Page 12: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2014)

12 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • OCTOBER 2014

NEWS

Deal to Build in Ketchikan

Alaska Ferries

The State of Alaska and Vigor Industrial reached a fi nal agreement to construct two Alaska Class Ferries at Vigor Alaska in Ketchikan. The vessels will be the fi rst

Alaska Marine Highway System ferries to be built in Alaska.

Employing the Construction Manager

General Contractor (CMGC) process, the

State worked with Vigor Industrial to ne- gotiate a guaranteed maximum price to construct both vessels, which is sched- uled to begin in October this year and fi nish in 2018. The construction contract and costs to build both ferries in Ket- chikan will be at the $120 million bud- geted amount.

The design and estimating process was a collaboration between Vigor Alas- ka, Alaska Department of Transportation and, Alaska Marine Highway System and

Elliot Bay Design Group.

The ferries will be 280 feet long, seat up to 300 passengers and carry 53 stan- dard vehicles. Each ferry will feature bow and stern doors for quicker loading and unloading, fully enclosed car decks, and controllable pitch propellers to maximize maneuverability and effi ciency. A modi- fi ed hull design will improve traveler com- fort during rough weather.

According to information provided by

Vigor Alaska, the two day ferries will cost $101 million to construct, which is a reduction in the original price. Because of the importance of keeping Alaskan dollars in the state, Vigor Alaska said it made signifi cant cuts to the initial estimates for the project and, in fact, delivered a price that was below the in- dependent government price estimate available in the lower 48 states.

The Ketchikan yard features a 130,000 square foot ship production facility de- signed from the ground up to build ships upwards of 500 feet in length. It includes an adjacent fi ve story production center to minimize material fl ow and maximize effi ciency.

VESSELS

T ransformation in the maritime communication sector con- tinues, as Airbus Defense and

Space announces plans to sell its com- mercial satellite communications busi- ness. MR spoke with Erik Ceuppens,

SVP, Satellite Communications, Airbus

Defense & Space Communications, In- telligence & Security (CIS), to help put the development in perspective.

The maritime communications sector has been in near continual fl ux for near- ly two decades, with merger and acqui- sition activity a constant. In tandem with development of innovative soft- ware solutions, the connection between ship and shore – particularly the advent of maritime broadband – provides the vital link to help make shipboard op- erations more effi cient and provide en- hanced amenities for crew.

Immediately following the SMM 2014 in Hamburg, the latest sector news broke when Airbus Defense and Space – as a part of its Group Strategy Re- view in 2013 – announced in mid-Sep- tember that it would divest itself of its commercial and para-public communi- cation business (including Professional

Mobile Radio and commercial satellite communications services activities). To put it concisely for those in the com- mercial maritime sector, this essentially is the Vizada business (except for the government portion) that was bought by Airbus in 2011 including the strong

Marlink brand. To help put things in perspective there is no one better than

Erik Ceuppens, an industry veteran who has served as the Executive Direc- tor Business Communications for As- trium Services (2012/2014); the CEO

Vizada EMEA & Asia (2007-2012); the

CEO of France Telecom Mobile Satel- lite Communications (2004-2007) and previously Vice President Marketing &

Customer Operations (2001-2004). “We really are focused as a manage- ment team to continue the continuity to our customers, with the same high quality network of advanced VSAT,” said Ceuppens, who said that although there have been changes in overall ownership over the past years, there has been a consistent management team and mission. “We will continue to accelerate our innovations; we will not slow down.”

Ceuppens stressed the continuity of management and mission, particularly since when the announcement was made Airbus did not identify new own- ership for the company, and in fact at press time there were no negotiations underway. “Airbus, as a public company, decid- ed to communicate (the decision to di- vest) as soon as a decision was taken,” said Ceuppens. “We are in the early stages, as the sales process will have to be started. The process will hopefully fi nd a conclusion by mid-2015, but to- day there is no clarity on who the new owner will be, there are no talks going on today,” though he did admit that there was strong interest from prospec- tive industrial and fi nancial owners.

While Ceuppens could not comment on the total value of the business to be sold, of the business communications activities to be sold, maritime accounts for about 66%, while land-based “en- terprise activities” make up the remain- ing portion.

And according to Ceuppens the mari- time sector is strong and growing, say- ing that it expects to sell 800 VSAT units this year alone, and that the mari- time VSAT business for the company has quadrupled in the last 18 months. “The commercial maritime market is dynamic, and you must have agility, speed and entrepreneurship to keep ahead of the market,” he said. “Today we are living the migration from nar- row band to broadband. The demand for VSAT services is very strong, as broadband communications have be- come more affordable. This is being driven fi rst by crew demands, but in- creasingly by the business unit of the ship, as owners increasingly view ships and boats as remote offi ces with the need for connection.

By Greg Trauthwein

Commercial Satcom Business

AIRBUS DEFENSE & SPACE DIVESTS ITSELF OF “We will not slow down.” Erik Ceuppens (Pho t o cour t esy Vigor)

Ketchikan Shipyard, Vigor Alaska

MR #10 (10-17).indd 12 10/1/2014 9:25:42 AM