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SCA Weekly Report | January 16-20, 2023
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2023 SCA Winter Meeting
February 8-9, 2023
The Biltmore Hotel
Coral Gables, FL
The 2023 SCA Winter Membership Meeting will be held on February 8-9, 2023.The cost to attend the meeting is $575.
SCA Board and Committee Meetings will be held on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 and SCA Staff Reports, the Guest Speaker Panel Sessions, and golf tournament will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2023.
The cost to play in the golf tournament is $250 and the cost to rent clubs for the golf tournament is an additional $80.
Please note that groups for the golf tournament will be finalized by February 1, 2023. If you have any requests for your golf group, please email SCA staff before this date.
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Winter Meeting Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available
Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2023 SCA Winter Meeting. A full list of sponsorships and additional information on the sponsorship opportunities can be found HERE.
Please let SCA staff know if you are interested in sponsoring an event at the Winter Meeting.
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Registration Now Open:
2023 National Ship Repair Industry Conference (NSRIC)
March 20-23, 2023
The Westin Crystal City
Arlington, VA
The 2023 National Ship Repair Industry Conference (NSRIC) will be held in-person on March 20-23, 2023.The cost to attend the meeting is $550.
NSRIC 2023 is only open to SCA members and Ship Repair Association Members, and is closed to the press.
Invited Government Speakers for Tuesday Include:
- Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday
- Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti
- Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, Admiral Linda Fagan
- Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command, Vice Admiral William Galinis
- Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Vice Admiral Roy Kitchener
- Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, Rear Admiral Brendan McLane
- Commander, Regional Maintenance Center, Rear Admiral Eric Ver Hage
- Program Executive Officer for Ships, Rear Admiral Thomas Anderson
- Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers, Rear Admiral James Downey
- Assistant Commandant for Engineering & Logistics, USCG, Rear Admiral Carola List
- Director of Acquisition Programs & Program Executive Officer, USCG, Rear Admiral Chad L. Jacoby
- Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Carlos Del Toro
- ASN RDA (Acting), Mr. Frederick J. Stefany
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A room block has been secured for this event at the Westin Crystal City. To book a room at the negotiated rate of $272/ night, click HERE.
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U.S. Navy EDA Survey Message
This message is being provided on a FYSA basis. The US Navy is preparing to send a survey message to U.S. Embassy Security Cooperation Office (SCO) personnel informing them of the decommissioning of four Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships. These vessels may be made available for transfer to a qualified country partner or partners as Excess Defense Articles (EDA). Depending on country eligibility, the items can be obtained as either sale EDA or grant EDA. The SCOs will advise potential recipients to consider the costs associated with refurbishment, maintenance, training, operation, and sustainment when making a decision to request the EDA item.
Please reach out to Lee Ann Carpenter with any questions about the survey process.
Lee Ann Carpenter
Bureau of Industry & Security
US Department of Commerce
202-482-2583
LeeAnn.Carpenter@bis.doc.gov
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Unreleased GAO Report: Readiness Date of Columbia-Class Unknown
Officials overseeing development of the US Navy’s next-generation submarine to carry nuclear missiles don’t have the information they need to know whether the first vessel in the $132 billion Columbia program can deploy on time in 2031, an unreleased congressional audit found.
Navy and Pentagon officials “have not obtained the schedule data and statistical information needed to confidently determine the likelihood that the shipbuilders can accomplish it as planned,” the Government Accountability Office said in the report, which was delivered in September but hasn’t been made public.
The 12-ship Columbia class is set to replace the current fleet of 14 Ohio class ballistic-missile submarines. It’s envisioned as a key component of the US nuclear deterrence strategy into the late 21st century, complementing intercontinental ballistic missiles and air-launched weapons in the nation’s nuclear triad. The first ship is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost $15 billion in 2022 dollars, one of the costliest US weapons systems ever.
The GAO said “the Navy’s ability to manage the program to achieve on-time delivery and is incongruous with the importance it placed on having the lead submarine for its first patrol on time.” Since “no schedule risk analysis has been completed,” Navy and Pentagon “decision makers have yet to be provided detailed information about schedule risk to help inform oversight and buying decisions.”
The GAO’s summary, obtained by Bloomberg News, doesn’t say why auditors believe the Navy isn’t getting the information it needs. The report is being withheld from general distribution under the expanding use of the designation of “Controlled Unclassified Information,” or CUI, by the Defense Department. In this case, the Navy applied the label limiting public release but is working with the GAO to allow a sanitized version to be made public.
The Navy disputes the GAO finding, saying in a statement that it receives “detailed schedule information from the shipbuilders on a routine basis, and performs several types of schedule evaluation on this information.”
In a report last month accompanying the $1.75 trillion spending bill for this fiscal year, House and Senate appropriators expressed “continued concern” with what they called the Columbia’s “schedule variances.” In a Dec. 21 report, the Congressional Research Service noted the current schedule “has little margin for absorbing unforeseen delays.”
“GAO is preparing a publicly releasable version of this report in coordination with the Navy,” said spokesman Lt Commander Javan Rasnake. “The Navy is following the standard best practice of conducting a rigorous review of the material to ensure operational security is maintained. The Navy will comment on the report when the publicly releasable version is released.” The report is titled “Columbia Class Submarine: Program Lacks Essential Schedule Insight amid Continuing Construction Challenges.”
