Page 16: of Marine News Magazine (June 2005)

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part of our international borders."

In the proposed FY'06 federal budget, the Administration recommended elimi- nating the Port Security Grant program, which Congress created after 9/11 to reim- burse U.S. maritime facilities for pre- approved projects required by federal reg- ulations to enhance national security. In its place would be the newly created

Transportation Infrastructure Protection (TIP) program that would lump grant pro- posals from ports together with requests from a host of other transportation-related industries.

In written testimony to the Senate Com- merce, Science, and Transportation Com- mittee in February, Jean Godwin, AAPA's executive vice president and general counsel, argued that lumping port security into the TIP program would "pit an under- funded border protection program (port security) against underfunded domestic transportation protection programs (such as transit)." She noted that AAPA has "great concerns" and "encourages this

Committee to oppose this new structure."

Guarino & Cox

Expands Staff

Guarino & Cox, L.L.C., naval architects and marine designers, has been increasing its staff in order to accommodate the con- tinuing rise in demand for its services.

Recent key additions include Brian

Bosarge who brings over 28 years of experience in structural design and numerical control programming. Prior to joining Guarino & Cox, Bosarge was the

Manager of Structural and Outfitting

Design for a major barge building facility.

He will assume similar duties with Guari- no & Cox.

Kristen Posey and Sam Leimer have also joined the staff of Guarino & Cox.

Posey is a graduate of Webb Institute of

Naval Architecture, and was with a west coast design firm before coming to Guari- no & Cox. Leimer has a BS degree in naval architecture from the University of

New Orleans. Past experience includes work with a large offshore supply vessel operator.

Guarino & Cox will remain near New

Orleans on the North Shore of Lake

Pontchartrain. The new facility at 19399

Helenbirg Road, Suite 203, Covington,

LA 70433 offers over twice the space pre- viously available and provides ample offices for the expanded staff and future growth. Telephone and Fax numbers are unchanged. The relocation is expected to be completed by the first week of June.

The company, founded by Greg Cox and Sal Guarino, is a diversified naval architectural firm providing design, con- sulting and production engineering ser- vices for all types of vessels. Originally known for offshore support vessel design, they have recently been engaged in the design of a number of ocean service dou- ble skin tank barges and tugs. They have also provided design and production sup- port services for the double skinning of several existing single skin barges.

MAS Industries

Opens New Facility

MAS Industries opened a new facility in Jefferson Parish to support the U.S.

Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) pro- gram, among other business opportuni- ties. The new facility is 70,000 sq. ft. and will be used for manufacturing and distri- bution. MAS Industries received a con- tract from Marinette Marine, part of the

Lockheed Martin LCS team, to provide state-of-the-art aluminum panels, high- temperature insulation, and water jet cut- ting to the Lockheed Martin team's first two LCSs, designated Flight 0. The design calls for an aluminum superstructure built on a steel hull. LCS will provide the Navy with a new type of surface combatant, designed to dominate the world's coastal waters.

The facility also supports a new part- nership between MAS Industries and Fric- tion Stir Link for friction stir joining. This partnership enables the capability to join pieces of aluminum up to 1.5 inches thick, with width and length limited only by transportation width restrictions. The companies plan to open additional facili- ties on the mid-Atlantic and Pacific

Northwest coasts in the next two years.

Friction Stir Joining uses a mechanical tool to actually stir the junction of the two pieces of aluminum being joined; thus making two pieces into one without melt- ing, the addition of welding wire or any other contaminants. This creates a bond that is designed to be as pure and strong as the parent material.

FarSounder Wins

DHS SBIR Contract

FarSounder has been awarded a Small

Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract to demonstrate the feasibility of a low cost 3D sonar system for underwater threat detection to protect the nation's ports. The resulting system could provide the first underwater port security system practical for use in all US ports and along extensive areas of US coastlines and inland waterways. 16 • MarineNews • June, 2005

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