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S ometime in the distant future, historians will view today’s procurement of U.S. Navy and

U.S. Coast Guard ships and assets as a water- shed in the history of these two services. The U.S.

Coast Guard’s Deepwater program has been covered in great detail in these pages — and those of sister- publication MarineNews — for several years. Now, finally, it appears the U.S. Navy is getting its due, as legislators have finally heeded the call of industry and defense to increase budgets to build more surface combatants. While the final numbers and ultimate make-up of the fleet is still under negotiation, President Bush’s $127 billion request for the Navy is a signif- icant boost over previous years, and, in conjunction with the release of the

Department of Defense's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), calls for a 313 ship navy (versus today’s 281-ship fleet) reversing decades of decline. Much of this is due, of course, to the addition of 55 new Littoral Combat Ships — small- er, faster vessels designed to operate as a cog in the network-centric defense scheme. There will be plenty of political wrangling for years to come as to the number of aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers and LCS that are sufficient for the nation’s defense, but suffice it to say that an increase of any sort is wel- come news for the companies that build, outfit and service Navy ships.

The international offshore market is another niche that will seemingly bring business to the commercial side for years to come. Those in the know are well- versed in the “boom and bust” cycle inherent to the offshore market, but by all appearance this could be a long-term driver for the marine business. In a

February 28 conference call with the CEO of emerging offshore giant Bourbon,

Jacques de Chateauvieux unveiled his company’s aggressive four-year plan to invest nearly $1.8 billion in new vessel construction — much of it serving the burgeoning deepwater offshore development market — as well as plans to increase its number of employees by 80 percent. At the end of 2006, Boubon will own a fleet of 264 vessels, including 192 in its Offshore division, 66 tugs in its Towage and Salvage division, and six bulk carriers in its bulk division.

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Business Publications

Audit of Circulation, Inc. 39 Marine Electronics 45 People & Companies 51 Maritime Security Directory 53 Ship’s Store 54 Buyer’s Directory 56 Ad Index 58 Classifieds

On the Cover: Pictured on the cover is the M80 Stiletto from M. Ship Co., an operational experiment for the Pentagon’s

Office of Force Transformation to test new materials and designs for the Navy’s next generation. Navy coverage begins on page 30; M80 Stiletto details are on page 38.

Editor’s Note www.marinelink.com [email protected]

On the Cover

Circle 200 on Reader Service Card

Coming in Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

April 2006

THE OFFSHORE ANNUAL

Offshore Business is booming, and MR examines trends and opportunities in this special “OTC” edition.

LNG Ships Deck Machinery & Cargo Handling Equipment Marine Fuels,

Lubricants & Additives Norway

May 2006

The Marine Environment Edition

Combat Craft Report Clean Marine Fuels Marine Electronics Buyer’s Guide

Greece www.marinelink.com 6 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

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