Construction Commences On Milestone Cruise Vessel
Litton Ingalls kicked off the construction process of the first cruise ship to be built in the U.S. in 40 years, with a pre- July 4th ceremony at the yard's Pascagoula, Miss, headquarters celebrating the vessel's hull fabrication.
Located among a patriotically-centered flag waving crowd was Uncle Sam, the yard's guest operator, who went aboard a plasma arc plate cutting machine to cut the initial steel plate for Project America Hull #1 -— the first in a series of cruise ships built by Litton Ingalls for American Classic Voyages (AMCV).
The commencing of the hull fabrication marked the start of the construction of the first of two 1,900-passenger cruise ships for AMCV. The vessels, which will be U.S.-owned and crewed as well, will offer exclusive service to the Hawaiian Islands beginning in early 2003. Ingalls has an additional agreement with AMCV for a twin ship to follow in 2004, as well as an option for a third in a program worth more than $1.4 billion. Initially labeled Project America, this vessel series is the result of the U.S.-Flag Cruise Ship Pilot Project, which is designed to rejuvenate the U.S.-flag oceangoing cruise ship fleet.
The project is expected to help sustain and modernize the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base, and is strongly supported by both the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd). The project was formulated as a result of the passage of the U.S.-flag Cruise Ship Pilot Project Statute in 1997. In order to ensure an efficient construction process, Litton Ingalls is engaged in a $130 million construction project at the yard. Already covering approximately 300,000 sq. ft.
of assembly space, the yard expects to add a mammoth crane capable of 600- ton lifts, measuring 411 x 329 ft. (125.2 x 100.2 m) Circle 61 on Reader Service Card
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Content
- Behemoth in the offing? page: 8
- Net gains for yards page: 10
- Double act for the Baltic page: 10
- Propeller & Shafting Symposium Set For September page: 13
- ShipDesk Strives To Carve A Niche page: 15
- Atlantis Interactive Inspects With ShipCheck page: 17
- EDG Elects New Marine Engineering Head page: 19
- Kvichak's Pilot Boat Comes Back From Flunking Test page: 21
- Repair Market Gains Muscle page: 25
- 'Waterfront Academy' To Teach Students About Shipbuilding page: 25
- Oceaneering Helps Historic Sub Recovery page: 29
- U.S. Vessel Loan Guarantees: Myths And Realities page: 31
- OpSail 2000: Parade Of Tall Ships Graces New York's Waters page: 34
- Construction Commences On Milestone Cruise Vessel page: 37
- Bollinger Delivers 254 ft. Multi-Service Vessel page: 37
- Shipbuilding in a Box? page: 39
- USCG "Paint Floats" Make Arduous Task Easier, More Environmentally Sound page: 42
- Passenger Vessels With Pedigrees page: 47
- "Classic Italian" From Finland? page: 48
- Costa Atlantica First To Earn RINA's Green Star page: 49
- Incat Launches Its Own New "Milenium" page: 59
- Mayflower Lines Is Newest U.S.-Flagged Operation page: 59
- WaveMaster Lands Ten Ferry Order page: 61
- MAN B&W Diesel Selected By TOTE page: 61
- ICCL Addressed Safety, ADA Features Of Cruise Ships page: 61
- U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules On Disabilities Act page: 61
- Welcome The Little Black Box page: 64
- Ruggedized Panasonic Notebooks Fit For Maritime Use page: 66
- Legal Matters Top Ship Repair And Conversion Agenda page: 67
- Astano Repairs Largest In Five Years page: 67