Page 67: of Marine News Magazine (April 2012)

www.marinelink.com MN67PEOPLE & COMPANY NEWS Sault Locks opened Sunday, March 25, traditionally marking the start of major Great Lakes shipping efforts. The vessels scheduled to leave have been in lay-up and maintenancemode at Bay Shipbuilding since early January. Of the seven vessels scheduled to depart, three are 1,000-footers and four are the 700- to 800-foot- class ore carriers. Over-winter repairs at Bay Shipbuilding ranged from steel renewals to machinery overhauls and scheduled United States Coast Guard/American Bureau of Shipping inspections. Great Lakes Shipyard Completes Contract with Canadian Company McKeil Marine of Hamilton, Ontario contracted Great Lakes Shipyard to provide winter layup and repair work on their tug and barge, John Spence and Niagara Spirit. The Shipyard completed general steel work on both the tug and barge and installed a winch system for the cover of the Niagara Spirit. The completion of this contract marks the first major repair contract that Great Lakes Shipyard has had with a Canadian company. Seaward Services to Operate and Maintain Superferries for U.S. NavySeaward Services (SSI), a HMS Global Maritime (HMSGM) compa- ny based in New Albany, Indiana, announced that it has been awarded a contract through Military Sealift Command (MSC) to operate andconvert the former Hawaii Superferry vessels HSV Alakai and Huakai for MSC. HMSGM has been managing these vessels since overseeing their construction and was the operator during the use of Alakai in Hawaii as an inter-island fast ferry. U.S. Lakes Fleet Back to Work The U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet is returning to service. The first vessel to get underway was the tug/barge unit Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder on March 5. The vessel will spend the month shuttling iron ore within Cleveland Harbor. Next to sail was the cement carrier Samuel de Champlain/Innovation. The tug/barge unit left its winterberth in Cleveland on March 7 and sailed to Alpena, Michigan, where it loaded cement to resupply silos in Chicago. More vessels will be getting underway in the days and weeks ahead, and many will time theirdeparture with the March 25 opening of the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. U.S.-flag Great Lakes operators moved 93.8 million tons of cargo in 2011, an increase of 5.7 per- cent over 2010. This winter saw car- riers spend more than $75 million at Great Lakes shipyards and repair facilities to maintain and modernize their vessels for the season just begun. Lucius Spar Mooring Contract First Subsea Ltd has been awarded a contract by Technip USA to supply the mooring line connectors for anew spar platform moored in 7,000ft (2,134 m) of water in the Lucius field, Keathley Canyon block 875 in the Gulf of Mexico. The Lucius spar will be moored by nine Ballgrab ball and taper mooring connectorsattached to polyester mooring lines. The Ballgrab connector comprises a male connector and female recepta- cle. The Series III male connectors will comply with the new ABS Mooring Guide 2009. Anadarko Petroleum operates the Lucius field (35%), and its partners are Plains E&P, ExxonMobil, Apache, Petrobras and Eni. DOT: $10m in Shipyard Grants U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $9.98 million in grants to 15 small ship-yards throughout the U.S. to pay for modernizations via the U.SMaritime Administrations (MARAD) Small Shipyard Grants Program. MARAD received 141 grant applica-tions requesting $123 million inassistance. Thegrants fund avariety of proj- ects, includinginfrastructure improvements and modernizingequipment toincrease the efficiency, competitive operations, and quality construc- tion of vessels in U.S. shipyards. Among the grant recipients were Allen Marine, Inc. ($163,500), Bludworth Marine, LLC ($610,266), Bollinger Shipyards ($188,887), ChesapeakeShipbuilding Corporation ($423,752), Conrad Shipyard, LLC ($1,117,019), Detyens Shipyards, Inc. ($1,176,776), Foss Maritime Company ($578,402), Duclos Corporation DBA Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding ($389,195), Gulf Marine Repair Corporation ($1,083,055),Kvichak Marine Industries ($987,307), LEEVAC Shipyards, LLC ($667,324), Liquid Waste Technology, LLC ($558,843), Navatek Ship Construction ($248,805), Great Lakes Towing Company DBA Great Lakes Shipyard ($1,068,474) and Trinity Industries ($718,395). LaHood