Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2005)

Navy Awards Contract for

LCS Construction

The Navy has awarded General

Dynamics - Bath Iron Works a $223,262,430 option exercise contract modification for detailed design and construction of the second Littoral

Combat Ship (LCS).

The General Dynamics' team began construction in October and ship deliv- ery is scheduled for 2007. The Navy plans to build four Flight 0 LCS. The

Navy has an option to build another from General Dynamics. Under a sepa- rate contract, Lockheed Martin will also build up to two of its LCS variant.

General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor. Major subcontrac- tors who will perform part of the effort include Austal USA, in Mobile, AL;

Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) in Baltimore, MD; General

Dynamics Advanced Information

Systems (AIS) in Pittsfield, MA; and

BAE in Baltimore, MD.

LCS is an innovative combatant designed to combat challenging shal- low-water threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, diesel submarines and fast surface craft.

Coastal Marine Acquires

Assets of McElroy/Catchot

Coastal Marine Equipment, Inc. (Gulfport, Miss.), manufacturers of marine deck machinery and industry leader in providing machinery for the double hull new build and retrofit barge industry has acquired the assets of

McElroy/Catchot Winch Company, Inc. (Ocean Springs, MS, formerly McElroy

Machine & Mfg. Co., Inc., established 1915). Coastal Marine intends to com- plement its complete line of marine deck machinery by providing parts, service and technical support for all of the prod- ucts, which previously made up the

McElroy/Catchot product line.

New York Water Taxi

Takes Delivery

After delivering a new passenger cata- maran for New York Water Taxi in June,

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding delivered a sistership, the Sam Holmes, for shuttle service on New York Harbor. The bright yellow, all-aluminum water taxi meas- ures 72 ft. (22 m) long and 27.3 ft. (2.3 m) abeam, and draws 4 ft. (1.3 m). It is

USCG-certified to carry 149 passengers but is limited to only 100 passengers when operating at New York City water taxi docks.

The vessel is powered by two U.S.

EPA Tier 2-compliant Cummins QSK 19-M diesel engines, each rated at 800

Bhp at 2,100 rpm. The engines drive five-bladed NiBrAl Bruntons propellers via Twin Disc MGX 5145SC "Quick

Shift" gearboxes and EC-300 control systems to improve the vessel's maneu- verability and safety when bow landing.

California Clean Coast Act

The State of California enacted the

Clean Coast Act. This law, which comes into effect on January 1, 2006, will pro- hibit oceangoing ships from conducting onboard incineration while operating within three miles of the California coast. The law will also prohibit ocean- going ships from releasing hazardous waste, other waste, sewage sludge, and oily bilgewater into marine waters of the state. If there is a release of such mate- rial from an oceangoing ship into marine waters of the state, the owner or opera- tor must, within 24 hours, notify the

State Water Resources Control Board.

Upon the departure of an oceangoing ship from its first port or place of call in

California in 2006, the master, owner, or operator must maintain on board select- ed information regarding the ship, its graywater and blackwater systems, and

California port of call information. (Read more about the new regulations on page 17) 8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

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