first ship are the latest milestones in this successful shipbuilding program," said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. "These events serve as evidence of the NASSCO team building and delivering MLP ships efficiently, in support of U.S. Navy efforts to maintain a forward presence."
The MLP is a flexible platform that will provide capability for large scale logistics movements such as the transfer of vehicles and equipment from sea to shore. It will significantly reduce dependency on foreign ports and provide support in the absence of any port, making it especially useful during disaster response and for supporting Marines once they are ashore. The MLP in its basic form possesses a core capability set that supports a vehicle staging area, sideport ramp, large mooring fenders and up to three landing craft air cushioned vessel (LCAC) lanes.
FEBRUARY 7, 2012 — Singapore's Jaya Holdings Limited has delivered a new state-of-the-art multi-purpose offshore support vessel, Jaya Pride, from its Batam, Indonesia, shipyard.
Chief Executive Officer Venkatraman Sheshashayee says the vessel is "a highly versatile DP2 workboat for offshore platform maintenance" and is already fixed on a time charter with a key customer."
The 78-m vessel, which can accommodate up to 148 passengers and crew, is classed by ABS and will fly the Singapore flag.
Lim Siew Koon, President - Shipbuilding / Ship Repair, said: "Jaya Pride is another big step forward for our yard in Batam. It shows our ability to produce more and more complex vessels in our expanding facility. Jaya Pride is fully compliant with SPS Code 2008 and features one of the largest lattice boom cranes we have installed on a self-propelled vessel, a Liebherr model with 40 tons lifting capacity at 40 m reach, or 50 tons at 20 m, and man riding rating for personnel transfer."
George Horsington, President - Business Development, said: "Upon delivery, the vessel will start a term charter with Belait Offshore in the South China Sea. Platform maintenance vessels are in increasing demand, not just in South East Asia but Mexico and West Africa, two markets we are targeting. When offshore infrastructure requires renovation and refurbishment, this type of vessels play a pivotal role supplying accommodation and lifting capability for the work force. They can also be used for hook-up and commissioning work on new facilities, and for painting campaigns."
Mr. Horsington also confirmed Jaya expects to deliver a similar though larger Wärtsilä designed workboat from its Batam yard in 2014. "We are confident Jaya Pride will be the first of many such vessels for our chartered fleet in the coming years."
Jaya Pride's main Caterpillar engines deliver over 5,150 bhp output, supported by two bow thrusters and two stern thrusters from Kawasaki. The vessel has additional Volvo Penta generators and 650 sq. m of clear deck capacity for client equipment and cargo. Jaya Pride is fitted with both four point mooring and a Kongsberg dynamic positioning system. As well as two DGPS reference systems, the vessel has a Kongsberg high precision acoustic positioning (HiPAP) system for precision station-keeping and ROV work.
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