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Shipbuilders Council of America
20 F Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20001
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SCA Weekly Report | September 30 - October 4, 2019
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* REMINDER: NO WEEKLY NEXT WEEK
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Register Now for the 2019 SCA Fall Membership Meeting
The SCA Fall Membership Meeting is taking place next week!
You can access the meeting notebook by clicking the following link and logging into the SCA website: Access the notebook HERE>
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:
- Jennifer Boykin, President, Newport News Shipbuilding
- Mitch Waldman, Executive Vice President of Government and Customer Relations, Huntington Ingalls Industries
- Bryan Caccavale, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing, Huntington Ingalls Industries
- Nancy Sopko, Co-Director, Special Initiative on Offshore Wind
- Laura Morton, Senior Director, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
- Jim Bennett, Chief of the Office of Renewable Energy Programs, BOEM
- RADM Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic
- RDML Tom Anderson, Commander Regional Maintenance Center, USN
- Dr. Lawrence Totimeh, Cybersafe Program Lead, NAVSEA 05Q
FEATURED PANEL DISCUSSIONS:
- Offshore Wind Energy Panel
- Newport News Shipbuilding Supplier Panel
A full schedule of events can be found HERE.
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DASN Ships office has reached out to the SCA membership for information regarding a forthcoming report to Congress. The report, as required by the The Report of the House Committee on Armed Services on H.R. 2500 of June 19, 2019, states the following:
The committee is concerned with the sourcing of non-domestic components on U.S. Navy ships. The committee directs the Secretary of the Navy to provide a report to the congressional defense committees by December 1, 2019 on the feasibility of sourcing domestic components such as: auxiliary equipment, including pumps; propulsion system components, including engines, reduction gears, and propellers; shipboard cranes and spreaders for shipboard cranes; and other components on all Navy ships.
There is no corresponding language in the Senate version of the NDAA.
DASN ships office is working with NAVSEA's Cost Engineering and Industrial Analysis Group (SEA 05C) to draft this report which will provide an overview of current sourcing restrictions, identification of naval ship components imported from foreign countries, a discussion of issues involved with moving production of those components to the U.S., and recommendations as to whether or not such a move would be feasible.
DASN Ships office and NAVSEA are requesting any input that your member company can provide for consideration as they research and write this report. All inputs are due by Friday October 11, to support the government's response schedule.
Please send all responses to Philip Koenig at philip.koenig@navy.mil and Michael Russanos - michael.russano@navy.mil
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Build Your Future Survey
The National Maritime Education Council (NMEC) was recently awarded an NSRP project, Build Your Future (BYF), to develop a national image awareness and recruitment initiative for the shipbuilding and ship repair industry. Currently, eight shipyards are collaborating or have committed to collaborate on the project including Austal, Bollinger, Ingalls, GD Bath Iron Works, GD Electric Boat, Continental Maritime, Vigor, and HII- Newport News.
Currently the NMEC is conducting several surveys including the Shipyard Profile Submission and the Training Center Listing that will allow the program to post on the BYF site where candidates can go for jobs and/or training and is requesting additional companies and facilities participate in the surveys.
The project also recently launched a Wage Survey to capture data that will develop resources that will be used by educators, industry, and recruiters to promote careers in the industry. All responses will be strictly confidential. All data will be reported in the aggregate. Individual responses will not be shared. The survey will be conducted using Survey Monkey.
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HASC Ranking Member Thornberry Announces 2020 Retirement
On Monday, House Armed Services Committee Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) announced that he will not seek re-election in 2020. Thornberry has served 13 terms in Congress since he was first elected to the U.S. House in 1994. Thornberry was one of the longest-serving representatives on either party in Congress, the Dallas Morning News reported. His impending departure marks the sixth Texas Republican in Congress since July to announce that they will not seek reelection.
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New Navy CIO Says Industry Must Help Pentagon Police Subcontractors’ Cybersecurity
The Navy's new chief information officer says one of his top priorities will be ensuring prime contractors help the Pentagon hold subcontractors accountable for cybersecurity. Defense contractors "are our partners and, in many cases, an extension of us," Aaron Weis, the Navy’s CIO, told Inside Defense in an interview today at the Pentagon. "We also need to rely on that same sense of partnership to safeguard" their data and information technology systems. "I think the topic that we’re going to really have to be able to drive is: How are [prime contractors] holding their tier two and tier three suppliers’ feet to the fire?" he added. Monday was Weis' first official day on the job as both CIO and adviser to the Navy secretary for information technology management, digital, data and cyber strategy. He was formerly an adviser to Pentagon CIO Dana Deasy.
