Page 29: of Marine News Magazine (April 2012)

www.marinelink.com MN29Company, Inc. to construct a third 89 x 30 foot steel excursion boat will be a sister ship to the M/V Wendella (Hull 320) and M/V Linnea (Hull 330) built by the Blount shipyard in 2007 and 2010. Blount Boats was also awarded a contract by the Maine Department of Transportation to build a 110-foot passenger ferry for the Casco Bay Island Transit District. The proposed 399 passenger, Sub- Chapter K vessel will operate year round ferry service to islands in Casco Bay, Portland, Maine. Featuring the latest in electronically controlled diesel engines that meet EPA stan- dards, Blount Hull number 335 will mark the ninth vessel built for the Casco Bay Island Transit District. Further fattening the Blount back- order book is yet another contract to build a sister vessel to the 75-foot alu- minum passenger vessel, LA PRINCESA. Contract signing for the149 passenger vessel is now under- way. Beyond (and perhaps more impor- tant than) Blounts active backorder book and busy yard is a new licensing agreement with UK-based South Boats Special Projects, Ltd., which will allow Blount to be the exclusive shipyard to manufacture U.S. flagged aluminum catamarans of South Boats designs for the U.S. wind farm indus-try. At least 45 South Boats-built wind farm service vessels, in five class- es are now in operation. Blount exec- utives told MarineNews in March that they were to start building a spec? wind farm vessel as early as this sum- mer. Out in front of Rhode Islands aggressive push to bring the first U.S. offshore wind farm to the Ocean State, Blount also aims to be the first supplier of Jones Act compliant, domestically built service vessels to the industry. Also based in Rhode Island and a part of the tour was Rite Solutions, a firm engaged in analysis technologythat spans the realm of DOD/U.S. Navy work (75% of revenues) and commercial efforts, too. Rite- Solutions accomplishments include participation in Navy Undersea Warfare programs, commercial enter- tainment contracts and child safetyprograms. In 2010, Rite-Solutions was awarded a $73 million Phase III SBIR contract for work on the Combat Systems of the Future. The companys customers include the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Naval Sea Systems Command, Office