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6 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2013 My dad was a tool & dieSUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Subscription Information  in U.S.: One full year (12 issues) $84.00; two years (24 issues) $125.00  Rest of the World: One full year (12 issues) $110.00; two years $190.00 including postage and handling. For subscription information: Email: [email protected]  www.marinelink.com Tel: (212) 477-6700  Fax: (212) 254-6271 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, 850 Montauk Hwy., #867, Bayport, NY 11705. Maritime Reporter is published monthly by Maritime Activity Reports Inc. Periodicals Postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing of ces. ISSN-0025-3448USPS-016-750No. 8 Vol. 75 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News (ISSN # 0025-3448) is published monthly by Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. Mailed at Periodicals Postage Rates at New York, NY 10199 and additional mailing ofÞ ces. Postmaster send notiÞ cation (Form 3579) regarding undeliverable magazines to Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, 850 Montauk Hwy., #867, Bayport, NY 11705. Publishers are not responsible for the safekeeping or return of editorial material. © 2013 Maritime Activity Reports, Inc All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers. Check out our Websites: www.marinelink.com / www.maritimeprofessional.com / www.maritimepropulsion.com www.maritimejobs.com / www.seadiscovery.com / www.maritimeequipment.com www.marineelectronics.com / www.yachtingjournal.com / www.maritimetoday.com 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271 Founder: John J. O?Malley 1905 - 1980 Charles P. O?Malley 1928 - 2000 Download our AppiPhone & AndroidEDITORIAL Building it BetterGregory R. Trauthwein, Editor & Associate Publisher [email protected] for General Motors for more than 30 years, is of German descent and is one of the Þ nest woodworkers you will ever meet. Self-taught and self-sufÞ cient, when he was a kid he and his brothers did not waste time playing (or having) video games: they built a boat; they built anything. While unfortunately, for me, the ability to deliver professional quality engineered solutions has decidedly skipped a generation, I literally grew up in a manufacturing environment, and my career over the past 20+ years has given me a front row seat to some of the best (and yes, some of the worst) manufacturing operations in the world. I am the embodiement of the saying: ?Those who can, do; those who can?t, write about it.? With that as a backdrop, the August ?Shipbuilding Edition? is a perenni- al favorite, as it affords us an expanded opportunity to dig in and explore marine construction operations near and far. Ship and boat yards, whether a small builder on a muddy patch of the Mississippi River or one of the gleaming factories of the Far East, are fabulous places to gather insights on the current conditions and future direction of the maritime market. It is true that the industry historically does a poor job balancing supply and demand (particularly in certain sectors, ie. containershipping), striking the right balance between the number of vessels available and the rates to support them. Shipyards are in a constant battle to attract and maintain a qualiÞ ed, technically pro Þ cient and ef Þ cient worker base, all the while battling price wars.Our cover story, Gulf Copper?s Port Arthur facility delivering the Þ rst batch (three of Þ ve) of mammoth Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring Systems - or CALM buoys - for SOFEC is a nice example of how one builder has expanded its business line of marine construction and brought home new business. Depending on Þ nal out Þ t, the buoys are 230 to 260 tons, and the project was of particular interest for our pages as both the yard and the customer were quite candid in discussing not simply the success of the project, but discussing the inevitable challenges encountered and how these challenges were overcome. The CALM buoys are but one example of many high-tech, high-spec marine construction projects in the works covered in our pages this month. And while the nature of advanced technology that goes into modern ves-sel construction, operation and training makes today?s vessels arguably superior in many ways to those produced only a generation ago, take it from someone who has a dad in the manufacturing know: new technology delivers many advantages, but hard work, attention to detail and adher- ence to solid, proven engineering principle never goes out of style.MR #8 (1-9).indd 6MR #8 (1-9).indd 68/2/2013 4:01:06 PM8/2/2013 4:01:06 PM