Page 52: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2014)

52 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2014 REPAIR & MAINTENANCE Dry Dock Conference 2014 is the eighth in a series of international Conferences held every two to three years. This year?s conference will be held December 1-2, 2014 in New Orleans. Among the highlights of the upcoming New Orleans? conference will be a series of presentations from experts on unique drydockings, heavy lift difÞ culties and ship launching challenges. The goal of the conference is to educate and provide technological updates to personnel in the dry dock in-dustry. The papers and presentations promise to cover a broad spectrum of topics dealing with a multitude of is-sues facing the dry dock community. Professionals from around the globe will share their endeavors in planning, Þ nancing, permitting, designing, constructing, operat- ing, and maintaining dry dock facilities. Conference attendees should leave with a greater understanding of the challenges faced by the industry, as well as insight into how to overcome them.The conference provides a venue to learn about new products and services, and generate contacts. Topics for this year?s conference include: - damaged ship dry docking - dry dock failure analysis - dry dock maintenance issues - economic aspects of drydocking - establishing a dry dock standard - graving dock repairs/upgrades - heavy lift operations - travel lifts - unique drydockings - vertical lifts - vessel launchings - vessel transfer operations The conference is recognized as an outstanding op-portunity to network with the hundreds of practitio-ners, researchers, and specialists at the leading edge of the dry dock industry. Drydocking has long been a small but vital part of the ship building and repair in-dustry and the current global economic climate puts an added premium on dry docking crews to boost their ef-Þ ciency. With larger and more complex ships creating new dry docking challenges, this upcoming conference is a great chance for those the maritime industry to gain new insights into this ever changing Þ eld. Attend Dry Dock Conference 2014 to prepare yourself and your teams to compete in this vital aspect of the shipbuilding and repair industry. www.drydocktraining.com Dry Dock Conference 2014 Scheduled for December 1-2, 2014 in New OrleansBay Shipbuilding Wins USCG Repair ContractsFincantieri Marine Group (FMG) subsidiary, Bay Shipbuild- ing Company (BSC) of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., won a USCG contract for drydock repairs to the United States Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock (WLB-21) and a second USCG repair and sustainment contract for the icebreaker Mackinaw (WLBB-30).Hollyhock is a Juniper Class Seagoing Buoy Tender measur- ing 225-ft. long. Mackinaw is a 240-ft. heavy icebreaker for op-erations on the Great Lakes. Both ships were built by FMG sub-sidiary, Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC), and launched in January 2003 and November 2005 respectively. Hollyhock?s primary missions are maintenance of aids-to-navigation, as well as search and rescue, environmental protection and ice break-ing. Mackinaw is primarily engaged in keeping the sea-lanes clear of ice although it also serves as an aids-to-navigation ship.?Fincantieri?s recent capital investment in BSC, included the construction of a United States Navy-certiÞ ed ß oating drydock, will be instrumental to the repairs,? said FMG President and CEO Francesco Valente. In May of 2014, Sturgeon Bay was of Þ cially designated ?A Coast Guard City.? Sturgeon Bay, which has a 140-year rela- tionship with the Coast Guard and its predecessor services, is now one of 16 cities designated by Congress with that distinc-tion for support shown to the men and women of the Coast Guard.Mackinaw is a 240-ft. heavy icebreaker. MR #8 (50-57).indd 52MR #8 (50-57).indd 528/4/2014 10:17:53 AM8/4/2014 10:17:53 AM