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Bollinger Holds Steel Cutting Ceremony for T-ATS 10
Last week, Bollinger Shipyards officially commenced construction of the U.S. Navy's future USNS Muscogee Creek Nation, at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS. The vessel is the 10th Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) and the fifth T-ATS vessel being constructed by Bollinger since acquiring the program in April of 2021.
“We’re excited to be able to utilize our newly acquired facility in Pascagoula to maximize our mobility and efficiency on the T-ATS program as we officially kick off construction on the fifth of five T-ATS ships to be built by Bollinger,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “The T-ATS program is an important part of our expanding portfolio and relationship with the Navy as we work to support critical fleet modernization efforts. Maximizing Bollinger Shipyards resources across the Gulf Coast is something we’re incredibly proud of. This program sustains jobs in both our facilities between Houma and Pascagoula.”
The Navajo-class provides oceangoing tug, salvage, and rescue capabilities to support fleet operations, and are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels. Their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grounded vessels, off-ship firefighting, and manned diving operations. The T-ATS platform replaces and fulfills the capabilities that were previously provided by the Powhatan-class Fleet Ocean Tug (T-ATF 166) and Safeguard-class Rescue and Salvage Ships (T-ARS 50) class ships.
US Launches $6 Billion Program to Slash Manufacturing Emissions
The US is offering $6 billion in funding to decarbonize industrial manufacturing that accounts for 24% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, a critical step in the Biden Administration’s effort to reach a carbon-free economy by 2050. The Energy Department’s Industrial Demonstrations Program will provide up to 50% of the cost of first-of-a-kind or early-stage projects aimed at stripping carbon dioxide from the production of concrete, steel, chemicals and other energy-intensive materials, according to a statement Wednesday.
“For the longest time, folks have looked at the industrial sector and thought of it as hard to decarbonize and maybe even impossible to decarbonize,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said in an interview. “The industrial sector represents a significant share of our emissions but it also represents a significant opportunity for us to advance bold climate action.”
Funding for the industrial decarbonization push was provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Concept papers are due April 21 and final applications must be submitted by August 4.
Wärtsilä Books its First CCS-Ready Scrubber Order
As interest grows in the potential for exhaust gas cleaning systems to scrub out more than sulfur, Wärtsilä has received its first order for carbon capture and storage-ready (CCS-ready) scrubber systems. The scrubbers, each rated at 35 MW, will be installed in four 8,200 TEU container vessels being built at undisclosed Asian based shipyard. The scrubbers are termed CCS-ready because, as part of their installation, Wärtsilä will perform additional design and engineering work to ensure that future retrofits for a full CCS system on the vessels have already been provided for during the newbuilding construction stage.
Wärtsilä will take measures to ensure adequate space for the future installation of CCS system, incorporate considerations for minimizing idle load and optimizing utilities, and prepare the control and automation system accordingly. The CCS-ready scrubbers will also be designed for integration with a particulate matter (PM) filter.
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