Page 35: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2002)

U.S. Navy Shipbuilding Prospects

U.S. Navy Commissions USS Bulkeley in NY

USS Bulkeley, the newest in a series of advanced

Aegis guided missile destroyers built for the U.S. Navy by Northrop Grumman Corporation, was commissioned on December 8, 2001, in New York City at the Intrepid

Sea, Air and Space Museum. This ship is named in honor of Vice Adm. John D. Bulkeley, USN, (1911- 1996), a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who spearheaded the evacuation of Gen. Douglas

MacArthur from the island of Corregidor in World War

II and later served as president. Board of Inspection and

Survey for the U.S. Navy. Following commissioning, the ship will be homeported in Norfolk. Va.. as an ele- ment of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Cmdr. Carlos Del Toro,

USN, of New York, is now in command of the 509.5-ft. (155.1 -m) 9,300-ton destroyer.

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Mustin Christened

The U.S. Navy's newest guided missile destroyer.

Mustin (DDG 89), "will carry American sovereignty to the far corners of the Earth." Adm. Vernon E. Clark.

USN, chief of naval operations, said during christening ceremonies in Pascagoula. Miss, on Dec. 15 for the ship built by Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ingalls Oper- ations. Adm. Clark was the principal speaker at cere- monies for the new Aegis guided missile destroyer, which is named for a family of Naval war heroes span- i _ 1

KUSTEMWCHE /A r 1 ning a century of service to Navy and country. The

Mustin is the 18th Aegis destroyer to be built by the company's Ingalls Operations. The vessel was chris- tened by three Mustin family members serving as Ship's

Sponsors: Lucy Holcomb Mustin. wife of ship's name- sake Vice Adm. Henry C. Mustin, USN, retired, of

Arlington, Va.; Jean Phillips Mustin. wife of ship's namesake Thomas Mustin. former lieutenant comman- der. USN. of Coronado, Calif.: and Douglas Mustin St.

Denis, also of Coronado.

A&R To Build Offshore Patrol Vessels

Germany's Abek- ing & Rasmussen recently was chosen to build three Off- shore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Ger- man Coast Guard.

The new OPVs are intended for EEZ patrol and law enforcement in the

North Sea and the Baltic. Measuring 215.5 ft. (66 tn) with a displacement of 800 tons, the vessel is powered by a father-son plant driving a single shaft with an MTU 16V 1163 TB 73L rated 5,200 kW at 1,250 rpm for high speed, and an electric motor developing 800 kW for low speed. The electric motor will be driven by the auxil- iary generator set. and the propulsion concept is touted by the builder as helping to drastically reduce mainte- nance and fuel costs during patrol operations. Siemens

Marine Solutions Div. was commissioned to fit three new patrol boats with electronic, navigation and safety equipment. The OPVs are to be built under the survey of Germanischer Lloyd, receiving class notation +100

A5 ME "Patrol Boat" for the ship and GL+MCE Aut

RP1 for the engine. The first vessel is now being out- fitted and will be delivered in the summer of 2002.

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Navy Honors Engineering Pioneer

A ceremony was held on November 19, 2001, to rename the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station's (NAVSSES) Surface Ship Systems Engineering Com- plex, the Richard C. Cunningham Engineering Com- plex. The building (77H) was renamed to honor Cun- ningham's pioneering work and engineering innovations in machinery controls and other accomplishments in naval machinery engineering.

During the ceremony. Rear Admiral William Cobb,

Jr., the Program Executive Officer for Theater Surface

Combatants at the Naval Sea Systems Command, pre- sented a special AEGIS Program Lifetime achievement

Award to Mrs. Debra Cunningham on behalf of

Richard. The award was presented in memoriam "in recognition of his unprecedented contributions to the

AEGIS Shipbuilding Program." According to the cita- tion, "... his exceptional Machinery Control System engineering expertise, exemplary record of achievement, personal sacrifice, and loyal devotion to duty ... played an unparalleled role in the design and delivery of the

Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) Class guided missile destroy- er."

The building, located at the Philadelphia Naval Busi- ness Center in South Philadelphia, is a major test and evaluation building in which Cunningham worked; and is the only one of the 40 buildings owned by NAVSSES to have been dedicated to an employee/individual. Cun- ningham passed away suddenly in January 2001 from complications following surgery. He is survived by his wife Debra, two children — Carolyn and Patrick, his parents, three sisters and three brothers.

Cunningham began his career at the Naval Ship Sys- tems Engineering Station in 1975 as a co-op student while attending Drexel University. He was hired as an electronics engineer following his June 1978 graduation from Drexel. By November of 1997. he had been pro- moted to a top-level position and became the leading

Machinery Control Systems In-Service Engineer for

NAVSSES. Cunningham was widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on machinery control systems for the Navy. He received many special act and perfor- mance awards for his accomplishments, recently win- ning the Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Isherwood Award for Exceptional Fleet Support. In February 2001, the

Naval Sea Systems Command's AEGIS Excellence

Award was presented posthumously for his support of new construction Arleigh Burke-Class ships.

The preceding was written by Warren Christensen,

Public Affairs Officer, Naval Ship Systems Engineering

Station, Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare

Center

Navy Notes

New Sonar System Uses Light

Northrop Grumman Corporation received an $8.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to develop an all-optical fixed under- sea surveillance system that uses light rather than electrical current. The 24-month development program will culminate in an at-sea demonstra- tion and validation of Northrop Grumman's deep water, all-optical, acoustic system. "This competitive award solidifies Northrop

Grumman's position as the industry leader in the emerging all-optical acoustic sensor technology field," said William J. Allison, vice president and general manager of the company's Navigation

Systems Division. "Successful completion of this development program will place Northrop Grum- man in an excellent competitive position for sub- sequent production programs."

The Navy and Northrop Grumman began devel- oping this technology in the early 1980's as a potential replacement for the decades-old electro- mechanical/copper wire-based technology sys- tems.

GE Wins Canadian Navy Contract

GE Canada signed a commercial maintenance and logistics support contract with Canada's Pub- lic Works Government Services. Under this multi-year contract, GE will provide maintenance and logistical support services for the Canadian

Navy's fleet of LM2500 aeroderivative gas tur- bines used to power Halifax-class patrol frigates. "The contract should provide the Canadian

Navy with more predictable maintenance costs, and a lower total cost of ownership for their fleet of 24 installed LM2500 gas turbines and six spare engines," added Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine Engines, Evendale, Ohio.

Ship Shafting Contract Set

Park Corporation's purchase of Erie Forge &

Steel is seen as ensuring the company's capabili- ty to meet the growing needs of the U.S. Navy for ship propulsion shafting well into the future. "The purchase will guarantee a domestic source, and bring long-term stability to the supply of forgings critical to the production of ships for the

U.S. Navy," said Robing Ingols, director of mar- keting for Erie Forge. The purchase will allow

Erie Forge to become part of Lehigh Heavy Forge

Corp, a WHEMCO company. Erie Forge, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year which led to the takeover, has melt, forge, heat treat and machine capabilities. It houses a 3,500-ton and a 2,500-ton hydraulic forging press.

Primar Signs on

Royal Danish Navy

The Royal Danish Navy signed an agreement with the Stavanger-based official Primar ENC service covering the delivery of official electron- ic navigational charts (ENCs). This agreement involves a "navy supplier" model, designed to allow the Royal Danish Navy to download all charts and updates — including the very latest 32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News