Page 11: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2002)

News

Munson Delivers

PACKCAT to U.S. Navy

The Naval Facilities Engineering

Command (NAVFAC) recently received a pair of 30 x 10-ft. (9.1 x 3-m) PACK-

CAT catamaran landing craft designed and built by the William E. Munson

Company of Mount Vernon, Wash.

Developed for the NAVFAC Oil Spill

Response Program, each vessel is outfit- ted with twin 200 hp Mercury out- boards, providing a 45 mph response speed. Additional outfitting includes a 5 x 5 ft. (1.5 x 1.5-m) wheelhouse elevat- ed for maximum visibility, cargo deck tie down rails, three-in. D guard rubber, 200-gallon fuel system, towing package, work light package, VHF, GPS, and depth sounder.

The standard 74 in. wide bow door, large self-bailing cargo deck and 5,000-

Ib. cargo capacity and provides versatil- ity. The PACKCAT's patented tunnel hull catamaran design incorporates twin 16-degree vee hulls providing increased stability, superb rough water perfor- mance and shallow draft.

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U.S. Navy Awards

Northrop Grumman $1.3B LHD Contract

The U.S. Navy awarded a $1.3-billion construction contract to Northrop Grum- man Corporation to construct the eighth ship of the USS Wasp (LHD 1) class of

USS IWO JIMA, the most recent of the LHD fleet, was delivered to the U.S. Navy in June of 2001. multipurpose amphibious assault ships.

Construction of LHD 8 is expected to begin in May 2003 at Ingalls Opera- tions, which is part of Northrop Grum- man's Ship Systems sector.

This contract includes $360 million previously awarded for advance work

May, 2002 on the ship, including design, equipment procurement and fabricating selected ship assemblies.

Ingalls has delivered seven LHDs into the fleet, the most recent being USS Two

Jima (LHD 7), which was commis- sioned in June 2001.

The most significant enhancement for

LHD 8 will be the introduction of gas turbine propulsion, replacing classical steam propulsion in previous ships of the class.

The challenge for the propulsion sys- tem design team has been the upgrading of specifications to include two 35,000- hp turbines, which will be the largest ever in U.S. military marine applica- tions.

Other major enhancements include a controllable pitch propeller, allowing the ship to change speeds through the adjustment of propeller blade pitch.

Also, a reverse osmosis system will be installed for the ship's water supply. The ship will have six diesel-electric genera- tors and will use a new zonal system to distribute electrical power.

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TM

Foam Filled

Marine

Fenders Marine Guard

The Ultimate

Protector for Ships,

Harbor Craft,

Wharves & Piers- • Construction complies with United States

Navy and Coast Guard Specifications. • Core consist of closed-cell, resilient, energy absorbing foam, covered with a protective, seamless polyurethane elastomer skin. Filament nylon tire cord reinforcement is continuously wound in the skin for added strength and durability. Will not mark or scratch vessel hulls. • Constructed with integral swivels end fittings internally connected with a heavy duty chain. • Easy to install with very little maintenance. • Light weight and extremely buoyant with a lower reaction force than either hard rubber or pneumatic fenders. (Almost 40% higher energy absorption than pneumatic fenders.)

URETHANE PRODUCTS CORPORATION (800) 913-0062 9076 Rosecrans Avenue

Bellflower, CA 90706

Phone (562)630-4982 Fax(562) 630 -6974

Stocking Distributors:

Waterman Supply Company 910 Mahar, Wilmington, CA 90744, U.S.A. 1-800-322-3131

Tel (310) 522-9698 Fax (310) 522-1043

Anchor Marine &

Industrial Supply , Inc. 6545 Lindbergh, Houston, TX 77087, U.S.A. 1-800-233-8014

Tel (713) 644-1183 Fax (713) 644-1185

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