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MARAD Announces Nearly $20 Million in Funding Available for Small Shipyard Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) recently announced the availability of nearly $20 million in Federal Fiscal Year 2023 funding to help modernize small U.S. shipyards and train the workforce in this critical sector. MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program strengthens the economic competitiveness of shipyards by providing grants that can be used to purchase equipment or provide employee training. In addition, these grants can support the purchase of American-made manufacturing equipment that support a wide range of jobs throughout our nation’s manufacturing base.
“Small shipyards play vital roles in their local economies and our national economy,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With these funds, we are helping small shipyards across the country train their workers, modernize their equipment, and improve their operations.”
MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded 323 grants totaling approximately $282 million since the program was first funded in 2008. Small Shipyard Grants are available to U.S. shipyards with fewer than 1,200 production employees. In July 2022, DOT announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 24 small shipyards in 19 states through the Program.
MARAD Seeks Public Comment on Decommissioning of NS Savannah
The U.S. maritime Administration is seeking public comment on a draft plan to decommission the NS Savannah, the world’s first nuclear powered merchant ship.
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has drafted a Programmatic Agreement (PA) among the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), regarding the decommissioning and disposition of the vessel in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA).
The NS Savannah was launched in 1959 as the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship under the “Atoms for Peace” program, which was established by President Eisenhower in 1953. MARAD is authorized to possess, operate and maintain the vessel under a license first issued by the former Atomic Energy Commission. MARAD operated the ship starting in 1962 until 1970, at which point it was removed from service and defueled in 1971.
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Fincantieri to Build Wind Farm Vessel for Crowley Venture
Fincantieri Marine Group has reached agreement on a contract with CREST Wind, a joint venture between Crowley and ESVAGT, to build a 288-foot service operation vessel (SOV). SOVs are purpose-built vessels used to transport technicians to service and sustain the operation of wind turbines at sea.
Fincantieri Marine Group will have the team at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, along with Crowley’s on-site construction management group, to complete the building of the vessel to service offshore wind operations in the U.S. The vessel will serve the Dominion Energy wind farm off the coast of Virginia under long-term charter to Siemens Gamesa. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is currently building several LNG bunkering barges, including for Crowley, in addition to supporting the government work of sister-yard, Fincantieri Marinette Marine, where the U.S. Navy’s new Constellation-class frigates are under construction.
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MSC Appealing FMC Default Decision
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is vowing to appeal the default decision and nearly $1 million awarded by an administrative law judge in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission by a Pennsylvania furniture importer.
Chief Administrative Law Judge Erin Wirth entered the initial decision in the case last week as a default against MSC after the company failed to produce key documents during the discovery phase of the proceeding. The shipper, MCS Industries of Pennsylvania had sought documents that were denied by MSC and a Swiss judge in a request under the Hague Convention that governs the release of evidence in cross-border complaints such as this case. MSC said it risked criminal sanctions if it provided the requested documents after it was also denied a request by the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police.
The shipper in its original complaint brought against both MSC and COSCO alleged that the companies colluded to artificially restrict capacity by blanking sailings citing factors such as port congestion and other factors outside their control. They alleged that the shipping lines' actions drove prices higher in the spot market and by denying service to shippers with contracts such as MCS they had to pay the high prices in the spot market to transport their containers.
National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) Program Achieves Milestone with Steel Cutting of Fourth Ship
Earlier this week, TOTE Services, Philly Shipyard, and Texas A&M University celebrated the cutting of steel for the fourth National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) destined for the Texas A&M Maritime Academy in Galveston, Texas. This event marks another major construction milestone for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) NSMV program, designed to provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art training platform for state maritime academies in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Texas, and California, respectively. In addition to providing world-class training for America’s future mariners, these five NSMVs will be available to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in times of need. The vessel is contracted for delivery in 2025 to the Academy in Galveston.
Construction of the first two vessels is well underway, with contracted delivery of NSMV I to SUNY Maritime College in 2023, NSMV II to Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2024, and NSMV III to Maine Maritime Academy in 2024.
TOTE Marks ‘Fueling Milestone’ with North America’s First LNG Bunkering Barge
U.S.-based shipping company, TOTE Services, is announcing a significant milestone with the 300th fueling operation by its LNG bunker barge Clean Jacksonville at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal. TOTE called the fueling milestone a significant achievement for the group, which has invested heavily in LNG and was one of the first-movers on the use of the alternative fuel in the container sector.
“We are proud to join our partners at TOTE in celebrating this momentous occasion, which marks the 300th bunkering of the Clean Jacksonville,” said TOTE Services President Jeff Dixon. “TOTE Services has been a reliable, long-term partner committed to the LNG market, working in every aspect from vessel construction, ship management, and technical expertise to help our customers achieve their business and environmental objectives.”
Since 2015, TOTE has invested more than $500 million in LNG assets, including vessels, infrastructure, and technology. Through its subsidiary TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, the company operates two LNG-powered containerships, which were a “world first” when put into service in 2015 and 2016. The Clean Jacksonville was the first LNG bunker barge built in North America upon its delivery in 2018 by Conrad Shipyard.
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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the SCA staff.
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