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FEATURE SHIP REPAIR Signal Wins Bid to Repair USACE Hopper Dredge Wheeler Signal Ship Repair (SSR), a division of Signal Inter- national, Inc., won a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair and repower the Hopper Dredge Wheeler. SSR will provide engineering and marine services to perform engine replacement, auxiliary sys-tems modifications, repair work, and testing of the Dredge Wheeler for the Corps of Engineers, New Or- leans District. The eleven-month project commenced in February with phase one pre-planning, engineering, and sched-uling portion. The second phase begins in July with the Dredge Wheeler on the SSR drydock for capital im- provements, maintenance and repair work comprising of renovations to the propulsion system, the dredge generator system, and the ship service generators.Modifications to the fresh water cooling system, re- powering fuel systems, walkways, electrical systems, Integrated Control and Monitoring system, as well as, the navigation and controls system will also receive up- grades. Wheeler , which is the largest and most pow- erful hopper dredge in the Corps of Engineers? fleet, is 408 feet in overall length and displaces 10,614.47 long tons. Wheeler maintains waterway channels from Key West, Fla., to Brownsville, Texas. The dredge is main- tained in a state of readiness for worldwide operations, with the majority of its time operating in the SouthwestPass of the Mississippi River, dealing with shoaling problems that occur during high and low water. Vigor Acquires Alaska Ship & Drydock Vigor last month announced its plan to acquire Alaska Ship and Drydock Inc. (ASD), further consolidating West Coast U.S. ship repair under the Vigor banner. ASD would operate the Ketchikan Shipyard (KSY) as the Alaska Ship & Drydock LLC subsidiary, in continuation of its 30-year AIDEA operating agreements. ASD em- ployees and customers will notice little change in day-to-day operations, said ASD owner Randy Johnson, a Ketchikan resident who has directed operations at KSY since 1994. Johnson will continue with the company, becoming ASD Vice Chairman. ?The purchase of ASD by Vigor will increase the capacity and competitiveness of the Ketchikan Shipyard in many ways, positioning Ketchikan and the State of Alaska to not only continue our high level of service to existing customers, but to significantly participate in exciting new markets emerging in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans,? Johnson said. Vigor Industrial currently owns and operates leading maritime services in the Pacific Northwest at facilities from Portland through Puget Sound.?We see a tremendous opportunity here to work with Alaska residents to grow maritime jobs and industry from Oregon to the Arctic,? said Frank Foti, Vigor Industrial owner and CEO. Vigor owns the 60-acre Swan Island shipyard in Portland, the historic Harbor Island yard in Seattle as well as operations in Tacoma, Everett, Bremerton and Port Angeles. Vigor customers include commercial fishing and cargo fleets, barge and workboat owners, oil transportation companies, Washington State Ferries, the Alaska Marine Highway System and alternative energy developers. Vigor, which purchased the Todd Pacific Ship- yards in February 2011, also maintains and renovates U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and other vessels and U.S. Coast Guard assets including the icebreakers USCGC Healy, Polar Star and Polar Sea. The combined companies offer a full range of ship building, repair and modernization services in seven facil- ities in Alaska, Washington and Oregon with 10 drydocks, more than 17,000 ft. of pier space as well as large- scale fabrication facilities, specialty coatings and other industrial services. Upon approval, the companies will employ close to 2,000 workers across the Pacific Northwest. Adam Beck, currently general manager of the Vigor Marine subsidiary?s regional operations, will take on added duties as ASD?s President. Beck worked at the Ketchikan yard for five years prior to joining Vigor Industrial in Portland.46Maritime Reporter & Engineering News MR March 12 # 6 (41-49):MR Template 3/6/2012 12:42 PM Page 46