Navy Awards ‘Overlord’ Second-Phase Contract Mods to Undisclosed Companies
The Navy this week said it began the second phase of a secretive unmanned surface vessel program but is still not disclosing what industry teams are participating. "The second phase of the Ghost Fleet Overlord program commenced with the award of contract modifications to the two industry teams who participated in Phase I," the service said in an Oct. 1 statement. The service did not state the value of the contracts. Overlord is an experimental USV developed by the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office and has become the basis for the Navy's Large Unmanned Surface Vessel. The Pentagon last year awarded phase one Overlord contracts to two industry teams, but at the time did not disclose which vendors received the contracts.
Navy Created Shipyard-Focused Sustainment Program Based Off Similar Aviation Effort
The Navy this summer created an offshoot of an aviation maintenance initiative championed by top Pentagon brass that is aimed at improving the turnaround times of shipyard maintenance availabilities. The effort, dubbed Naval Sustainment System -- Shipyards, is based on the similarly named aviation program being implemented at the service's Fleet Readiness Centers. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Vice Adm. Dewolfe Miller, commander of naval air forces, have said the aviation program is focused on improving maintenance practices by bringing in industry to view the fleet's work firsthand. The Navy awarded a $21 million contract to Boston Consulting Group last year to begin implementing changes.
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Energy Secretary Perry Likely to Resign at End of November
According to media reports, Energy Secretary Rich Perry is expected to announce his resignation by the end of November. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette is expected to replace Perry, at least temporarily. Perry, who had been Texas' longest serving governor before joining President Donald Trump's Cabinet in 2017, has largely avoided the controversies that felled others in the administration. But his travels to Ukraine have lately embroiled him in the impeachment inquiry engulfing Trump and his inner circle, even though two of the people called the scandal unrelated to Perry's departure, which they said he has been planning for several months.
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Defense Industry Groups Question Pentagon’s New Cyber Rules
The Professional Services Council, the National Defense Industrial Association and the Aerospace Industries Association all provided feedback to the Defense Department last week on a draft version of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification or CMMC. DOD released the draft CMMC for public comment last month. The CMMC is being developed to improve cybersecurity across the defense industrial base and prevent potential adversaries like China from stealing sensitive data and technologies. The draft CMMC includes five distinct levels of cybersecurity, combining controls from the NIST 800-171 document and other standards bodies. DOD plans to roll out a second draft of the CMMC in November before publishing a final version this coming January. The CMMC will start showing up in actual requests for proposals in September 2020, according to DOD.
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Foss Inks U.S. Offshore Wind MOU with Østensjø Rederi
Foss Maritime LLC, Seattle, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Haugesund, Norway, headquartered Østensjø Rederi AS to establish a partnership to provide domestic Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for offshore wind projects in U.S. waters. Foss currently operates a fleet of more than 200 tugs and barges and has more than 1,400 employees in regional operations across the U.S. In addition to providing domestic and international harbor and marine transportation services, the company has extensive experience building Jones Act compliant vessels.
Northeast Ports Aim for Offshore Wind Business
With a dozen offshore wind energy projects planned on the East Coast, New York port interests are in high gear pitching their state as the industry’s logical future base. New York State officials on Wednesday announced they will seek “port operators and market participants who are interested in upgrading and investing in New York ports to support the state’s burgeoning offshore wind industry,” offering up to $200 million in funding.
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Curtain Closing on Jones Act
Hawaii Free Press – Grassroot Institute – Keli’i Akina, PHD – 28 September 2019
Economic theory declares that protectionist laws drive up costs and prices. Such is the case with the Jones Act, that 1920 federal maritime law well known to many of us in Hawaii for requiring that all goods carried between U.S. ports be transported on ships that are American built, owned, crewed and flagged. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has long held that the Jones Act is one reason for Hawaii’s high cost of living. We have long recommended that the law be updated for the 21st century, to help lower prices for Hawaii residents and others across the nation who rely on ocean carriers for most of their goods. Amazingly, there are people who try to dispute the negative economic effects of the Jones Act, which is why it is good to see new research demonstrating that it does, indeed, harm consumers.
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All American Launches 77′ Research Vessel for Duke University
All American Marine Inc. has completed construction and launched a 77’x26’6″ aluminum research and survey vessel for Duke University. The new vessel was based upon two successful Teknicraft Design vessels AAM built for NOAA. Teknicraft’s patented hydrofoil-assisted hull design is proven to have industry-leading low-wake wash energy and fuel economy. The boat has liveaboard accommodations for 14 persons. Driven by twin fixed pitch propellers, this research vessel can accommodate up to 30 passengers and is constructed and certified under USCG Subchapter T regulations.
VT Halter and Q-LNG Conduct Naming Ceremony for LNG Bunkering Barge
Over the last four years, Jones Act ship operators have taken steps to transition their fleets to use cleaner burning fuels, including LNG. By designing and constructing the Q-LNG 4000, VT Halter Marine is on the cutting edge of technology. This barge is designed to provide ship-to-ship transfers of LNG to vessels that use LNG as a fuel source and also ship-to-shore transfers to small scale marine distribution infrastructure in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and abroad.
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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Paula Zorensky on the SCA staff.
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